AT&T Could Be Hit By Strike Saturday
By Ed Oswald | Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 8:10 am
[UPDATE 4/3/09 2:30PM]: The CWA has ratified a new contract, meaning a strike has been averted. Please see our updated coverage here.
The Communications Workers of America, which represent some of the sales force at AT&T’s wireless stores, have begun to warn its members that a strike may be possible beginning on Saturday.
From the CWA website:
“Picket signs are being sent out to every CWA Local with Mobility members as the February 7th expiration date approaches. With little progress at the bargaining table, every Local must be ready to walk, if necessary, to get some RESPECT from AT&T Mobility.”
AT&T and the union have been negotiating since January 21 on a new contract known as the “Orange Contract,” which covers everyone in the country except for the former Southwestern Bell and BellSouth areas. At issue is wages, vacation time, job security, and benefits — the typical contract issues.
Wages appear to be the sticking point: the most recent update from Tuesday indicates what increase AT&T is proposing would not offset increases in health care costs.
I am not entirely clear here on whether a walkout would occur just in the Orange Contract areas or across the entire company footprint. In any case, a strike could paralyze retail services for a significant majority of AT&T customers.
I’ll watch my local store here. Members are being encouraged to wear red in solidarity on Thursday: I’m going to go into the stores and see who is. More on this as we get it…
Update 2/6/09: A Message to Our Commenters… we know this subject is of a personal matter for both those in the union and their non-union counterparts, and those who may have strong opinions on unionization in general. However, we will not tolerate personal attacks. Please, by all means speak your mind, but keep it at a level of intellectual discourse that keeps out the attacks. Thanks for visiting!
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February 4th, 2009 at 8:38 am
I really hope that most kids at AT&T wireless stores are not part of a union.
Years ago when I was a cashier at Kroger, part of my “next to nothing” paycheck was taken out for union dues.
I’m sure the kids are making slightly more than minimum wage and the union dues could easily take them down or below minimum wage.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:23 am
sorry but we are not kids I am the youngest person in my store right now and I am 26. and the union dues arnt bad but if they change our health care to the same plan the non bargained employees are ate we will be loosing around $10,000 a year in pay. (right now we pay almost nothing for health insurance)
February 4th, 2009 at 10:01 am
att rep, you might want to check your projected health care costs,
I think the $10,000 number is very high. I am an AT&T manager and pay less than $100 a month for family coverage. Someone is giving you bad information.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:56 am
and what are your deductibles, i hope you realize how much your out of pocket expenses are if you do need to use your medical coverage and i pay around 11$ right now for full coverage with very low copay’s. as some one that actually uses and needs his medical coverage this can be a very big pay difference from me and with att not wanting to give me any more money and taking more from me i don’t think that 10,000 is all that far off. if you where under the old plan before they screwed management i am sure you could relate.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I’m Canadian, so I don’t understand to what degree AT&T still has a grip on telecommunications there. A few years ago, the local telco went on strike. To say it crippled us would be an understatement: I think we waited almost a year for our phones to be fixed when we moved between offices.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
This is too funny, people want to strike when there are millions of people that want to work.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
How will this effect the customer? Who is exactly in the union?
February 4th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
730,000 employees working in call centers and COR (att owned) locations.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I am a manager at AT&T and our health benefits are pretty good. See if you could get a job and health benefits anywhere else that are comparable!
Just be thankful you have a job in this economy.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of people are dealing with increased health care cost. The proposed plan sounds a lot closer to what most americans have to deal with. When i left AT&T (Cingular) i was blown away by how much the health care costs went up at the next couple companies I worked for (and they were good companies). Also keep in mind that the non-bargained employees (mostly management) already got hit by this same thing in the last year or two and lost a lot of stored vacation time as well.
Having said that. I still am in the business and work fairly closely with wireless carriers and as an organization AT&T is greedy and will do anything to their employees to make or save a buck.
The real winner here is the union who gets all the union dues and posts fairly exaggerated numbers about costs to employees to make itself seem like it’s worth while to them.
