17,000 AT&T Workers Go on Strike 17,000 AT&T technicians and call center employees across California and Nevada left work and went on strike this morning in protest over stalled contract negotiations. The workers are protesting at AT&T call centers and offices across California and Nevada, erecting picket lines in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. The CWA says workers have been working without a contract for more than a year, and AT&T has been "illegally" changing their work assignments without negotiation.

The biggest points of contention remains the offshoring of jobs to cheaper overseas call centers, erosion of health benefits, and pension elimination for new hires. Roughly 2,200 DIRECTV satellite and warehouse workers in California and Nevada joined CWA in April 2016 and are currently in negotiations with AT&T for their first contract. "AT&T technicians work around the clock to make sure our customers get the high-quality service they need and depend on, and we are building AT&T’s billions of dollars in profits," said AT&T technician and 17 year employee Robinson Paiz. "We don’t want to let our customers down, but AT&T left us with no other choice. AT&T needs to get serious and honor its contract with us so we can keep servicing our customers." The CWA was quick to point out that AT&T reported $41.8 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 and has posted profits of more than $1 billion a month over the previous 12 months. "While AT&T is extremely profitable, the company has become disconnected from the day to day issues facing workers and customers," complains the union. "Despite the financial success, the company is asking its workers to do more for less -- keeping them from their families with unpredictable overtime, undercutting pay and advancement, offshoring good jobs, and pushing more healthcare costs onto employees. At the same time, customers are paying increasingly higher bills to AT&T for essential services." AT&T has historically had a better track record of avoiding strikes than Verizon, which suffered through a seven week strike last year resulting in a notable loss of revenues and customers due to delayed repair and installation appointments. AT&T says the company continues to work in good faith toward a new contract. "A walkout is not in anybody’s best interest and it's unfortunate that the union chose to do that," AT&T said of the strike when asked for comment. "We're engaged in discussion with the union to get these employees back to work as soon as possible." "A walkout is not in anybody’s best interest and it's unfortunate that the union chose to do that," AT&T said of the strike when asked for comment. "We're engaged in discussion with the union to get these employees back to work as soon as possible."







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Most recommended from 42 comments



ham3843

join:2015-01-15

USA 1 edit 31 recommendations ham3843 Member If you thought customers were unhappy with AT&T before....



The one saving grace of AT&T in my view has always been their linesmen and technicians,

They have been one of THE most important reasons why I have stayed with AT&T instead of leaving, since overall these folks really do work hard to provide the customer with the best service possible and many go the extra mile to get the job done right, and are always professional.



Seriously AT&T you charge a small fortune for your services, no reason why you can't make sure you pay your techs reasonably well, they deserve it. Wait until they start sending out unprepared supervisors and scab techs to their homes and businesses to make installations and repairs!The one saving grace of AT&T in my view has always been their linesmen and technicians,They have been one of THE most important reasons why I have stayed with AT&T instead of leaving, since overall these folks really do work hard to provide the customer with the best service possible and many go the extra mile to get the job done right, and are always professional.Seriously AT&T you charge a small fortune for your services, no reason why you can't make sure you pay your techs reasonably well, they deserve it.

maartena

Elmo

Premium Member

join:2002-05-10

Orange, CA 7 recommendations maartena Premium Member I wonder.... I have a static IP "install" scheduled on Friday. I'm wondering if anyone is going to show up :P