CWA Mobilization Bulletin #12, April 28, 2017

CWA Mobilization Bulletin #12

April 28, 2017

AT&T’s annual shareholder meeting closes out an important week. We’ve been demonstrating to put immense pressure on the company and make them realize that a fair contract is what’s best for everyone.

On Wednesday we protested at AT&T retail stores across California. And on Friday, we’re leafletting the entrance to the shareholder meeting and holding a huge rally. The company’s owners will know how their executives are treating the people responsible for their massive profits.

Here are a few things we’re telling them:

1. More than 38,000 AT&T wireless, wireline, and DIRECTV workers are ready to go on strike if AT&T doesn’t agree to terms for fair contracts soon. Workers have already voted by wide margins to authorize a strike and 17,000 already walked off the job in a one-day grievance strike.
2. AT&T’s long term growth could be at risk if they don’t adequately invest in quality service. The company is weakening its customer service capacity by eliminating and offshoring call center jobs. They’re also alienating customers by relying on untrustworthy third-party dealers to run their retail stores.
3. They’re breaking their promise to provide high-speed broadband to all the communities in their service footprint.
4. Severe service outages across the country that prevented thousands of callers from accessing 911 are prompting lawmakers to call out AT&T.

Another big news item this week is this report from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas Institutethat details how AT&T is failing to meet minimum broadband service standards. The report found that over 40% of California households in AT&T’s network do not have access to high-speed broadband as defined by the FCC.

Many of us on the frontlines have long known that AT&T is failing our communities, but now there is proof that they are prioritizing the wealthy at the expense of lower income neighborhoods. The median income of all the communities in AT&T’s service areas is 34% lower than the median incomes of neighborhoods where they have deployed their fiber network.  Read the full report

AT&T’s disregard for workers and customers is connected. We need a contract that protects our jobs, but also one that gives us the resources we need to provide the services our communities rely on.

The good news is that outrage toward AT&T’s shocking practices grows larger every day. Elected officials are on our side, and soon many AT&T shareholders could be too.

It’s only a matter of time before the pressure becomes too large for the company to ignore.

In solidarity,

Your CWA District 9 Bargaining Committee