Billionaire Paul Singer's hedge fund Elliott Management has bought shares of AT&T and launched a campaign arguing for the company to cut costs by laying off workers.
CWAers briefed members of Congress and their staff this week on how the recent rise of stock buybacks is harming workers, communities, and the whole economy.
Research compiled by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) estimates that more than 30,000 family-supporting jobs will be at risk of elimination or a reduction in wages and benefits if AT&T’s leadership engages in the restructuring and divestitures proposed by Elliott Management and its CEO Paul Singer.
Just weeks after billionaire CEO Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corporation announced that it had acquired about 1% of AT&T and laid out plans to extract profits from the company by cutting jobs and selling off critical assets, AT&T announced its intention to sell off wireless and wireline operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to Liberty Latin America, a company with a history of union-busting and job cuts.
Elliott Management purchased about 1% of AT&T's stock and announced plans last month to extract profits from the company by cutting jobs and selling off critical assets.
The new agreements provide wage increases of 13.25% over the life of the contracts, pension and 401(k) plan enhancements, improved job security and additional customer service positions.
In two letters publicly released today, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) is urging AT&T’s CEO, board of directors and largest investors and Business Roundtable to put a stop to controversial proposals from Elliott Management that CWA says will cut jobs and destroy long-term value and are the “archetype ploy of vulture capitalists.”
This week, Elliott Management announced its plan to extract profits from AT&T by eliminating jobs and sending work to low-wage contractors, further enriching its billionaire founder and CEO Paul Singer. Adoption of these proposals will harm AT&T’s workers, customers and long-term investors, and the Communications Workers of America is firmly opposed to this strategy.
As AT&T and other companies have cut thousands of U.S. customer service jobs, they continue to offshore work and rely on overseas contractors like Alorica.
The new five-year agreement includes wage increases, pension and 401(k) plan enhancements, improved job security and additional customer service positions.
Negotiators for the Communications Workers of America have reached a “handshake deal” with AT&T Southeast on a new collective bargaining agreement for more than 20,000 AT&T employees in nine states. CWA members returned to work at 1 p.m. EDT today after company representatives with authority to bargain came to the table on Monday.
A delegation of AT&T call center workers who are members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union met with leaders from the Unified Employees of Alorica (UEA) in Manila Friday in a show of solidarity.
Communications Workers of America members at AT&T Southeast plan to go on strike at midnight over unfair labor practices committed by management during negotiations for a new contract.
AT&T’s contract covering 22,000 workers in the Southeast region represented by CWA expired at midnight on Saturday, increasing the possibility of a strike, which union members have authorized by a 95% vote.
Communications Workers of America members in the Midwest and at AT&T’s national Legacy T unit have ratified four-year agreements covering 14,000 workers. The new agreements provide wage increases of 10.5% over the life of the contracts, cap health care costs and preserve jobs.
In the final hours before the current contract was set to expire on Saturday night, negotiators for CWA and AT&T agreed to extend the contract in the Southeast region for one week, until midnight on Saturday, August 10.
The report today shows that AT&T has eliminated 27,828 jobs since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, cutting 4,500 jobs in Q2 of this year alone.
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