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CWA Response to AT&T Contract Extension Proposal: Statement by Ralph Maly, CWA Vice President for Co
Washington, D.C. – AT&T's proposed contract extension is long on rhetoric and very short on workers' concerns about jobs as the company moves ahead with its breakup.
A company press release issued today, Feb. 7, talks in glowing terms about the proposal giving workers "greater stability in wages and benefits until the economy and the telecommunications industry show signs of improvement."
But in a Feb. 6 letter to CWA officers, AT&T stressed that "this is a time of downsizing, not job growth" and indicated that there would be further reductions in both union represented and management jobs for 2002. Pension and wage increases – the only items addressed by AT&T's extension proposal – don't mean much when you don't have a job.
1) AT&T's proposal for termination benefits is a raid on the workers' pension fund. AT&T proposes to use our pension plan to make severance payments to employees, instead of using operating budget funds as is currently required. CWA strongly opposes this.
CWA's current contract with AT&T provides for severance payments to workers in the event of a layoff, based on years of service, and AT&T's proposal claims it would increase, by 65 to 500 percent, the amount of employee severance payments, "adding to employees' financial security and inflexibility." But in fact, it's a blatant grab of workers' pension and retirement money. This raid would actually enable the company to cut jobs and push downsizing costs onto workers. Workers would be financing their own job loss.
2) CWA is very concerned about jobs at AT&T, and we have made it clear to the company that our members want to keep their jobs – now and in the future – and want AT&T to succeed. We have pointed out to AT&T that much of the work now contracted out – resulting in quality service problems for the company – or shifted to management should be performed by AT&T employees, but AT&T has not addressed this issue.
3) CWA has stressed that we are interested in reaching a fair and comprehensive agreement, one that responds to our members' concerns about jobs and job security. We have offered to begin bargaining immediately with AT&T, rather than wait until the scheduled opening of talks on March 11, with our contract expiring May 11. We have made a counteroffer to the proposal offered by AT&T today.
Today's proposal suggests that the company would like to avoid serious labor issues while it's finalizing the deal with Comcast that it expects to complete by the end of the year. This pending Comcast deal has resulted in the core AT&T company being saddled with $20 billion in debt from the purchase of Tele-Communications Inc. and Media One.
CWA members are keenly interested in the long term success of the core company that will remain after the merger is completed. We insist that AT&T focus on these serious concerns.
A company press release issued today, Feb. 7, talks in glowing terms about the proposal giving workers "greater stability in wages and benefits until the economy and the telecommunications industry show signs of improvement."
But in a Feb. 6 letter to CWA officers, AT&T stressed that "this is a time of downsizing, not job growth" and indicated that there would be further reductions in both union represented and management jobs for 2002. Pension and wage increases – the only items addressed by AT&T's extension proposal – don't mean much when you don't have a job.
1) AT&T's proposal for termination benefits is a raid on the workers' pension fund. AT&T proposes to use our pension plan to make severance payments to employees, instead of using operating budget funds as is currently required. CWA strongly opposes this.
CWA's current contract with AT&T provides for severance payments to workers in the event of a layoff, based on years of service, and AT&T's proposal claims it would increase, by 65 to 500 percent, the amount of employee severance payments, "adding to employees' financial security and inflexibility." But in fact, it's a blatant grab of workers' pension and retirement money. This raid would actually enable the company to cut jobs and push downsizing costs onto workers. Workers would be financing their own job loss.
2) CWA is very concerned about jobs at AT&T, and we have made it clear to the company that our members want to keep their jobs – now and in the future – and want AT&T to succeed. We have pointed out to AT&T that much of the work now contracted out – resulting in quality service problems for the company – or shifted to management should be performed by AT&T employees, but AT&T has not addressed this issue.
3) CWA has stressed that we are interested in reaching a fair and comprehensive agreement, one that responds to our members' concerns about jobs and job security. We have offered to begin bargaining immediately with AT&T, rather than wait until the scheduled opening of talks on March 11, with our contract expiring May 11. We have made a counteroffer to the proposal offered by AT&T today.
Today's proposal suggests that the company would like to avoid serious labor issues while it's finalizing the deal with Comcast that it expects to complete by the end of the year. This pending Comcast deal has resulted in the core AT&T company being saddled with $20 billion in debt from the purchase of Tele-Communications Inc. and Media One.
CWA members are keenly interested in the long term success of the core company that will remain after the merger is completed. We insist that AT&T focus on these serious concerns.