In 2015,
on the first day of contract negotiations with AT&T, Vice-President
Honeycutt, in his opening statement emphasized two words: responsibility and
respect. Four years later, in 2019, we have learned something about
respect from AT&T. When we asked for respect from from AT&T, one
of the things we meant was that the company sent someone to the bargaining
table who was there to make a deal – a deal for the benefit of our members and
for the company we work for.
Unfortunately, AT&T does not understand respect to mean that they have an
obligation to bargain in good faith with CWA. AT&T does not
understand that CWA is prepared to bargain and is prepared to make a deal that
benefits our members and AT&T. It turns out that for over three
months, we have been bargaining with people who do not have the real authority
to make proposals or to reach an agreement with us. AT&T has also
changed to rules of the game by changing our agreement about how we meet and
bargain. As a result, CWA was forced to file unfair labor practice
charges against AT&T for bargaining in bad faith.
In response to AT&T’s unfair labor practices, more than 20,000 employees
walked off the job. The million dollar executives in Dallas, Texas and
their so called labor relations experts, who were sent to the bargaining table
without the authority to make a decision, all had to find out the hard way what
their employees will do when they have been disrespected.
CWA members understand respect. We understand what is fair and what is
unfair. We understand what it takes for us to make a deal with
AT&T.
Last night, across the entire southeastern part of the United States, Union
Halls were packed as CWA members prepared to walk off the job in an unfair
labor practice strike against AT&T. This morning, the billion dollar
corporation awoke to the sight of more than 20,000 CWA members in red tee
shirts standing together in solidarity on picket lines in all nine states
across District 3 and tomorrow, due to the company’s failure to send someone to
the bargaining table with authority, it’s going to happen all over again!
