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First Pact for AT&T Local Services in Mesa, Ariz.
CWA on June 5 reached its first agreement for workers organized under the neutrality and consent pact negotiated with AT&T following the company’s expansion into broadband, wireless and local telephone service.
The pact, covering 223 workers at AT&T Local Network Services in Mesa, Ariz., was ratified June 12.
Jim Irvine, CWA vice president for Communications and Technologies, congratulated Local 7050’s Charles Carter, a member of the unit, and CWA Representative Bob Richhart, who spearheaded the bargaining.
“Because we were responsive to the needs of the workers in Mesa, we have a contract that we can recommend and that we’re confident will be ratified,” Irvine said. “Perhaps, with this agreement, the company will understand that we’re not a third party, we’re not going to go away, and if we have to bargain inch by inch, day by day, we will be there one day longer than it takes to win fair treatment for our members.”
The two-year agreement will bring the Mesa Call Center employees 3 percent annual wage increases, performance awards, new benefit plans, and education and training through the CWA/AT&T Alliance for Employee Growth and Development.
A premium-hour differential of 10 percent will be paid to employees scheduled between 4 p.m. and 7:59 a.m., and employees who work more than 50 percent of their hours in premium time will receive the differential for their entire shift.
The pact provides grievance and arbitration procedures, and excused work days, vacation days and holidays in line with those received by other AT&T employees.
The agreement creates four business services titles: mail clerk, secretary, assistant production agent and associate production agent. Pension bands will be established under the same policy used for other AT&T employees.
Additional compensation will be provided for call outs, on-call or call-up status, management relief or temporary assignment to higher classifications.
The Mesa unit — a test case for the CWA-AT&T neutrality and consent election agreement — was the first unit organized, June 17, 1999, at a new AT&T operation.
The tentative agreement was reached after 10 months of strenuous, incremental bargaining, Richhart said.
The pact, covering 223 workers at AT&T Local Network Services in Mesa, Ariz., was ratified June 12.
Jim Irvine, CWA vice president for Communications and Technologies, congratulated Local 7050’s Charles Carter, a member of the unit, and CWA Representative Bob Richhart, who spearheaded the bargaining.
“Because we were responsive to the needs of the workers in Mesa, we have a contract that we can recommend and that we’re confident will be ratified,” Irvine said. “Perhaps, with this agreement, the company will understand that we’re not a third party, we’re not going to go away, and if we have to bargain inch by inch, day by day, we will be there one day longer than it takes to win fair treatment for our members.”
The two-year agreement will bring the Mesa Call Center employees 3 percent annual wage increases, performance awards, new benefit plans, and education and training through the CWA/AT&T Alliance for Employee Growth and Development.
A premium-hour differential of 10 percent will be paid to employees scheduled between 4 p.m. and 7:59 a.m., and employees who work more than 50 percent of their hours in premium time will receive the differential for their entire shift.
The pact provides grievance and arbitration procedures, and excused work days, vacation days and holidays in line with those received by other AT&T employees.
The agreement creates four business services titles: mail clerk, secretary, assistant production agent and associate production agent. Pension bands will be established under the same policy used for other AT&T employees.
Additional compensation will be provided for call outs, on-call or call-up status, management relief or temporary assignment to higher classifications.
The Mesa unit — a test case for the CWA-AT&T neutrality and consent election agreement — was the first unit organized, June 17, 1999, at a new AT&T operation.
The tentative agreement was reached after 10 months of strenuous, incremental bargaining, Richhart said.