CWA Wireless Workers Reach Tentative Contract With AT&T
After six months of negotiations, wireless workers and AT&T reached a tentative contract that raises base wages, curtails the outsourcing of jobs to third-party authorized retailers and adds privacy protection for call center representatives working from home, Communications Workers of…
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America said Tuesday. The proposed four-year contract covers “technicians, call center customer support workers, and representatives at AT&T's retail stores in 36 states in the Northeast, Midwest and West, and the District of Columbia,” CWA said: The pact raises base wages by nearly 15% over four years, “with additional adjustments made based on the Consumer Price Index to account for rising inflation. Mandatory overtime will be limited to 8 hours per week and time and a half will be paid for hours worked in excess of 8 in a day.” A provision limits use of web cameras to monitor call center representatives working from home. Workers must still ratify the contract. “Companies are scrambling to raise wages and provide incentives in this tight job market, but we all know that when economic conditions change, wages and benefits can disappear,” said Lucia Coelho, a CWA Local 1298 steward: “We hope this contract will inspire even more workers to organize unions and raise standards for everyone.” AT&T has reached 36 agreements with the unions since 2017, a spokesperson emailed. The agreement “covers about 12,000 employees who primarily work in call center, retail store and technician jobs across the U.S.,” the spokesperson said: “Out of respect for the ratification process, we will not comment publicly on the details of the tentative agreement until it has been presented by the CWA to its members.”