ATLANTA, Ga. (WSAV) – AT&T Southeast’s employees from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) have initiated a strike to protest against the labor practices conducted by the management during the negotiations for a new union contract, as stated in their press release.
According to a press release from CWA, more than 17,000 technicians, customer service representatives, and other personnel responsible for installing, maintaining, and supporting AT&T’s residential and business wireline telecommunications network in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee will be participating in the strike.
CWA has taken action against AT&T by filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. The charge accuses AT&T of not engaging in good faith bargaining and merely going through the motions of bargaining without any intention of reaching an agreement. Furthermore, the charge alleges that AT&T has failed to send representatives to the bargaining table with the authority to make decisions. The charges also address AT&T’s alleged refusal to negotiate on important matters and the company’s failure to honor agreements made during bargaining.
“Our union engaged in negotiations with the sincere intention of reaching a fair contract,” expressed CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt in a press release. “However, we encountered company representatives at the bargaining table who were unable to clarify their own proposals and lacked the necessary bargaining authority, as legally obligated, to negotiate in good faith. Our members are eager to continue serving our customers with the highest level of quality. It is imperative that AT&T begins negotiating in good faith, enabling us to progress towards a mutually beneficial contract.”
