KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

After 30 days of holding the picket line, AT&T Southeast and AT&T West have reached tentative agreements with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

The announcement of the tentative agreements was released on Sunday, Sept. 15. While the contracts with AT&T Southeast and AT&T West were bargained separately, the strike against AT&T was the longest telecommunications strike in the region’s history as CWA members in nine states, including Tennessee, held the picket line so the company would negotiate in good faith. Union members reported back to their shifts Monday, Sept. 16.

“I believe in the power of unity, and the unity our members and retirees have shown during these contract negotiations has been outstanding and gave our bargaining teams the backing they needed to deliver strong contracts,” CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. said. “I’m not just talking about AT&T members in the Southeast and West, although the determination of our striking AT&T Southeast members was remarkable. CWA members and retirees from every region and sector of our union mobilized in support of our bargaining teams, including by distributing flyers with information about the strike at AT&T Wireless stores.”

On the local level, members of local chapter CWA 3803, out of Pulaski, have been walking the picket line up at the AT&T central office next to First Christian Church at the four-way of North Jackson Street and W. Grundy Street.

“There is a tentative agreement,” CWA 3803 President Chris Pope said. “Nothing is final until our members vote and ratify the agreement.”

Per the CWA, the new contract in the Southeast is a five-year agreement that will cover 17,000 workers technicians, customer service representatives and others who install, maintain and support AT&T’s residential and business wireline telecommunications network in Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Included in the agreement were across the board wage increases of 19.33%, with additional 3% increases for Wire Technicians and Utility Operations, as well as the health care agreement which will hold health care premiums steady in the first year and lower them in the second and third years, with monthly increases in the final two years.

CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt said he was proud and thanked “CWA members, retirees and allies across the country for solidarity that has sustained us through these difficult negotiations. Their willingness to make sacrifices in order to win major improvements in their contract not just for themselves, but for future members is truly inspiring.”

“We know that our customers have faced hardship during the strike as well,” Honeycutt said. “We are happy to be getting back to work keeping our communities safe and connected.”

He added the bargaining team worked tirelessly to negotiate a contract that would provide significant wage increases that reflect the hard work and dedication of union members and a medical plan that ensures that our members and their families have affordable, comprehensive healthcare services.

“For every member who has walked a picket line, spoken out for the contract they deserved, or joined their coworkers for a union action, you built this,” he said.

As for AT&T West, the four-year agreement will cover 8,500 workers in California and Nevada, and improves on the prior agreement, including a wage boost that will be retroactive to the contract expiration date, bringing the compounded increase to 15.01%. The revamped agreement also includes improvements to overtime and scheduling.

“This new agreement builds on what we achieved in the first round of bargaining,” CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce said in a statement. “In addition to maintaining gains on employment security, overtime, and scheduling, we improved the compensation package. This was possible due to the dedication of our outstanding bargaining team to quickly address the concerns our members raised and the mobilization of our members throughout the process.”

Union members will meet to review the tentative agreements, before holding ratification votes in each region that will give every union member a voice on the proposed union contracts.