IBEW contract expires; talks continue with AT&T

A few things you fail to realize is that not all employees are like you speak of. The same can be said of management, forman and engineers who can barely read a print and have a limited knowledge of the work the employees do. Secondly if it werent for the union contracts your management healthcare plan might not have been as good as it was. Because remember usually when craft loses something in negotiations management is not too far behind on losing more. Seems to me a hint a jealousy could be the problem here

i guess the keywords are Was. you must have done these things yourself. stfu, very professional. i bet you were something to work for. best wishes to you.

OH stfu. I was a foreman for ATT/SBC, and I love how all the outside techs act like they're the most hardworking people in the world. You know those who are not union, but then expect them to have sympathy for you. Boo hoo, you're expected to pay some of your health care; boo hoo, the company is making money-they're supposed to. When you're spending all that time reading your paper in your truck, or taking an extra 2 hrs on a basic OOS call, keep telling yourself again how you're such a hard worker. Maybe someday you'll start believing it too.

"Posted by Anonymous | July 6, 2009 - 11:21pm
That would give me a job. I've been out of work since March. 28 resume's a week and nothing"

Why not take a minimum wage job?

attgreed.com
interesting site I was in Chicago and seen this truck with this website on it. Illinois Bell 20 years ago I walked away after working there 35 years. its a disgrace what they are trying to do to us retiree's we built this company from the ground up.

Anyone that has not worked in the telco industry has no right to post. I'm not trying to tell you what you should make or tell YOU that you should take lees pay or a shrinking benefit package. I work hard for my family and take care of the customer despite my company and our ever increasing ignorance due to corporate business models that implement nothing but micro managed confusion, decreased productivity, and above all american job loss (outsourcing), THAT GOES OUT TO ALL YOU UNEMPLOYED OUT THERE. So when you rant about I hope yout get fired or you should get screwed because i got screwed, you got to be kidding me.

That would give me a job. I've been out of work since March. 28 resume's a week and nothing.

I was an unemployed American, and picked up a job with AT&T in February. Short story...they treat their customers and their employees so badly I couldn't stand it, after 4 months I quit. I was surrounded by people who worked mandatory overtime for so long they didn't know what a 40-hour workweek was. There was no laziness - micromanagement ruled. And new employees like me were hired as temp, meaning you might get to work there for a couple of years, but no guarantees. After that couple of years, you might get offered a job that might or might not be even closely related to what you are doing. Based on my experience, a cannot recommend in good conscience that anyone does business or begins employment with AT&T if any, and I mean any, other options exist.

I am in a management position at at&t and can tell you there is a huge amount of waste in the management hierarchy. The management ranks have too many politicians with an ability to speak but lacking the ability to be guided by common sense and hard work. The company could get rid of a couple layers of management and be better off.

Are you kidding me? Where have you people been the last 3 months? Go check the Article titled THE CWA AND AT&T CONTRACT NEGOTIATION SAGA. There are 3500 plus posts under that one. Everything written here has been written and debated and written and debated 10 times over under that article.

How can anyone not take the current economic turmoil into consideration, but instead hide behind the company's profits? To get fired and be put on the unemployment line is one thing (remember the 12,000 people being laid off within AT&T?), but to get a pay cut? None of the managers/union members are on the company board, so the company (like any other) has no obligation to profit share anything with managers/union members. Profit sharing is done rarely at best. It's not just AT&T.

The only possible benefit of working at a profitable company is that you may still have a job while others are laying people off. But to get some marginal increases to offset the higher healthcare cost that's happening in the US? You're complaining about the amount of butter on your bread when others are dying of hunger.

If your skill set is that much in demand, you can *easily* find a better paying job elsewhere, be a consultant or start your own business. Stop using the Union as bullying technique and bad-mouthing AT&T for offering a competitive contract.

If Verizon and other competitors offer a better contract, there's no doubt union members from AT&T should/would of jumped ship months ago. That would of been more effective and beneficial.

So we are at a stalemate. Both sides refuse to compromise any further on the major issues like health care and job security. Which leaves only two options left. Strike on Aug 8 as predicted here or arbritration.

For the love of god, please pick arbritration. Let a non-biased person decide what is fair. The bad press is hurting, the managers are not properly trained and a strike during a depression is not going to be supported by anyone. Both sides need to compromise. It can't be a one-side victory, too much blood will be spilled.

