AT&T's DirecTV workers represented by the Communications Workers of America have voted to accept two agreements between the union and the telco, marking the end of a long chapter in the telco's labor negotiation process.
The agreements, which were reached on September 29, cover about 200 employees in the Midwest region and about 900 employees in the Southwest region. In September, AT&T and CWA negotiated tentative agreements covering former DirecTV field services employees in these regions.
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Those agreements will place the employees in existing contracts in those regions. The former DirecTV employees joined AT&T as part of AT&T's July 2015 acquisition of the satellite TV provider.
Each of these agreements with AT&T’s CWA-represented workers focus on a series of issues, including wages, health care, pension and work rules.
In addition to the agreement with the CWA, AT&T and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) worked out two agreements covering DirecTV employees in 14 states in August.
That agreement covers over 1,600 employees in the company's field services group, located in 14 states. The other contract covers about 1,300 employees working in call centers in Boise, Idaho and Missoula, Montana.
Being able to reach these agreements is important, particularly as AT&T looks to complete the integration of key DirecTV operations including installation and call-center support as it begins the integration of Time Warner Inc.
“By the end of 2017, we’re going to be at a place where all of our installation crews for DirecTV are integrated and we’re doing one truck roll to the house,” said Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, during the third quarter earnings call. “Our call center operations will be integrated at that time.”