CWA Sues AT&T Southwest Over Layoffs
Union workers challenged AT&T Southwest layoffs. AT&T violated Section 301 of the 1947 Labor-Management Relations Act by laying off union employees while subcontracting their work "for the bad faith purpose of diminishing the employee bargaining unit" and in breach of…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
their collective bargaining agreement, CWA District 6 complained (in Pacer) at U.S. District Court in Austin. The CWA district, covering workers in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, sought an injunction to reinstate jobs of laid-off employees and a jury trial. Both sides announced Dec. 12 that 152 premises technicians who install TV and internet services would lose their jobs Jan. 4 due to reduced workload, and 561 others with various titles would be laid off Feb. 17 for the same reason or due to work consolidation. "There is no reduction in workload,” CWA said. “The Company's business is booming.” CWA sought an injunction at the National Labor Relations Board in case 16-CA-212398, saying the telecom provider violated sections 8(a)(5) and 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act. “We expected AT&T to invest in our communities and customers, and to create more jobs, as the Republican tax plan promised,” District 6 Vice President Claude Cummings said. The company complied with terms of the collective bargaining agreement and “the allegations in the lawsuit are baseless,” a spokesman said. AT&T is adding people in parts of the business with higher customer demand, as technology-driven efficiencies and declining demand for older services led to cuts, the spokesman said. “We’ll work to find other AT&T jobs for as many affected employees as possible,” including location transfers of some technicians, he said.