Dover Bargaining Report #3

The Union and the Company met in session yesterday and today.  Both the Union and the Company passed a number of proposals across the table.  AT&T is still living in a fantasy world trying to justify what they have done, and we continue to tell them that AT&T needs to do the right thing. 

The Company will be putting out a message to the workers being laid off to clarify their "muddy" vacation and personal day policies; which were not explained to the workers when they were hired.  The message is that the vacation policy they are determined to stand by is one of accrual.  This means that any employee who was told at the end of December that they had one week of vacation to take in the following six months, has only accrued 17 hours through this week, and that is what will be paid upon separation from the Company.  Due to the Union's persistence, it will also make clear that if an employee being laid off took a full week prior to this week, the difference will not need to be paid back, as had been told to some by their supervisors.

For those who wonder who the "corporate suits" who have been in the office yesterday and today are, they are there to work on their defense to the Union's allegations that AT&T is violating the law.

The Union continues to propose recall rights for the laid off workers, since all indications from the Department of State are that the demand for the new passport card has them staffing up elsewhere.  In addition, we are seeking termination pay retroactively and Alliance funding for training/retraining.

Medical benefits for the laid off workers will continue through the end of the month; however, anyone who participates in a Flexible Spending Account must incur eligible costs before leaving the payroll in order to not lose the money they have in the FSA.

The Union bargaining team remains on call today ready to bargain a fair contract!  We are scheduled to meet with the Company again tomorrow.