Frequently Asked Questions: AT&T Mobility Orange Bargaining

Check out the recording from our March 23 Mobility Town Hall Call, where some of the FAQ below were discussed more in depth.

How’s Bargaining Going: 

What are we bargaining for in our new contract?

• A very substantial general wage increase
• Increased wage tables in addition to general wage increase application
• To keep benefits costs down and improve plan rules
• Caps on mandatory overtime
• Additional job security: Improved Employment Security Commitment; more Call Center work brought in via increased Call Share percentages, limits on turning company-owned retail into Authorized Retailers
• Increased differential payments
• Improved absence language
• Improved Holiday language
• Sales Relief and charge-back protections for Retail Sales Consultants and Integrated Solutions Representatives
• Work from Home rules and compensation for use of home internet/utilities, limits on web camera use
   

What issues are causing the biggest hold up with the company?  (This was discussed on the March 23 Mobility Town Hall Call.)

Everything. We can not stress enough how important mobilization is in this fight. As we increase the mobilization, we should see more movement at the table. The area that we have not seen any movement in yet is wage table increases and general wage increases to bring AT&T Mobility employees to a level where they can keep up with rising costs of everything from food, gas, rent, and mortgage costs.

How can I continue to help mobilize my coworkers? 

Encourage them to join you in future CWA Town Hall calls, and our concerted activities related to our bargaining issues. Information is power, so share what you know with them and let them know that mobilization is what moves the company our way at the bargaining table.

Why don't we let the contract expire so we can put pressure on the company? 

Progress is being made at bargaining, even though we are far from what we need to achieve for our members who work at AT&T Mobility. We agreed to another extension, through April 29th, because of this. If the company doesn’t continue working with CWA, you will see a change in strategy.

Pay:

Are we getting a cost of living raise this year? How will AT&T keep up with the rising cost of living and inflation as costs keep rising and wages have not kept up? (This was discussed on the March 23 Mobility Town Hall Call.)

We have heard you loud and clear in the bargaining survey: Pay is the number one issue for Mobility workers right now. It’s getting harder and harder to pay bills and get by. We are fighting for a major increase in wages that would keep up with inflation.

What is the specific number for the wage increases we are asking for? 

While CWA cannot publicly discuss details from the bargaining sessions, we can say this:  For years, CWA has negotiated wage increases in line with the Consumer Price Index, which was up 7.9% in February, and March just came out as an 8.4% increase. We are asking for wage increases to match this so you can continue to afford to live your life and provide for your families.

Where does the company stand about raising our hourly pay to reflect the parts of the country we live in? 

Costs for the basics in life are up everywhere in 2022. We are not discussing geography as a determining factor in wages. Keep in mind that this could cause wages to go down in some areas as well as go up in others. We see this inflation is affecting everyone.

If we are considered essential workers, why wasn't it reflected in our pay?  

Telecom workers have traditionally been essential workers. AT&T Mobility did pay bonus money at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, but ended it too soon, and they are now refusing to agree to quarantine language to care for future health care emergencies.

Will IHX Employees lose any pay that they’re currently earning? (This was discussed on the March 23 Mobility Town Hall Call.)

They will absolutely not lose any pay.

I am bilingual and I work at a store where I am the only bilingual worker, but I get no added pay. What are we doing about that? (This was discussed on the March 23 Mobility Town Hall Call.)

A pay differential for bilingual workers exists for call center workers, but we have not had any success in getting a pay differential for retail workers at this point. We are still pushing to make this happen.

Are they increasing the hourly cap based off of the economic inflation currently? 

We are bargaining to increase wages, but so far AT&T Mobility refused to offer us anything close to keeping up with today’s inflation.

Are we doing anything to increase the wage cap for long-term RSCs? 

We have proposals on the table to increase the wage table in addition to the general wage increase.

We are given extra duties without extra pay. What are we doing about this? 

For Retail Sales Consultants, we are proposing improved Sales Relief pay language for the time spent on non-sales duties.

Bonuses are being hit when customers have repeat calls for sales and service. Is this being addressed in bargaining? 

Our way to prevent lost bonuses is to bargain more into the base pay and leave less compensation at the company’s discretion.

Striking: 

Is a strike a possibility?

A strike is a tool we can use to get a fair and equitable contract. Is a strike a possibility in this bargaining? Yes, and if things are headed that way, you will know. If we need to, we will let the contract expire, and take a strike vote. If this happens, we need you to send a clear message to the company that you are willing to strike. Make sure your supervisors see our mobilization activities and know that everyone at your work location is ready to strike if necessary - this will move the company at the table and serve to prevent a strike.

How can we ramp up mobilization with so many members working from home? 

Mobilization does not only have to be things like large rallies. For a Work from Home service rep, any show of solidarity you do with your coworkers, like typing in red font, using a red or CWA zoom background in meetings, or emails to the bosses demanding a fair contract (using personal email addresses, NOT AT&T email addresses), is a great way to mobilize. There are endless things we can do to show we are communicating and planning together, and this is the winning playbook. 

If we go on strike, when would that happen and/or would we have a heads up? 

You will know when the time has come to start talking about striking when you hear from CWA that we are conducting a strike vote, which is the first step.

Point System & Benefits:

Is there any plan to work the point system and attendance into negotiations?

The year-long wait for points to roll off is ridiculous.  We have proposals on the bargaining table regarding improvement in the attendance policy.

Are our benefits going to get better? 

We are looking to keep costs down and improve the plans and options.

Working Conditions:

I want to know if there are any discussions about working in hazardous conditions. (This was discussed on the March 23 Mobility Town Hall Call.)

We are working hard to get extra pay for the hazardous duties. Additional training and updated safety measures are needed. The company has been put on notice that extra job assignments must be compensated. 

Authorized Retailers: 

How is the Retail to Authorized Retail ratio in the new contract working out?

We realize that this is an important issue for our RSC members and we are pushing to have AT&T Mobility keep COR stores as a matter of job security that will also help them protect their brand from bad service at Authorized Retail stores.

Work from Home: 

I work at home. How is the union making it fair to work at home compared to working at the call center? (This was discussed on the March 23 Mobility Town Hall Call.)

Call center workers working from home are doing the same work as in-person workers, but are subsidizing AT&T’s business costs because they are responsible for setting up an office in their home, paying for internet costs, etc. We’re working to bargain for an initial office setup stipend and also a monthly stipend to cover costs.

Will we be able to continue to work from home or be forced to return to the call center? 

Those who work in a brick and mortar call center job will be asked to return to the center at some time. The current Memorandum of Agreement regarding temporary Work from Home expires at the end of September 2022.

What is the Union's position on work from home?

We represent both Service Reps in the brick & mortar centers and those who work at home in the virtual centers.

Does AT&T have a plan to close call centers and make us all work from home? 

AT&T has not proposed moving every one to Work from Home. In fact, we still have the Call Share Memorandum of Agreement that prevents any closings of centers, whether virtual or brick and mortar, or involuntary surplus of reps while the company is not sending enough calls into Orange Centers to meet the negotiated percentage, which we are proposing to increase in this bargaining.

Other: 

What are we doing to stop the inside techs from doing outside work? 

Both the Wireless Tech and RNOC titles are on the same wage table, and are similar so that the company may voluntarily loan either tech if they need to on a temporary basis.  

Any layoffs heading to wireless? 

CWA has not been notified of layoffs. 

Can we fight for a DirecTV discount? 

DirecTV is a separate company now and so far there has not been any discounts offered to replace the ones taken away.

Are you ALL IN for a fair contract at AT&T Mobility? Be sure to tell us how!