New Report: AT&T’s Second Tier Staffing Undermines Service for Customers

WASHINGTON – Today, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union released a new report exposing how AT&T is driving away its experienced and skilled technicians with low pay and abusive job practices, making it harder for customers to get the high-quality service they deserve.

The report, “Wiring Failure: How Low Pay and Overwork Undermine AT&T Technicians and Customers,” details AT&T’s struggles with retention of highly skilled Wire Technicians, who install broadband in homes and businesses and make repairs in the event of outages. CWA surveyed over 600 Wire Technicians in May of this year and found that 70% are considering leaving AT&T and 65% have applied for other jobs in the past year. Turnover for Wire Technicians has been three times higher than other technicians over the past five years.

The “Wire Technician” job title was created twenty years ago by AT&T as a lower-paid, “second tier” technician position as an alternative to the “Core” technicians who have bargained for decades with AT&T over pay, benefits, and working conditions. AT&T has grown increasingly reliant on the position, which now makes up a third of all technician positions across the country. These technicians are the face of the company for many AT&T customers, providing new installation and repair service in customers’ homes and businesses.

Major findings of the report include:

• 73% of surveyed Wire Technicians cite low pay rates as the number one issue contributing to low job satisfaction and turnover. Nationally, these technicians are paid 8% less on average than the Bureau of Labor Statistics average for Telecom Equipment Installers and Repairers.
• Across the metro areas in Southeast states where the greatest number of Wire Techs are employed, the highest-paid Wire Techs are paid between 2 and 26% below the market average for Telecom Equipment Installers and Repairers according to the BLS.
• 70% of respondents said that unreasonable expectations for time needed to complete work assignments were a primary contributor to overwork and poor work-life balance.

In addition to below-market pay, Wire Technicians report that AT&T’s abusive scheduling practices drive away technicians by making it impossible to balance their work life with family and personal responsibilities. Wire Technicians work under schedules without consecutive days off and with only one weekend off every month.

One Wire Technician in Georgia reported, “Not having enough pay or time to build a family or provide for a family…they wonder why turnover rates are so high; it's because you have to have a roommate or second job to be able to afford to live.”

AT&T’s low-road employment practices hurt service and our communities. Customers suffer when high Technician turnover leads to low levels of staffing, resulting in late or missed appointment windows, or when experienced, trained Technicians leave the job. It often takes years of on-the-job experience to gain the expertise needed to efficiently address the range of unique issues Wire Technicians experience on the job.

AT&T has committed to building millions of new fiber-optic connections over the next year and will have the opportunity to take advantage of new federal subsidies from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand its network to underserved areas. AT&T must invest in its workers in order to serve these new customers and ensure communities across the country can be connected.

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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