T-Mobile-MetroPCS Merger Means More Jobs Loss, Decline for Workers

CWA has expressed serious concern about the merger agreement between T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS.

First, jobs are at risk. Since the collapse of the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, the T-Mobile workforce has experienced continued job loss and decline. Seven call centers were closed, laying off 3,300 employees. Much of the work is performed offshore, costing jobs in critical communities at a critical time.

And the situation isn't better at MetroPCS. The company has "outsourced all of its customer contact center services to maintain low operating expenses" through a partnership with Telvista, a call center outsourcer. Good American jobs are now going to Mexico, Antigua, Panama, and the Philippines, according to the MetroPCS's 10-K filing.

Second, the operating systems of the two companies are based on different technologies and are incompatible, despite the prospect of LTE over time. GigaOm writes, "Merging a regional CDMA operator with a national GSM carrier would be a disaster on the highest order and T-Mobile would gain little from the transaction — certainly not enough to offset the enormous hell it would have to endure to try to integrate the two operators' completely incompatible network technologies. You thought Sprint-Nextel was a mistake? T-Mobile-MetroPCS would make that deal look like the royal wedding."

Third, there are significant spectrum concentrations issues as well and overlapping markets including Atlanta, San Francisco and others, suggesting serious regulatory hurdles.

Lastly, at Deutsche Telekom, employees have full participation in every aspect of the firm's German operations. The contrast between this worker participation and management strategies of T-Mobile and MetroPCS could not be more stark, or severe. Sixteen T-Mobile technicians in Connecticut recently ratified their first-ever contract, and organizing drives are gearing up at call centers in Charleston and Nashville.

MetroPCS only employs 3,700 workers for a whopping 9.3 million customers. No wonder MetroPCS contracts out most of its work. This is clearly not a company that wants to grow its workforce, nor is it a company that cares about workers' rights on the job.

If this deal progresses, once again the rights of U.S. employees will be last in line.