CWA Members at SNET Strike Over Unfair Pay, Benefits Plan

North Haven, Conn. - Some 6,300 workers, members of Communications Workers of America Local 1298, are on strike at Southern New England Telephone locations across the state.

Picket lines went up just after midnight on Sunday, August 23, with the expiration of the current contract and as the union bargaining team determined that management was not seriously addressing members' concerns.

Among the key issues for CWA members at SNET is the disparity and inequity in pay and benefits that affects workers in all categories- operators, technicians, customer service representatives, engineers and clerical and administrative employees. Health care cost shifting is another critical concern, with SNET employees now required to pay a significant portion of their premium costs, a position out of step with the rest of the industry.

As part of CWA's fight for a fair settlement at SNET, a media campaign starting Monday, August 24, will focus on the key issues in the dispute and remind consumers that SNET workers are also fighting to ensure and maintain quality service.

The ads contrast SNET's billion-dollar earnings with an unfair wage system and extremely low wages paid to operators, many of whom cannot afford health insurance coverage. The message of the campaign: consumers in Connecticut deserve quality phone service and employees at SNET deserve a decent standard of living, CWA said.

The SNET employees, members of the Connecticut Union of Telephone Workers, voted to join CWA in July.


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