AT&T Southeast workers from multiple states went on strike for a month to urge AT&T to engage in fair negotiations, as their previous contract expired in early August. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) reported that the workers were determined to push for good faith bargaining.
More than 25,500 members of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) in eleven states have given their approval to robust new contract agreements with AT&T Southeast and AT&T West. The contract for AT&T Southeast encompasses around 17,000 employees in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
AT&T workers in the Southeast region will experience a significant wage increase of more than 19% over the next five years, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA). This wage increase is applicable to the dedicated employees who are responsible for installing, maintaining, and supporting AT&T’s network.
CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt expressed his gratitude towards the members of the organization who showed remarkable solidarity and made significant sacrifices during the 30-day period. He emphasized that their efforts were crucial in the fight for a fair contract that they truly deserved. Honeycutt further added that the support gained from the members would enable AT&T workers to play a vital role in bridging the digital divide in the country. With billions of dollars in federal funds allocated for a massive broadband rollout across nine states, this contract ensures that both customers and workers will receive the necessary support as AT&T pursues and hopefully secures new projects associated with the funding.
The CWA announced that the contracts for both AT&T Southeast and AT&T West have made noteworthy enhancements to overtime and scheduling practices. This addresses a major concern for the technicians responsible for installing and troubleshooting AT&T fiber networks in residential and commercial locations.
According to the technicians, they frequently mentioned that they were given unrealistic timeframes to complete their work assignments. They also complained about the excessive number of tasks being added to their queue throughout the day, as well as being over-scheduled for weekend shifts. These factors not only affected their work-life balance but also impacted the level and quality of customer service they were able to provide to AT&T customers.
CWA members in the Southeast went on strike on August 16th because AT&T refused to negotiate in good faith and failed to send representatives with decision-making authority to the bargaining table, according to the members.
During the month-long strike, the CWA highlighted that AT&T faced significant operational and financial challenges. The absence of customer service representatives and installation and maintenance technicians put a strain on the company, leading to a decrease in its ability to handle outages and repairs.
