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SBC Settlement Features Jobs Breakthrough, Health Benefit Protections for Actives and Retirees
As 100,000 workers at SBC Communications began returning to work from a four-day strike on May 25, union bargainers announced a tentative settlement that meets CWA's goals of a no-layoff guarantee, access to new jobs in growth areas, and protection of health security for both active employees and retirees.
The new five-year contract package also boosts across-the-board wages by 12 percent, compounded, plus a 1-percent lump sum at the go-down and COLA for the fourth and fifth years; and it calls for pension band increases of more than 13 percent.
The first contract year calls for a 2-percent wage increase retroactive to April 4 along with a 1-percent cash payment. Wages will increase 2.5 percent in 2005, 2.5 percent in 2006, 2.25 percent in 2007 and 2.25 percent in 2008, with COLA in 2007 and 2008. In addition, the contract provides for cash bonuses of $250 in 2006, $375 in 2007 and $375 in 2008.
Pension band increases track the base wage increases, except the first year increase is 3 percent. Substantial improvements also were made for the cash balance pension plan in SBC East (SNET).
Access to Jobs of the Future
A breakthrough feature is the "jobs of the future" agreement that opens the door to jobs for union workers in emerging growth sectors of the company.
SBC agreed that technologies such as fiber to the premise (FTTP), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), Wi-Fi wireless Internet access and other Internet-based data services are extensions of traditional telephone work and will be performed by CWA bargaining unit employees.
The pact states that, "CWA-represented employees shall do all customer service work of SBC products," and it sets up a process for returning tech support jobs currently outsourced to other countries when SBC's contract with Accenture expires in 2007.
It calls for no layoffs of employees currently on the payroll for the life of the agreement. If jobs are declared surplus, SBC must offer each worker another job under a negotiated process to keep that job as close as possible to the worker's hometown area.
SBC also agreed to rehire several hundred workers who previously were laid off in Districts 4 and 6, former Ameritech and Southwestern Bell regions.
The agreement includes a successorship clause that stipulates that any sale of phone lines by SBC be predicated upon the contract remaining in effect while negotiations on an agreement of equal economic value proceed.
Protecting Health Benefits
The tentative settlement achieves CWA's top goal of preserving fully paid health care premiums for active employees and retirees. Health care co-payments for medical services and prescription drugs will increase, but at a much lower level than SBC at first had demanded.
To offset higher health costs, CWA negotiated the cash bonuses totaling $1,000 for years 2006-08 for active workers, and retirees, who are now under a different health plan, will receive a total of $2,500 in two payments on Dec. 31, 2004 and on Dec. 31, 2005. Members who retire during this contract will keep their health care until the end of this contract.
SBC had set up a bargaining showdown when it wrote to retirees last December stating that they would start paying premium costs, later making the same demand of active workers when the talks formally opened in February.
The premium sharing demand was a major reason that there was no settlement when the contracts were set to expire on April 1 and 3.
Bargaining got underway in mid-February at regional tables in New Haven, Conn., Chicago, Ill., Austin, Tex., and Pleasanton, Calif. About mid-March, the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service asked the parties to meet in Washington, D.C., to work through issues affecting all members - health care, wages, pensions and employment security. However, with little progress being made at the national table, CWA called for bargaining to return to the regional tables in mid-May.
The issue of retiree health benefits - a major roadblock to moving forward in negotiations - was tentatively resolved just before the SBC annual meeting in late April, where more than 1,000 CWAers had gathered to rally and let SBC know that they were taking a stand for jobs and health care. The morning of the meeting, on hearing of the victory, CWAers held their own shareholder meeting at a nearby site.
The talks remained tough, however. Eventually CWA leaders called a limited-duration strike, from May 21 to May 25, to allow members to show their support for the bargaining teams and demonstrate their determination to win job and health security protections.
Major Grassroots Mobilization
Throughout bargaining, at the regional and national levels, it was clear that the mobilization activities of CWA members made a real difference. From the start of negotiations in mid-February to the stepped up actions during our strike, CWA members were a strong presence at the bargaining tables, said Executive Vice President Larry Cohen.
CWA also drew strong media and public support for our goals –- particularly job protection. In fact, a poll among viewers of the "Lou Dobbs Tonight" program showed an overwhelming 93 percent of viewers supporting SBC workers in their strike for jobs and against offshoring of tech support to India and the Philippines.
During the strike, CWA members heard from many national, state and local elected officials who wrote letters of support or joined workers on the picket lines.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote to SBC CEO Ed Whitacre to express his concern about the status of negotiations and urging that the issues be resolved fairly. Representative George Miller (D-Calif.), the leading Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and 52 colleagues signed a similar letter.
In Columbus, Ohio, a crowd of about 60 members of Locals 4310 and 4320, plus other supporters, were joined by Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), and in Racine, Wis., Senator Russ Feingold (D) met with Local 4611 members on their picket line.
Other members of Congress, state legislators and local elected officials, along with supporters from many unions, also joined picket lines across SBC territory.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka spearheaded efforts to enlist its state and local bodies and unions throughout SBC territory to pledge to switch service to AT&T if CWA deemed it necessary. At the time of the settlement, a major effort was underway to collect carrier switch pledges from among the potential 5 million union households in SBC's service area.
