FRANKFORT, Ky. – Following a 30-day strike, union members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) negotiated a tentative agreement with AT&T Southeast, which resulted in the union’s members returning to work on Monday in Kentucky and eight other Southeastern states.
In Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, 17,000 technicians, customer service agents, and other employees install, maintain, and support AT&T’s wireline telecommunications network for homes and businesses. This is covered by the new contract.
The five-year agreement includes a 19.33 percent general wage rise, with an extra three percent raise for Wire Technicians and Utility Operations.
Wages and health care costs were major problems at the bargaining table. Health care rates are kept constant in the first year of the health care agreement, then reduced in the second and third years, with small monthly increases in the last two years.
Vice President Richard Honeycutt of CWA District 3, which covers the Southeast, issued a statement that included the following:
We extend our sincere gratitude to CWA members, retirees, and supporters nationwide for their unwavering support during these challenging negotiations. We are immensely proud of our people.
It is quite motivating to see how eager they are to give up things in order to secure significant contract changes for not only themselves but also for upcoming members.
“We are aware that the strike has also caused difficulties for our clients. We are excited to resume our mission of maintaining the safety and connectivity of our communities.
The CWA bargaining team also achieved a preliminary agreement in separate talks on a four-year contract at AT&T West, which will include 8,500 employees in Nevada and California.
Before holding ratification votes in each region to give each union member a say on the proposed union contracts, union members at AT&T Southeast and AT&T West will convene to discuss the tentative agreements. Ratification is being recommended by the bargaining committees in both districts.