The CWA and AT&T Bargaining Committees for Mobility Health Care Benefits held meetings in Atlanta, with the assistance of a federal mediator, in another attempt to reach a tentative agreement.
Unfortunately, even with this assistance there was no agreement reached between the parties. The rules under mediation require that particulars of these discussions and meetings must remain off-the-record and confidential, so there are no other details we can share.
The Union is now preparing for the last step in this bargaining process, which will be to take our proposals before an arbitrator who will decide what our health care benefits plan will be beginning in 2009. The arbitration hearing is scheduled for September.
The CWA Bargaining Committee
wishes to thank you for all of your support during these difficult
negotiations.
Yesterday your CWA National Bargaining Committee spent a majority of the day preparing a counter proposal that is very fair to our members and to the Company. It was our intention to reach a new agreement by yesterday’s deadline. Unfortunately for our members, the Company returned to the table without the same intention.
During our meeting, the Company reviewed our counter proposal, and then simply stated that they would not have another proposal even though there was still more than five hours left before expiration of the agreement. An hour after both sides left to go home, the Company called and said they had changed their minds; they did have a counter, and asked us to meet at 10:30 p.m.
It would have been great if we could report that this last proposal the Company presented late last night moved away from their high premium, deductible and out-of-pocket plan they have been proposing the entire time we have been bargaining with them – but we can't. The Company proposal had only minimal changes and still also includes a new hire component that would make health care out of reach for many years. This shows no respect for our members who work to produce the double-digit quarterly growth that keeps them as the number one wireless company. The Company continues to think that our members should pay up to double-digit percentages of their income in premiums and deductibles before their proposed plan would pay a dime in benefits. They continue to think that our members should willingly accept this hardship and without the Company even sharing any of the savings they would begin seeing! This is what they think of their employees!
If the Company had only used this time to really work with us to reach an agreement that doesn't rob our members of their hard earned income and simply shifts more money into their bank accounts, we might have reached a tentative agreement.
The next step in this process is to meet together with a Mediator who will attempt to facilitate us reaching a tentative agreement. Mediation will begin on July 14 and continue up to ten days. Mediation is an "off-the-record" process that is not binding to either party. Discussions during this period may not be used by either party in the event that no agreement is reached.
The CWA Bargaining Committee thanks you for your continued support during this very difficult round of negotiations.
After being ready to meet with the company all day Saturday, we were called late in the evening and advised that the Company was not prepared to meet with us.
The Union and Company committees did meet several times on Sunday afternoon and evening. We raised multiple concerns over the Company's counter proposal that they put across the table. It is unbelievable, but their counter is actually worse than their first proposal! The Company still cannot justify their proposed cost shifting and the financial burden they want to place on our members.
We only have one more day to meet, and we are still very far apart from reaching a tentative agreement.
Bargaining resumed yesterday with a counter proposal from the Union aimed at maintaining our arguments that the company has the ability to provide a quality Health Benefit package for our members.
The company threw out a lot of numbers but had no data to substantiate their claims. Since the first day of bargaining, the Union committee has repeatedly requested copies of their alleged sources --but the Company cannot provide it. We made our point clear that we are willing to work with the company to look into ways to contain their health care costs, but not by simply shifting the cost onto our members.
Time is ticking and the Company's tunnel-vision approach is preventing us from potentially reaching an agreement. As CWA President Larry Cohen said while speaking about health care during the convention, "The Company needs to get off our backs and get beside us."
We’ll be back at the bargaining table subject to the Company's call.
Thank you for all your support.
The Bargaining Committee met again with the Company on Friday with demands that they provide outstanding data still owed to us. It is still apparent that we are the only ones who came to this table to look for possible solutions to what the Company says, but can't show, are problems with the current health care plan. Instead, the Company wants us to simply put forward another proposal with "shot in the dark" ingredients of retrogression! But we are not interested in giving into the astronomically impacting demand the Company proposed on June 4!
The Company's suggestion that, for a family, an employee who earns the average salary within Mobility today should have to pay out more than 17 percent of their annual income before the plan kicks in is insane, let alone unreasonable and immoral! We feel that the Company has wasted enough time avoiding the questions and they need to get serious if we have any chance at reaching a tentative agreement! They need to DO THE RIGHT THING!
The Bargaining Committee appreciates all of the support you have shown!!
Bargaining has been recessed and will reconvene on June 27.
The Bargaining Committee met with the Company late into the night with questions and challenges about some of the data they have thus far provided. But the Company's responses continue to be meager and evasive and have yet to substantiate a financial need to shift a significant amount of health care costs onto the backs of our hard working members! In spite of us continually asking the question, they have yet to even identify anything specific in the current plan they believe to be their problem high cost areas. All they can say is that the Union's proposal goes in the wrong direction!
We have come to these negotiations with the goal of reaching an agreement by June 30, but it appears that the Company did not. Could it be they are hiding behind the buzz on health care to simply force our members to pay more?
We say it's time, AT&T, that you put your money where your mouth is. Start working with us and give us the tools we need in order to find viable solutions to possible problems. . . . we have never been afraid of a little hard work
The CWA Bargaining Committee met with the Company yesterday in another intense session of negotiations. In spite of several hours of questioning the Company on some of the data they have provided us, we are still not hearing anything that substantiates their claim that the Union's proposal puts an insurmountable financial burden on them.
The Union still has many more questions that need to be answered by the Company. Bargaining will resume again today.
The Union and Company committees met yesterday after spending Thursday carefully studying data provided by the Company.
We had many questions for the Company about items in their data and the Company agreed to provide answers as soon as they get them researched. We also have challenged the Company to substantiate their claims that our proposal represents a 60 percent increase to their initial costs. We feel that we have offered a comprehensive and fair health care proposal that is affordable for the Company and that our members deserve. Despite what the Company message to employees may have stated, at this point, it doesn't appear to us they are serious about trying to reach an agreement by June 30th.
On Tuesday, your committee passed a proposal that we believe is fair, equitable and affordable for our membership.
The company's response yesterday was that our proposal would be a 60 percent increase in cost to them. And, instead of backing up their claim with supporting facts and data, they chose to simply pass a proposal that will increase our premiums by up to 540 percent! In addition to that, the Company proposal includes increases in out-of-pocket expenses which could be as much as 1/3 of the annual base wage for the average employees salary!
The proposal passed by the company is an insult and shows a total lack of respect for CWA and our membership! It is clear that the new AT&T has no appreciation for the employees who made them the number one wireless company.
Needless to say, we have a long tough battle before us!!
The Bargaining Committee thanks everyone for their continued support!
Negotiations opened yesterday in Atlanta, Georgia, with our Bargaining Committee submitting a comprehensive health care proposal to the Company.
District 3 Vice President Noah Savant, speaking on behalf of CWA nationwide, told the Company in opening remarks the Union is hopeful Mobility has come to these negotiations with the intent to reach an agreement that reflects our members' contributions toward making Mobility the number one wireless company in the United States.
At the same time that negotiations began, thousands of CWA members who work at AT&T across the country mobilized to show their support through rallies, informational pickets and by delivering flyers with a message to AT&T management reminding them that when our Bargaining Committee is sitting at this table, they are not sitting alone.
The Company is currently reviewing our proposal and preparing additional relevant data that we have requested.
Bargaining updates will continue to be sent out as there are further developments.