Obvious the person that thinks there are lazy employees, just because of the union, have never worked anywhere else. There are lazy, benefit abusing employees, everywhere, AT&T and the Union don't have a exclusive right to lazy employees. Hello, every been to McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc, you can see the employees that don't care, and the employees that do. All employers have issues with bad employees. It's up to the employees that need to worry about their own situation, and stop thinking that managers are too stupid to recognize the abusers. Somewhere, someway, somehow, it catches up with those lazy people. I really don't understand why people think that all union employees are lazy. Kind of makes me wonder the posters that are angered by this are somewhat biggoted, in their beliefs. Just get over it.

To the poster on 7-1 @ 5:50 pm. You and the people who think like you is why this company is sooooo messed up! What goes around comes around!

"I hope AT&T says "F" the union, you're all fired...then go out and pull in some of the 10% of unemployed Americans who are willing to work for a little less and pay their share of health care costs like the rest of us."

And I hope your boss fires you and hires someone else who will work for less than you and pay more for thier health care than you.
Why shouldn't someone who is unemployed be able to have your job if they are willing to work for less than you?

July 1, 2009 - 9:59am

Shout it out! Let the world know you abhor lazy, fat, good for nothing union members. Teachers, firemen, policemen, utility workers, paramedics and all those other lazy, fat good for nothing union members. Boycott them, let your children remain stupid, criminals rob you blind, let your house burn down, turn off your electrical service, when you have a heart attack don't let them lazy, fat, good for nothing union paramedics save your life. That'll show them!

Tired of hearing how the bells who are so profitable need to eliminate jobs or cutback. They will just utilize the supervisors. So why not just eliminate all the unneeded supervisor jobs?

I abhore the unions not because they secure good benefits for good employees, but because they secure good benefits for lazy, good for nothing employees as well. And make it difficult to get rid of these leeches. I hope AT&T says "F" the union, you're all fired...then go out and pull in some of the 10% of unemployed Americans who are willing to work for a little less and pay their share of health care costs like the rest of us. Never been Union, Never will be! Unless of course Obama makes me by eliminating the secret ballot on Union initiatives. I'll still vote no, but I doubt most of my idiot co-workers will. What a bunch of goons.

June 30, 2009 - 11:19pm

Thanks for the support! I honestly don't care if we go a year without a new contract if it takes that long to get a contract we can live with. It is frustrating to not get updates but the bargaining committee can't really tell us much anyway until they bring us contract to vote on. They are doing their job and doing it well, thanks go out to them!I'm getting ready right now to go walk an informational picket and the public support has been HUGE.

Fight the good fight my brothers and sisters!

Comment to "Free Riders"... love your post, and I couldn't agree more with you.

We're going on 3 months, without a contract, I hope this doesn't happen to them. Trying not to get too pissed off, at the union, with their lack of updates. Seems all we get is a paragraph, periodically, if we're lucky. Best of luck!

"With it go big fat benefits. You're getting a taste of the real world. Ever heard of VOIP? Wireless? Competition? HELLO!"---Your an idiot....seriously...you've prob worked in the ac all ur life and have an opinion about anything and everything. For you, the guy who in his mind lives in the high-rise penthouse and drives the lambo, suck an egg bro. Your short little quip there is in of itself very ironic considering majority of America still uses the "old" stuff to run all of the "new" stuff. Every heard of a company called Verizon...almost went bankrupt trying to run "new" facilities(fiber)to residential homes for a little known product named Fios. Good luck to the union...hope everything works out.

Hey, what's the worry? Aren't we all getting 'free' government health care soon. Isn't that the union's end-game?
Yeah, the union should stick it to big corporate 'greed', it worked so well for GM and Chrysler. Join the ranks of the unemployed!
Wake up, the government protected monopoly is over. With it go big fat benefits. You're getting a taste of the real world. Ever heard of VOIP? Wireless? Competition? HELLO!

Hey IBEW! Your brothers and sisters at CWA fully support you in your fight against corporate greed!

"the rest of us pay" is no reason someone else should accept in the rear, also. I think the unions would say speak for yourself.

Posted by BC | June 30, 2009 - 11:26am
"Maybe they should just suck it up...the rest of us pay way more than 8%..."

Apathy rewards none.

There is a term known as "free riders". These are people that receive the collateral benefits of union gains. The term should not be construed as derogatory, conversely it is in the best interests of all wage earners that the unions defeat the regressive proposals as the positive effects trickle back throughout the organization and industry. We win, you win. Unless you are intent on financial suicide, you would be better to cheer us on.

The RBOC'S will never allow you to win this or any battle. They have our government behind them!

Maybe they should just suck it up...the rest of us pay way more than 8%...