CWA/ AT$T Bargaining Bulletin #71, January 25, 2017

CWA/AT&T Bargaining Bulletin #71

January 25, 2017

Today AT&T released its fourth quarter earnings in a call with analysts and investors. AT&T reported revenues of $41.8 billion for the last quarter of 2016. That means in 2016, AT&T’s revenues totaled $163.8 billion, up 11.6% compared to last year.

In advance of the announcement, Fortune magazine wrote about our contract and workers’ fight for good jobs:

According to Fortune Magazine: Some 17,000 workers in AT&T's traditional wired phone business in Nevada and California have been working without a contract since April, while a contract covering another 21,000 employees in the wireless unit is set to expire early next month. There has been little progress in the negotiations on sticking points like the outsourcing of call center jobs overseas, stagnant pay, rising health care costs, and greater reliance on wireless retail stores not owned by AT&T, officials at the Communications Workers of America union say.

The earnings demonstrate that AT&T is profitable and needs to prioritize workers and customers over expensive mergers. As Orange Richardson, a Splicing Technician from San Francisco said to the press:

“Across California and Nevada, AT&T is eliminating good, middle-class jobs in our communities and is undercutting technicians who customers depend on for quality service. AT&T has cut 7,000 call center jobs, closing some centers altogether, in California and across the country. More jobs have been shipped to Mexico, the Philippines, India and other countries.  More jobs have been shipped overseas. What kind of future will our kids have if a company that makes a billion dollars a month eliminates good jobs in California?”

All official negotiation and mobilization information will be delivered on the District 9 website. (www.district9.cwa-union.org), Local Websites and email lists.

Your Bargaining Committee