Late last week, over 17,000 CWA workers across the Southeast went on an unfair labor practice strike in protest against AT&T's bad faith bargaining tactics. CWA District 3 members across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee walked off the job.
On Monday, August 19th, 2024 Teamsters Local 61 Executive Board supported the picket lines of our CWA Local 3601 brothers & sisters in Canton, Asheville & Hendersonville. Local 3601 has about 120 members, making up the entirety of Buncombe, Haywood and Henderson County's technicians who install, support and maintain AT&T's wireline network.
The CWA made the following statement:
"Communications Workers of America (CWA) employed by AT&T Southeast are on strike to protest unfair labor practices committed by management during negotiations for a new union contract.
CWA has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against AT&T for not bargaining in good faith, engaging in surface bargaining, and not sending representatives to the bargaining table with the authority to make decisions. The charges also address the company’s refusal to bargain over mandatory subjects of bargaining and reneging on agreements made in bargaining.
Our union entered into negotiations in a good faith effort to reach a fair contract, but we have been met at the table by company representatives who were unable to explain their own bargaining proposals and did not seem to have the actual bargaining authority required by the legal obligation to bargain in good faith,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. “Our members want to be on the job, providing the quality service that our customers deserve. It’s time for AT&T to start negotiating in good faith so that we can move forward towards a fair contract.
The strike will involve over 17,000 technicians, customer service representatives, and others who install, maintain, and support AT&T’s residential and business wireline telecommunications network in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee."
CWA AT&T Southeast Workers Go on Strike
Late last week, over 17,000 CWA workers across the Southeast went on an unfair labor practice strike in protest against AT&T’s bad faith bargaining tactics. CWA District 3 members in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee walked off the job. Though negotiations began in late June, AT&T has refused to bargain over mandatory subjects and has failed to send a representative with authority to make decisions.
CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. said, “I have been in close contact with CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt, and I have complete faith in our bargaining team. I have told AT&T executives that the striking workers and the bargaining team have my full support. I expect AT&T to treat every member with respect and to send representatives to the table who have authority to bargain and who are serious about bargaining in good faith.”
With customer service representatives and AT&T installation and maintenance technicians on the strike line, the company has resorted to using unqualified subcontractors to keep their network running. “During the strike, AT&T has been sending undertrained managers and contractors to perform highly technical work,” said Honeycutt. “Our members have seen them at work in their communities and documented unsafe practices, including failure to wear proper safety equipment, failure to secure ladders and other equipment, putting the worker and nearby vehicles and pedestrians at risk, and failure to mark work areas with safety cones. We are encouraging members of the public to use extra caution when encountering these worksites.”
The strike has been widely covered by news outlets, including National Public Radio, The Associated Press, and many local news outlets.
The workers have also set up a petition for supporters to sign. Please do so at cwa.org/attse-support.