AT&T, union reach deal to end monthlong strike in CSRA, elsewhere

AUGUSTA, Ga. - AT&T and the union representing striking workers in Augusta, Aiken and across the Southeast said Sunday they’d reached a tentative agreement to bring the monthlong work stoppage to an end.

The company and the union, Communications Workers of America, said the tentative agreement between AT&T and the union’s Southeast branch, District 3, is one of two agreements they’d reached.

AT&T and CWA said the telecommunications company had reached a separate agreement with District 9, the union’s branch representing workers in California, Nevada and Hawaii.

The agreement with District 3 will bring the work stoppage in the Southeast to an end Monday morning, according to AT&T and the union.

CWA said the Southeast contract covers about 17,000 employees across nine states – Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

“The agreement in the Southeast ends the 30 day strike – the longest telecommunications strike in the region’s history – with union across nine states pressuring the company to negotiate in good faith,” the union said in a statement. “CWA will report to work for their scheduled shifts on Monday, September 16.”

The union said “wages and health care costs were key issues at the bargaining table,” and the five-year agreement includes across-the-board wage increases of 19.33%, with additional 3% increases for wire technicians and utility operations workers.

The agreement also “holds health care s steady in the first year and lowers them in the second and third years, with modest monthly increases in the final two years,” the union said.

The tentative agreements come nearly a month into the strike over better pay and improved benefits. Negotiations for CWA District 3 had been taking place in Atlanta, where the headquarters for the branch is located.

“As we’ve said since day 1, our goal has been to reach fair agreements that recognize the hard work our employees do to serve our customers with competitive market-based pay and benefits that are among the best in the nation – and that’s exactly what was accomplished,” Jeff McElfresh, AT&T’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “These agreements also our competitive position in the broadband industry where we can grow and win against our mostly non-union competitors.”

McElfresh said AT&T expects the union’s ratification votes to happen in the coming weeks.

“We understand that this has been a challenging time for everyone impacted, and we’re glad that we collectively found a mutual path forward to reach these agreements,” AT&T officials said in a statement Sunday. “We value our union-represented employees, and we’re excited to welcome our Southeast employees back to work so they can continue doing what they do best – serving our customers.”

CWA officials said in their press release announcing the agreements: “We are incredibly proud of our and thank CWA , retirees and allies across the country for the solidarity that has sustained us through these difficult negotiations. Their willingness to make sacrifices in order to win major improvements in their contract not just for themselves, but for future is truly inspiring. We know that our customers have faced hardship during the strike as well. We are happy to be getting back to work keeping our communities safe and connected.”

Earlier this month, CWA District 3 announced they were withdrawing from collective bargaining mediation – during which a third party helps labor and management reach an agreement – accusing AT&T of using the process as a “delaying tactic.”

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