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SBC Early Bargaining Brings Contract Gains for 116,000
CWA reached tentative three-year agreements with SBC Communications that improve working conditions, job security and compensation for 116,000 CWA-represented workers at Ameritech, Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell, Southwestern Bell and Southern New England Telephone.
The contracts, reached nearly two months before expiration of the current agreements, achieve CWA’s key goals, including cardcheck recognition and neutrality for workers at subsidiaries throughout the SBC footprint and at SBC Telecom, which provides local and long distance services in 30 nationwide markets. They also provide improvements in working conditions for service representatives and operators, including new limits on mandatory overtime and increases in wages and pensions across all units.
The settlements provide substantial job upgrades for thousands of workers, about one-third of employees across the units. In addition, the settlements address many local issues and include specific improvements in individual bargaining units.
CWA President Morton Bahr called negotiations between CWA and SBC “very positive” and noted that the settlements will serve to “strengthen our partnership with SBC.”
“These contracts improve working conditions and expand opportunity for our members, while enabling SBC to build on its success in a very competitive industry and assuring the company that it will maintain the advantage of a highly skilled, highly experienced workforce,” Bahr said.
The wage package provides a compounded general pay hike of 12.8 percent over the three-year contract term for each unit. Service representatives will receive an additional 4 percent increase, and service reps, operators and sales associates who use their bilingual skills will receive a pay differential of $5 a day or $25 a week.
Other economic gains include a corporate profit sharing and team-based performance award plan and a grant of 150 stock options to each full-time employee and 75 options for part-timers. Retirement improvements include enhanced pension benefits; an expanded survivor annuity distribution option; and maintenance of fully paid retiree health care during the contract term.
The settlements also include improvements for service representatives and operators, including greater flexibility in scheduling vacations and time off, a reduced cap for mandatory overtime, and the establishment of a joint committee to further address concerns about monitoring, adherence standards and other job issues.
Improvements in family, health and dental care include benefit coverage for domestic partners and their children; an increased adoption reimbursement; increased reimbursement for dental care and orthodontia; expanded vision coverage, including discounted laser eye surgery, and a hearing aid benefit.
The bargaining was coordinated across the four units, with CWA vice presidents Larry Mancino, SNET; Jeff Rechenbach, Ameritech; Andy Milburn, Southwestern Bell; and Tony Bixler, Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell, working with Bahr to achieve the final settlements. Contract explanation materials are being distributed to members, with meetings scheduled to address questions and concerns. The ratification deadline is March 16.
The settlements were reached in advance of the contract expiration dates of March 31 and April 1. Negotiations first opened in late November, recessed at year’s end, then resumed Jan. 29. Earlier this year, CWA negotiated a first contract with Cingular Wireless, the new company created by the merger of SBC and BellSouth wireless companies.
The contracts, reached nearly two months before expiration of the current agreements, achieve CWA’s key goals, including cardcheck recognition and neutrality for workers at subsidiaries throughout the SBC footprint and at SBC Telecom, which provides local and long distance services in 30 nationwide markets. They also provide improvements in working conditions for service representatives and operators, including new limits on mandatory overtime and increases in wages and pensions across all units.
The settlements provide substantial job upgrades for thousands of workers, about one-third of employees across the units. In addition, the settlements address many local issues and include specific improvements in individual bargaining units.
CWA President Morton Bahr called negotiations between CWA and SBC “very positive” and noted that the settlements will serve to “strengthen our partnership with SBC.”
“These contracts improve working conditions and expand opportunity for our members, while enabling SBC to build on its success in a very competitive industry and assuring the company that it will maintain the advantage of a highly skilled, highly experienced workforce,” Bahr said.
The wage package provides a compounded general pay hike of 12.8 percent over the three-year contract term for each unit. Service representatives will receive an additional 4 percent increase, and service reps, operators and sales associates who use their bilingual skills will receive a pay differential of $5 a day or $25 a week.
Other economic gains include a corporate profit sharing and team-based performance award plan and a grant of 150 stock options to each full-time employee and 75 options for part-timers. Retirement improvements include enhanced pension benefits; an expanded survivor annuity distribution option; and maintenance of fully paid retiree health care during the contract term.
The settlements also include improvements for service representatives and operators, including greater flexibility in scheduling vacations and time off, a reduced cap for mandatory overtime, and the establishment of a joint committee to further address concerns about monitoring, adherence standards and other job issues.
Improvements in family, health and dental care include benefit coverage for domestic partners and their children; an increased adoption reimbursement; increased reimbursement for dental care and orthodontia; expanded vision coverage, including discounted laser eye surgery, and a hearing aid benefit.
The bargaining was coordinated across the four units, with CWA vice presidents Larry Mancino, SNET; Jeff Rechenbach, Ameritech; Andy Milburn, Southwestern Bell; and Tony Bixler, Pacific Bell/Nevada Bell, working with Bahr to achieve the final settlements. Contract explanation materials are being distributed to members, with meetings scheduled to address questions and concerns. The ratification deadline is March 16.
The settlements were reached in advance of the contract expiration dates of March 31 and April 1. Negotiations first opened in late November, recessed at year’s end, then resumed Jan. 29. Earlier this year, CWA negotiated a first contract with Cingular Wireless, the new company created by the merger of SBC and BellSouth wireless companies.