A delicate balance

Labor contract negotiations between incumbent local exchange carriers and the Communications Workers of America demonstrate how telecom competition is hitting home for the rank and file.

Most of the labor agreements settled in the past few weeks give workers and management greater flexibility and room to grow. That's a smart move, and no one is arguing about it. After all, both LEC management and the rank and file know they must prepare for an all-out battle with new, nimble competitors that employ non-union work forces. Any player that operates without a basis of mutual respect will lose.

U S West, however, is a notable exception. It had returned to the bargaining table with the CWA at press time in the second week of a nationally publicized strike over wages and health benefits.

U S West officials insist that their requests must be met if the carrier is to thrive on its own. The CWA is emboldened by the fact that it is one of the few unions that is growing, and despite virtually no competition in the local residential service market, hiring is up because of heavy demand for second and third phone lines. The union represents 400,000 workers at AT&T, Lucent Technologies, GTE and the regional Bell operating companies.

The standoff raises this question: Is gradual or sudden change the answer?

U S West is seeking a "pay for performance" program that would give workers about a 20% bonus if they meet certain goals, such as making same-day service repair calls and getting an installation right on the first try. The carrier also wants to drop one of two free health care plans it offers workers, which the union says will cost a family $840 more per year to keep its existing coverage.

U S West counters that it is one of the few companies that offers health care coverage with no premium payments. But it acknowledges that it will address the union's complaint that it forces employees to work overtime. The CWA claims that thousands of its members regularly work 60- to 70-hour weeks, including six-day weeks.

No other carrier sought give-backs to the extent of U S West.

Bell Atlantic, for example, reached a settlement after a two-day strike and after renegotiating contracts with the pre-merger Bell Atlantic and the former Nynex.

Among the changes was the carrier's agreement to transfer customer account work at a Bell Atlantic Plus center-a non-union subsidiary-to the telephone companies, where customer service representatives are unionized. It also will award cash payments to workers in certain bargaining units who meet agreed-upon customer service standards. Moreover, it will include union workers in fast-growing areas such as data network integration, digital subscriber lines, the Internet, video services and the service and sale of bundled services.

The contract runs for two years, rather than the usual three, so the carrier can keep up with the industry's quicker pace.

Similarly, BellSouth, where the average worker tenure is 22 years, agreed to let its long-distance company unionize. It also adopted a performance incentive plan and set up a joint board to oversee operational changes that may be needed to improve customer service.

GTE, which recently negotiated a three-year contract covering its Southwest region, adopted a new partnership model in July that encourages company and union collaboration on issues vital to customer satisfaction. The pact includes the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers as well as the CWA. The contract calls for incentive pay and classification upgrades.

SBC Communications, which is seeking mergers with Ameritech and Southern New England Telecommunications, held early bargaining talks that resulted in an agreement providing for substantial pension increases. Ameritech also reached a settlement before its contract expired. The RBOC agreed to pension improvements and union recognition in its cellular operations based on a majority of the workers' support rather than an election sanctioned by the National Labor Relations Board.

Workers were on strike last week against SNET over wages and health benefits, however.

The labor vs. management go-round is a tough one. Although the telecom labor settlements are great news for the short term, the situation at U S West provides a truer picture of reality when competition finally hits. No one says the future will be easy, or that greater challenges will be welcome.