CWA/AT&T MOBILITY BENEFITSBARGAINING REPORTSeptember 15, 2008Here is an update on AT&T Mobility Health Care bargaining. As you know, the bargaining committee was not successful in negotiating health care bargaining either at the table or in mediation. It went to arbitration and the arbitration concluded on Thursday, September 11th. The attorneys for the Company and CWA have to submit their briefs to the arbitrator by October 17. The arbitrator will allow new proposals all the way up to and including in the brief. His award should be rendered around November 21. CWA/AT&T MOBILITY BENEFITSBARGAINING REPORTJuly 1, 2008Yesterday your CWA National Bargaining Committee spent a majority of the day preparing a counter proposal that is very fair to our members and to the Company. It was our intention to reach a new agreement by yesterday’s deadline. Unfortunately for our members, the Company returned to the table without the same intention. During our meeting, the Company reviewed our counter proposal, and then simply stated that they would not have another proposal even though there was still more than five hours left before expiration of the agreement. An hour after both sides left to go home, the Company called and said they had changed their minds; they did have a counter, and asked us to meet at 10:30 p.m. It would have been great if we could report that this last proposal the Company presented late last night moved away from their high premium, deductible and out-of-pocket plan they have been proposing the entire time we have been bargaining with them – but we can't. The Company proposal had only minimal changes and still also includes a new hire component that would make health care out of reach for many years. This shows no respect for our members who work to produce the double-digit quarterly growth that keeps them as the number one wireless company. The Company continues to think that our members should pay up to double-digit percentages of their income in premiums and deductibles before their proposed plan would pay a dime in benefits. They continue to think that our members should willingly accept this hardship and without the Company even sharing any of the savings they would begin seeing! This is what they think of their employees! If the Company had only used this time to really work with us to reach an agreement that doesn't rob our members of their hard earned income and simply shifts more money into their bank accounts, we might have reached a tentative agreement. CWA/AT&T MOBILITY BENEFITSBARGAINING REPORTJune 16, 2008The Bargaining Committee met again with the Company on Friday with demands that they provide outstanding data still owed to us. It is still apparent that we are the only ones who came to this table to look for possible solutions to what the Company says, but can't show, are problems with the current health care plan. Instead, the Company wants us to simply put forward another proposal with "shot in the dark" ingredients of retrogression! But we are not interested in giving into the astronomically impacting demand the Company proposed on June 4! The Company's suggestion that, for a family, an employee who earns the average salary within Mobility today should have to pay out more than 17 percent of their annual income before the plan kicks in is insane, let alone unreasonable and immoral! We feel that the Company has wasted enough time avoiding the questions and they need to get serious if we have any chance at reaching a tentative agreement! They need to DO THE RIGHT THING! The Bargaining Committee appreciates all of the support you have shown!! Bargaining has been recessed and will reconvene on June 27.
CWA/AT&T MOBILITY BENEFITSBARGAINING REPORTJune 13, 2008The Bargaining Committee met with the Company late into the night with questions and challenges about some of the data they have thus far provided. But the Company's responses continue to be meager and evasive and have yet to substantiate a financial need to shift a significant amount of health care costs onto the backs of our hard working members! In spite of us continually asking the question, they have yet to even identify anything specific in the current plan they believe to be their problem high cost areas. All they can say is that the Union's proposal goes in the wrong direction! We have come to these negotiations with the goal of reaching an agreement by June 30, but it appears that the Company did not. Could it be they are hiding behind the buzz on health care to simply force our members to pay more? We say it's time, AT&T, that you put your money where your mouth is. Start working with us and give us the tools we need in order to find viable solutions to possible problems. . . . we have never been afraid of a little hard work! CWA/AT&T MOBILITY BENEFITSBARGAINING REPORTJune 11, 2008The CWA Bargaining Committee met with the Company yesterday in another intense session of negotiations. In spite of several hours of questioning the Company on some of the data they have provided us, we are still not hearing anything that substantiates their claim that the Union's proposal puts an insurmountable financial burden on them. The Union still has many more questions that need to be answered by the Company. Bargaining will resume again today. The Committee appreciates your continued support. |
On Tuesday, your committee passed a proposal that we believe is fair,
equitable and affordable for our membership.
The company's response yesterday was that our proposal would be a 60 percent
increase in cost to them. And, instead of backing up their claim with
supporting facts and data, they chose to simply pass a proposal that will
increase our premiums by up to 540 percent! In addition to that, the Company
proposal includes increases in out-of-pocket expenses which could be as much as
1/3 of the annual base wage for the average employees salary!
The proposal passed by the company is an insult and shows a total lack of
respect for CWA and our membership! It is clear that the new AT&T has no
appreciation for the employees who made them the number one wireless company.
Needless to say, we have a long tough battle before us!!
The Bargaining Committee thanks everyone for their continued support!
The Bargaining Committee met with the Company late into the night with questions and challenges about some of the data they have thus far provided. But the Company's responses continue to be meager and evasive and have yet to substantiate a financial need to shift a significant amount of health care costs onto the backs of our hard working members! In spite of us continually asking the question, they have yet to even identify anything specific in the current plan they believe to be their problem high cost areas. All they can say is that the Union's proposal goes in the wrong direction!
We have come to these negotiations with the goal of reaching an agreement by June 30, but it appears that the Company did not. Could it be they are hiding behind the buzz on health care to simply force our members to pay more?
We say it's time, AT&T, that you put your money where your mouth is. Start working with us and give us the tools we need in order to find viable solutions to possible problems. . . . we have never been afraid of a little hard work!
The Bargaining Committee met again with the Company on Friday with demands that they provide outstanding data still owed to us. It is still apparent that we are the only ones who came to this table to look for possible solutions to what the Company says, but can't show, are problems with the current health care plan. Instead, the Company wants us to simply put forward another proposal with "shot in the dark" ingredients of retrogression! But we are not interested in giving into the astronomically impacting demand the Company proposed on June 4!
The Company's suggestion that, for a family, an employee who earns the average salary within Mobility today should have to pay out more than 17 percent of their annual income before the plan kicks in is insane, let alone unreasonable and immoral! We feel that the Company has wasted enough time avoiding the questions and they need to get serious if we have any chance at reaching a tentative agreement! They need to DO THE RIGHT THING!
The Bargaining Committee appreciates all of the support you have shown!!
Bargaining has been recessed and will reconvene on June 27.