After working without a contract in place since Aug. 8, Communications Workers of America union employees reached a tentative agreement with AT&T related to wireline operations in the Southeast.
Announced Oct. 20, the pending contract also covers contracts for union members working for AT&T Billing Southeast and Southeast Utility Operations. All told, the tentative contract covers some 24,000 union workers in Alabama, Florida,Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina andTennessee.
“Our goal throughout these negotiations has been to work cooperatively with the union to bargain a fair and balanced contract that will allow us to continue to provide excellent union-represented careers with wages and benefits that are among the best in the country, while controlling costs and maintaining the flexibility the company needs to operate in an extremely competitive industry,” Mark Royse, EVP for labor relations at AT&T, said in a statement. “This agreement achieves that goal.”
AT&T is holding off on a public release of the contract terms in deference to CWA members who still need to take a ratification vote.
CWA posted a very brief update on its website.
“CWA bargaining teams have reached tentative agreements in negotiations with AT&T Southeast, AT&T Utility Operations and BellSouth Billing on contracts covering a total of 28,000 workers,” the union explained. “Details are being provided to CWA members for ratification votes. The new contracts will provide an improvement in wages, pension safeguards, improvements in job security, a better work/home life balance and many other gains resulting in real economic improvement for workers.”
CWA represents 700,000 workers in private and public sector employment in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico in 1,200 chartered CWA local unions, according to the union. In 10,000 communities across the United States, CWA members work in telecommunications and information technology, the airline industry, news media, broadcast and cable television, education, health care and public service, law enforcement, manufacturing and other fields, the company says.
