AT&T has reached a tentative labor agreement with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, putting an end to the workers’ strike that began last month. The company was accused of engaging in unfair labor practices during ongoing negotiations and tensions were high among workers who did not appreciate the company’s tactics. After extensive negotiations, the AT&T workers returned to work on September 16—30 days after the day the strike began in full force.
Now that the CWA strike has been resolved, workers at AT&T Southeast and AT&T West can expect to see wage increases over the next five years along with a new healthcare agreement to support them.
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AT&T Reaches Tentative Labor Agreement in the Southeast and West
The tentative CWA and AT&T settlement covers technicians, customer service representatives, and workers in charge of setting up and maintaining the residential and business wireline telecommunications network for the organization. The main points of negotiation revolved around the terms for the wage hikes and healthcare benefits for workers.
The current AT&T labor agreement includes wage increases of 19.33% across the board for workers, with an additional 3% increase expected for wire technicians and utility operators. The healthcare agreement also states that the healthcare premium for the worker will be kept steady for the first year of the contract. It will then be lowered in the second and third years before increasing moderately again for the last two years left in the contract.
“We are pleased to announce that we’ve reached 2 tentative agreements with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The first is in District 9 in the West, which comes within days of getting back to the negotiating table to constructively reach a new deal. The second is in District 3 in the Southeast, bringing the work stoppage to an end on Sept. 16.”
—Jeff McElfresh, Chief Operating Officer
According to AT&T, the labor agreement with the CWA District 3 in the Southeast includes a 5-year term that will impact over 15,000 employees. The scope of the roles will primarily include “work in technician, call center, machine operator, and other customer service roles in AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, and TN.” The company also clarified that it has a 4-year agreement with the CWA District 9 in the West. This deal will cover 8,400 employees in similar roles in CA and NV. The new agreement also includes some improvements to overtime and scheduling, as per the CWA.
CWA Strike Resolved, Workers Return to Their Posts
Contract negotiations began earlier this year, but there were issues right from the start. The CWA stated that AT&T had refused to send someone who could take contract decisions to the bargaining table, stalling the progress that could be made during these discussions. Over 17,000 workers went on strike on August 16 to protest against the unfair labor practices, with the union claiming that the organization was refusing to bargain in good faith.
The union even filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over the AT&T representative’s refusal to effectively bargain, but the telecommunication company claimed they had “been engaged in substantive bargaining since day 1.”
“Nobody out here wants to be on strike, the company doesn’t want us on strike, I mean, let’s bring somebody to the table that can make a decision, and let’s get back to work. Customers are suffering right now, I’ve got 302 people just in the Baton Rouge area, and we’ve got about 20-30 managers trying to do the job of 300 people right now,” CWA Baton Rouge area president Dwaine Henderson had said in a statement when the strike was ongoing.
The CWA District 9 and AT&T had reached a settlement earlier in September, but union members had voted to reject the terms of the agreement, finding it insufficient to meet their needs. AT&T returned to the negotiation table and was able to reach a satisfactory deal with AT&T workers who returned to their positions on September 15.
In a statement on the union webpage, CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt stated, “We are incredibly proud of our members and thank CWA members, retirees, and allies across the country for the solidarity that has sustained us through these difficult negotiations. Their willingness to make sacrifices in order to win major improvements in their contract not just for themselves, but for future members is truly inspiring.”
Such strikes and union efforts have been witnessed in other industries like aviation and hospitality. These labor agreements set the stage for future demands of the same caliber within and outside their industries and are hence impactful in more ways than one.
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