The new five-year contract package also boosts across-the-board wages by 12 percent, compounded, plus a 1-percent lump sum at the go-down and COLA for the fourth and fifth years; and it calls for pension band increases of more than 13 percent.
The first contract year calls for a 2-percent wage increase retroactive to April 4 along with a 1-percent cash payment. Wages will increase 2.5 percent in 2005, 2.5 percent in 2006, 2.25 percent in 2007 and 2.25 percent in 2008, with COLA in 2007 and 2008. In addition, the contract provides for cash bonuses of $250 in 2006, $375 in 2007 and $375 in 2008.
Pension band increases track the base wage increases, except the first year increase is 3 percent. Substantial improvements also were made for the cash balance pension plan in SBC East (SNET).
Access to Jobs of the Future
A breakthrough feature is the "jobs of the future" agreement that opens the door to jobs for union workers in emerging growth sectors of the company.
SBC agreed that technologies such as fiber to the premise (FTTP), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), Wi-Fi wireless Internet access and other Internet-based data services are extensions of traditional telephone work and will be performed by CWA bargaining unit employees.
The pact states that, "CWA-represented employees shall do all customer service work of SBC products," and it sets up a process for returning tech support jobs currently outsourced to other countries when SBC's contract with Accenture expires in 2007.
It calls for no layoffs of employees currently on the payroll for the life of the agreement. If jobs are declared surplus, SBC must offer each worker another job under a negotiated process to keep that job as close as possible to the worker's hometown area.
SBC also agreed to rehire several hundred workers who previously were laid off in Districts 4 and 6, former Ameritech and Southwestern Bell regions.
The agreement includes a successorship clause that stipulates that any sale of phone lines by SBC be predicated upon the contract remaining in effect while negotiations on an agreement of equal economic value proceed.
Protecting Health Benefits
The tentative settlement achieves CWA's top goal of preserving fully paid health care premiums for active employees and retirees. Health care co-payments for medical services and prescription drugs will increase, but at a much lower level than SBC at first had demanded.
To offset higher health costs, CWA negotiated the cash bonuses totaling $1,000 for years 2006-08 for active workers, and retirees, who are now under a different health plan, will receive a total of $2,500 in two payments on Dec. 31, 2004 and on Dec. 31, 2005. Members who retire during this contract will keep their health care until the end of this contract.
SBC had set up a bargaining showdown when it wrote to retirees last December stating that they would start paying premium costs, later making the same demand of active workers when the talks formally opened in February.
The premium sharing demand was a major reason that there was no settlement when the contracts were set to expire on April 1 and 3.
Bargaining got underway in mid-February at regional tables in New Haven, Conn., Chicago, Ill., Austin, Tex., and Pleasanton, Calif. About mid-March, the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service asked the parties to meet in Washington, D.C., to work through issues affecting all members - health care, wages, pensions and employment security. However, with little progress being made at the national table, CWA called for bargaining to return to the regional tables in mid-May.
The issue of retiree health benefits - a major roadblock to moving forward in negotiations - was tentatively resolved just before the SBC annual meeting in late April, where more than 1,000 CWAers had gathered to rally and let SBC know that they were taking a stand for jobs and health care. The morning of the meeting, on hearing of the victory, CWAers held their own shareholder meeting at a nearby site.
The talks remained tough, however. Eventually CWA leaders called a limited-duration strike, from May 21 to May 25, to allow members to show their support for the bargaining teams and demonstrate their determination to win job and health security protections.
Major Grassroots Mobilization
Throughout bargaining, at the regional and national levels, it was clear that the mobilization activities of CWA members made a real difference. From the start of negotiations in mid-February to the stepped up actions during our strike, CWA members were a strong presence at the bargaining tables, said Executive Vice President Larry Cohen.
CWA also drew strong media and public support for our goals –- particularly job protection. In fact, a poll among viewers of the "Lou Dobbs Tonight" program showed an overwhelming 93 percent of viewers supporting SBC workers in their strike for jobs and against offshoring of tech support to India and the Philippines.
During the strike, CWA members heard from many national, state and local elected officials who wrote letters of support or joined workers on the picket lines.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote to SBC CEO Ed Whitacre to express his concern about the status of negotiations and urging that the issues be resolved fairly. Representative George Miller (D-Calif.), the leading Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and 52 colleagues signed a similar letter.
In Columbus, Ohio, a crowd of about 60 members of Locals 4310 and 4320, plus other supporters, were joined by Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), and in Racine, Wis., Senator Russ Feingold (D) met with Local 4611 members on their picket line.
Other members of Congress, state legislators and local elected officials, along with supporters from many unions, also joined picket lines across SBC territory.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka spearheaded efforts to enlist its state and local bodies and unions throughout SBC territory to pledge to switch service to AT&T if CWA deemed it necessary. At the time of the settlement, a major effort was underway to collect carrier switch pledges from among the potential 5 million union households in SBC's service area.