AT&T Workers Nationwide Escalate Southeast Strike in Major Cities

Stationed Outside AT&T Mobility Stores, AT&T Workers Ask Customers to Demand Company Bargain in Good Faith with Their Southern Union Brothers & Sisters

NATIONWIDE – As more than 17,000 AT&T workers mark their third week on strike across nine states in the Southeast, AT&T workers and other members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) escalated their demands today outside AT&T Mobility retail stores. In a show of solidarity, the workers and supporters amplified the message of their union siblings in the Southeast by taking their message directly to AT&T’s customers nationwide.

As part of the handbilling action, AT&T workers and CWA members distributed leaflets outside of high-traffic AT&T Mobility stores in Washington, D.C., and New York. With plans to expand to dozens of other cities over the coming days, these workers are amplifying the strike of their union siblings in the Southeast by informing customers and the larger public that AT&T is failing to bargain a fair contract for its dedicated workforce. Workers also asked customers to sign their petition calling on AT&T CEO John Stankey to respect his employees and bargain for a fair contract.

The action comes one day after AT&T negotiators put forward what they are calling a “final offer,” despite not having previously presented a complete economic package or health care proposal.

“AT&T’s negotiators presented our bargaining committee with their 145-page so-called ‘final’ offer yesterday at 6 p.m. Prior to that, they had not formally presented a complete economic package, and we had seen nothing on health care. When they presented the proposal at the bargaining table, they stated that they were willing to continue bargaining, and we provided a counter proposal at 11 p.m.,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. “The misleading message AT&T sent to CWA members this morning about their proposal and the status of bargaining amounts to direct dealing and is more evidence of the company’s continued bad faith. This type of conduct is what led to these workers going out on strike, and it does nothing more than aggravate the situation.”

AT&T workers on strike include over 17,000 technicians, customer service representatives, and others who install, maintain, and support AT&T’s network in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Workers are demanding AT&T return to the bargaining table in good faith so they can secure a fair contract with higher wages, affordable healthcare, and improvements to work-life balance for the workers subject to mandatory forced overtime.

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