Union Contract for AT&T Workers in Southeast Expires, Potential Strike Looms

ATLANTA – AT&T’s contract covering 22,000 workers in the Southeast region represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) expired at midnight on Saturday, increasing the possibility of a strike, which union members have authorized by a 95% vote. For now, workers will return to work without a contract in place as CWA continues to negotiate for a deal that includes quality healthcare coverage, wage increases, job security and investment in local communities. 

"The contract didn’t have to expire, but it did because AT&T has not been taking our proposals seriously,” said Richard Honeycutt, Vice President of CWA District 3. “For weeks, we have pressed AT&T Southeast to move off of their bargaining demands that will hurt workers, their families, and our communities. We are ready to bargain for a fair and just contract, but we need AT&T Southeast to be ready to do the same.”

AT&T recently reported second quarter profits of $3.7 billion and is projecting a free cash flow of $8.8 billion. Despite promises to use its Tax Cut and Jobs Act windfall to invest in its deterioriating telecomminications network and create jobs, the telecom company continues to cut jobs in the Southeast, devastating workers and upending lives. The recent earnings report shows that AT&T has eliminated 27,828 jobs across the company since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, cutting 4,500 jobs in Q2 of 2019.