AT&T contract talks snag on health

By Jeffry Scott

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The contract expired between 32,000 AT&T workers in the Southeast and the Communications Workers of America Saturday night, but the land line telephone workers stayed on the job Monday and worked under the old contract as negotiations continued.

The workers had threatened to strike because, among other reasons, they say AT&T is asking them to shoulder a greater percentage of medical expenses in the new contract.

Under the old contract, union employees paid about 8 percent out-of-pocket medical expenses, which is less than one fourth of what the average worker in America pays in medical expenses, said AT&T spokesman Marty Richter.

“Currently these employees, in the shrinking part of our business, have by far the richest health care plans in the company, and among the richest in the entire country,” said Richter.

According to Richter, AT&T has lost more than 20 percent of its wired consumer access lines since the CWA agreed to its last contract three years ago. The southeast region represents workers in Georgia, the Carolinas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

A spokesperson for the CWA in the Southeast could not be reached for comment early Monday, the same day an agreement was announced between AT&T and 23,000 CWA workers in California and Nevada.

Last Friday the telecommunications company and 18,500 CWA Midwest workers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin voted to ratify a new 3-year contract. The old contract had expired April 4 and workers had worked under its terms while negotiations continued.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Midwest contract had the employees paying more in premiums, deductibles and coinsurance, yet CWA said the deal safeguarded core health benefits. It also provided for wage increases of 3 percent for each of the first two years and 2.75 percent for the last.

Richter said Monday that AT&T’s latest offer includes a wage increase for each year of the contract, annual pension increases and the continuation of a 401(k) plan “with a generous company match.”