Forged Fiber Technicians and Facility Specialists Launch Multi-State Picket Ahead of AT&T’s 50% Sale of Network to BlackRock and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

NATIONWIDE – On Tuesday, Fiber Technicians and Facility Specialists at Forged Fiber, AT&T’s newest wholesale fiber joint venture, will launch informational pickets across seven states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Utah, and Washington), to demand a fair contract. At stake in negotiations is AT&T’s attempt to outsource critical infrastructure work to non-union contractors, despite directly employing hundreds of highly-trained unionized technicians who transferred from Lumen Technologies when AT&T acquired its fiber business earlier this year. These pickets come just as AT&T is seeking regulatory approval to sell a 50% stake in Forged Fiber to BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.¹

AT&T employs thousands of frontline technicians across the United States that are represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). These workers’ expertise and commitment to their local communities has enabled AT&T to become the nation's largest fiber internet provider. The Company is looking to continue this success by reaching 60 million fiber locations by 2030.² AT&T appears to be turning towards joint ventures (JVs) that rely on contractors to reach a growing share of these locations, with nearly 13% of total locations served by JVs as of the second quarter of this year.³

Forged Fiber 37 is AT&T’s second wholesale fiber JV. The first, Gigapower, launched as a partnership with BlackRock in May 2023. Gigapower relies on an entirely subcontracted frontline technician workforce for its deployments.⁴ CWA has repeatedly raised concerns about Gigapower’s contractor-based business model with public officials and investors. In July 2026, CWA published a report analyzing Gigapower’s first phase of deployment based on corporate disclosures, municipal public records, litigation documents, and field investigations. CWA found that Gigapower’s first phase has been plagued with deployment delays, missed buildout targets, and ongoing high price tag litigation with former contractor partners.

“AT&T has achieved success as a union company, with experienced and highly skilled union labor,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister. “But instead of building on a successful union model, AT&T seems determined to replicate its race-to-the-bottom strategy that already failed at Gigapower. Our members at Forged Fiber are demanding that AT&T bargain in good faith and not put our communities and customers at risk by using substandard contracted services.”

Forged Fiber 37 technicians are highly skilled and well-trained infrastructure professionals with years of experience serving their communities. AT&T’s failure to bargain in good faith and attempt to circumvent highly skilled unionized labor degrades workers’ rights and work quality standards that can have serious negative impacts on consumers and public infrastructure. CWA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board in August 2026 alleging that Forged Fiber is refusing to bargain in good faith.⁵

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion