CWA: No strike yet against AT&T

The Communications Workers of America today said its 20,000 AT&T Mobility workers will report to work as usual, despite the union’s labor agreement expiring over the weekend and negotiators failing to hammer out a new one. Though the union has threatened an agreement if no compromise was reached, CWA leaders kept the strike card in their pocket “for now.”

Last week AT&T Mobility employees in the CWA voted 85% in favor of a strike if no deal was reached addressing their concerns over higher wages, working conditions and health benefits. The current labor agreement expired at midnight Saturday. Both sides agreed to a 24-hour extension, but as of midnight last night a deal still had not been reached. The union said it requested a 30-day extension of the current agreement due to the complexity of the negotiations and the number of issues that CWA workers wanted addressed, but AT&T officials refused the request.

AT&T spokesman Walt Sharp said AT&T turned down the request because negotiations have been ongoing for more than two weeks. “We’ve negotiated every day since Jan. 22,” Sharp said. “We felt that was more than enough time to reach an agreement.” Sharp also pointed out that even though AT&T had agreed to extend the negotiating window until midnight, the CWA cut off negotiations at 2:30 p.m. Sunday even though AT&T had a new deal on the table.

On its union-negotiations Web site, AT&T has posted highlights from the latest four-year deal it has offered the CWA, which includes an annual 2% increase at the top and bottom of its wage scales for the next four years. According to AT&T, the average customer service representative earning a salary of $24,440 would see a 40.5% increase in salary over the life of the contract, while a retail sales consultant earning $26,364 a year (excluding commissions) would see his or her base salary rise 21% over the same period.

Sharp added that in the current economy, companies that aren’t folding outright are freezing salaries, slashing employee roles and suspending 401(k)s. In some companies, workers are volunteering to take pay or benefits cuts to keep their companies afloat, he said. Given that climate, AT&T’s offer to guarantee salary increases and maintain benefits is exceptionally generous, Sharp said.

The CWA, however, said AT&T is a profitable company even during the economic downturn and therefore “should be a leader in maintaining quality jobs.”