AT&T Southeast union contract set to expire

AT&T efforts to come to an agreement over a contract with landline union employees in its Southeast region that will expire on Saturday continues to remain at a standstill. A Post and Courier article reports that the 32,000 Communications Workers of America (CWA) located in the region might strike if the telco does not give the union a new deal before the contract expires on Saturday.

Even if a strike does occur, AT&T is confident the region will remain unaffected. "We don't really expect one, but we've been planning for more than two years to handle that contingency," said Marty Richter, regional spokesman for AT&T, which acquired BellSouth and its local operations more than two years ago.

At issue are changes that AT&T has made around job security, pension benefits, health care and pay raises. While no formal deal has been announced, Richter said that AT&T has crafted a new offer for the union that will include a wage increase for each contract year, annual pension increases and 401(k) plan.

Continual revenue declines in its wireline business have driven AT&T to revise the CWA union contract, as more consumers are replacing landline phones with wireless communications.  

 For more:
- Post and Courier has this article

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