About 17,000 AT&T workers represented by the Communications Workers of America went on strike across the Southeast on Friday afternoon, including employees in Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile.
The union accuses AT&T of “surface bargaining” in its latest round of contract talks with three CWA units.
The strike involves technicians, customer service representatives and others who install, maintain, and support AT&T’s residential and business network in Alabama and eight other states in the Southeast, according to CWA.
Across Alabama, the union also represents workers in Anniston, Gadsden, Jasper, Montgomery, Ashland, Sheffield and Tuscaloosa.
The striking bargaining units are AT&T Southeast, AT&T Utility Operations and AT&T Billing.
In the Southeast on Friday afternoon, about 17,000 AT&T employees, including those in Huntsville, Birmingham, and Mobile, went on strike under the banner of the Communications Workers of America.
In a Friday letter to the local presidents of AT&T Southeast, CWA president Claude Cummings Jr. accepted a strike against the telecom for unfair labor practices after receiving a complaint from the National Labor Relations Board. In its most recent round of contract negotiations with three CWA units, the union charges AT&T of engaging in “surface bargaining.”. The act of sending delegates to the table with no real goal of achieving anything is known as “surface bargaining.”.
August marked the expiration of the CWA’s previous five-year contract with AT&T. 4, according to Mustafa Hassan, president of Huntsville’s CWA Local 3905, which employs more than 250 organized laborers.
“We hope we don’t have to cross this road, but we’re always ready for something like this,” he remarked. “It simply reached a stage where there was essentially no motion. “.
The country has seen a coronavirus pandemic and skyrocketing inflation since the last contract was ratified in 2019, driving up the cost of everything from groceries to housing. The union is calling for higher wages, cost-of-living adjustments, and more job security for employees.
“This is AT&T, a multibillion-dollar company, and they frequently boast and gloat to the public and to their shareholders about the profits they generate, so we feel like what we’re asking for is not unreasonable,” Hassan stated.
According to CWA, technicians, customer service agents, and other individuals who install, maintain, and support AT&T’s residential and business network in Alabama and eight other Southeast states are involved in the strike.
Workers in Anniston, Gadsden, Jasper, Montgomery, Ashland, Sheffield, and Tuscaloosa are also represented by the union throughout the state of Alabama. AT&T Southeast, AT&T Utility Operations, and AT&T Billing are the striking bargaining units.
A CWA spokesperson told AL.com that AT&T and the western units of the CWA have recently reached a tentative bargaining agreement, but the southeastern units are governed by a different contract.
Given that this is taking place in a union setting, Hassan suggested that others take notice. Perhaps those who work in an industry where raises are rare or who feel underappreciated for their efforts could identify with what we’re going through.
