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Tentative Pacts Reached at Avaya, OFS
CWA bargainers have reached tentative agreements with Avaya and OFS in the first set of negotiations with the former Lucent Technologies operations.
At Avaya, a mobilization campaign and tough bargaining produced a tentative three-year contract that achieves workers' key goals of wage and pension improvements, safeguarding retiree health care and stronger employment security, said CWA Vice President Ralph Maly, Communications and Technologies. At OFS, CWA's bargaining goals were to protect jobs and employment opportunity and to preserve retiree pension and health care benefits, Robert Richhart, administration assistant to Maly said. CWA accomplished these goals in tough bargaining with a company facing serious financial problems amid the continuing slump in the telecom sector.
The Avaya contract, which covers about 5,000 workers, expired May 31, but the parties continued to negotiate past expiration to reach the tentative agreement. Workers had voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if a fair contract could not be reached.
The contract provides annual wage increases of 3 percent, boosts pension bands by 3 percent each year, improves dental coverage and continues to ensure that workers and retirees will pay no premiums for health care benefits. In exchange, CWA agreed to some sharing of non-premium health care costs.
The settlement also retains the variable workforce agreement for at least 18 months and provides an additional 12 percent improvement in the pension bands for pension-eligible workers who retiree before Aug. 31.
CWA is scheduling contract explanation meetings to answer questions about the proposed settlement, with the membership ratification to take place in July.
The OFS agreement covers about 600 members of CWA Locals 3263 in Norcross, Ga., and Local 1365 in Sturbridge, Mass.
Bargaining got underway in December 2002, with negotiators going past the May 31 expiration to reach an agreement in early June.
"Our goal was to protect the jobs of those still employed, limit hardships to retirees and do as much as we could to provide decent job opportunities for members with recall rights," Richhart said.
At Avaya, a mobilization campaign and tough bargaining produced a tentative three-year contract that achieves workers' key goals of wage and pension improvements, safeguarding retiree health care and stronger employment security, said CWA Vice President Ralph Maly, Communications and Technologies. At OFS, CWA's bargaining goals were to protect jobs and employment opportunity and to preserve retiree pension and health care benefits, Robert Richhart, administration assistant to Maly said. CWA accomplished these goals in tough bargaining with a company facing serious financial problems amid the continuing slump in the telecom sector.
The Avaya contract, which covers about 5,000 workers, expired May 31, but the parties continued to negotiate past expiration to reach the tentative agreement. Workers had voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if a fair contract could not be reached.
The contract provides annual wage increases of 3 percent, boosts pension bands by 3 percent each year, improves dental coverage and continues to ensure that workers and retirees will pay no premiums for health care benefits. In exchange, CWA agreed to some sharing of non-premium health care costs.
The settlement also retains the variable workforce agreement for at least 18 months and provides an additional 12 percent improvement in the pension bands for pension-eligible workers who retiree before Aug. 31.
CWA is scheduling contract explanation meetings to answer questions about the proposed settlement, with the membership ratification to take place in July.
The OFS agreement covers about 600 members of CWA Locals 3263 in Norcross, Ga., and Local 1365 in Sturbridge, Mass.
Bargaining got underway in December 2002, with negotiators going past the May 31 expiration to reach an agreement in early June.
"Our goal was to protect the jobs of those still employed, limit hardships to retirees and do as much as we could to provide decent job opportunities for members with recall rights," Richhart said.