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CWA to 14 Western Governors: Qwest Takeover of US West Would Further Undermine Phone Service, Slash

The head of the 630,000-member Communications Workers of America (CWA) warned the governors of the 14 states served by US West that the proposed takeover of their phone company by Qwest Communications would drain jobs and investment from the region and further imperil already-declining service quality.

In a letter to the governors, CWA President Morton Bahr pointed out that the Qwest bid for US West proposes to squeeze more than $7 billion from the deal through "cuts in network operations and maintenance, sales and marketing, billing, customer service, back office support and in procurement efficiencies" according to Qwest's 8-K filing with the SEC. Another $4 billion in projected "synergies" would come from reduced investment in network and other infrastructure.

By contrast, Bahr noted, Global Crossing's proposed merger with US West, supported by CWA, calls for minimal ($1 billion) in operating expense cuts from the combination, with plans to grow revenues by $36 billion through new investment in technology and global business expansion.

"US West already has difficulties meeting its responsibility to provide quality local telephone service, and Qwest's plan to cut operations will only exacerbate those problems," Bahr stated. He cited understaffing for problems that have caused public service commissions in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Minnesota to call US West to task for poor service performance. The company has cut employment by 10 percent since 1992. In the past three years alone, Bahr noted, US West has been fined $12 million for missed performance standards, and millions more has been refunded to customers for service quality problems.

Qwest's strategy, which CWA has characterized as "a throwback to the days of corporate raiding," would lead to further deterioration of the US West network, Bahr stated. He urged the governors "to join in our public call that any entity hoping to acquire or merge with US West must have a strategy based on investment and growth, not on cutbacks, must be accountable for providing top quality service, and must demonstrate that the needs of consumers carry as much weight in business deliberations as those of shareholders."
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CWA represents 36,000 workers at US West in 14 states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

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