AT&T, the nation's largest private employer of union labor, has managed to "strike" a deal (pun intended) with Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 9. The tentative deal would institute a new three-year contract for 23,000 employees in California and Nevada. The previous contract with the CWA expired four months ago, along with other four contracts together covering nearly 80,500 workers in AT&T's wireline operations. While a tentative deal has been reached, a full vote of CWA District 9 members will need to be done.According to a press release, CWA District 9 will hold contract explanation meetings with local members on Aug. 17. More information will be made public following membership notification. The mail ratification vote will be completed by September 1. Fun for AT&T: another contract covering 23,000 workers in the former BellSouth area in the Southeast expired Saturday.
While AT&T and CWA District 9 negotiators haven't released details, AT&T has been seeking to have workers shoulder more of the cost of health insurance, across its negotiations in various districts. Just another example of our broken health care system.