And the real loser is the customers who have to wait on the phone or in line at a store to get help if they need it during the strike as the stores and call centers will be extremely understaffed or staffed with people that have little or no training.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
In the same week that AT&T notified craft that around 12,000 of them would be laid off, there was a story that said that AT&T was raising it’s dividend. Now news that it is in talks to grab up wireless from Verizon. AT&T is sending a mixed message; we have fallen on hard times and the workers that make the whole thing work, whether it is dsl, landlines, uverse or wireless, have to make sacrifices by losing their jobs. Yet that doesn’t stop them from spending potential of millions of dollars for more dividends and wireless spectrum. Hopefully the company can come up with the right amount of sympathy to avoid a strike situation.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
The CWA is wise to be wary of any offered change in health care. The management people pay a healthy monthly premium and the coverage is garbage. The deductibles are $4000/family before the plan kicks in and then it only covers 90%.
When this company was Cingular Wireless the pay was good, the benefits terrific, and the company made money hand over fist. When it was swallowed up by AT&T Wireless it’s been a downhill ever since.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
thanks for all the people that see att is making more than enough money to pay up and the only reason they dont want to is for the pockets of the upper staff. Att has posted a 50% gain in feature revenue (data, text, insurance, 7pm n&w,…) for the past 12 quarters, 3 years of making tons on money on the things that cost them the least to provide, and who are the people selling features, not the ceo or any one none customer facing, its me, its my co workers, its all the people covered under the CWA. So i am glade i have a job, but i am not going to have my employer say that i am not worth what they pay me cause with out us att couldn’t be profitable, let alone one of the largest telecoms in the world. If they want to pay me like a burger king worker i might as well go work there and get paid for what i do.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
We are not kids, I am in college and an att sales rep, and we make damn good money, almost 30k a year, and that’s part time. i never even notice my union dues
February 4th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I’ve worked for an agent, Verizon wireless and AT&T. The union employees insurance is good and comparable to Verizon wireless employees(who don’t have to pay union dues). Having a Union for sales is stupid but i guess this is the only thing they are actually good for. The managers insurance SUCKS, and if you’re a manager that thinks it is good you never had to use it. I had a manager shopping for independant insurance.
In training they have said the WIRELESS part of AT&T makes all the money for the company. SO why do they have to be greedy and take the insurance? The Kansas area was going to Strike but 99% of the employees said they would so the company gave in and did the right thing. Unfortunatley the union is in seperate parts so not all areas are under contract at the same time.
I also got a call today from an agency that saw my resume on Careerbuilder trying to hire me for the strike. HMMM a SCAB????
AT&T kept sending emails saying how much money they made but always want more.
One more time to the managers You SUCK. 🙂
February 4th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I hope you guys go on strike, you get to stick to your morals and stand in solidarity. Also ill be the scab taking your job for the interim, im 22 and in college as well, i was a tech at officemax and its too bad we didnt have union or i wouldnt have lost my job. but then again its been 2 months and this looks like a pretty sweet gig for a few months so hey!!! that $3000 bill is gotta get paid somehow! Thanks in advance socialist union members!! good luck!
February 4th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I have to say, I am siding with the employees and the union here. Covering the VZW asset story, I must say I kinda brooded a bit. If they can pay millions for additional spectrum they really don’t need, they can pay their hardworking employees more.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
We are not kids! And we do make pretty good money! 65k a year! As time passes not only is att changing are compensation plans and decreasing what we make, but now they wanna take our benefits away? not fair! And I say we fight!
February 5th, 2009 at 5:32 am
ya know, you people are unbelievable ! the one who said they pay $4000.00 family deductable ? well I’m assuming that’s probalby $1000.00 per person…and then the COMPANY covers 90% of the rest ? well, ya know what, atleast it’s ONLY $1000.00 per person ! how would you like to pay the whole 100% ??? Like I tell my AT&T co workers that complain: IF YOU DON”T LIKE IT? QUIT !! GO AND FIND ANOTHER JOB !!!…..a bunch of ungrates !!!
February 5th, 2009 at 7:57 am
so we should let att take advantage of us and pay up less when we are the ones posting profits even with a recession. no, i dont think that is worth rewarding at all.
February 5th, 2009 at 9:14 am
I’m a college student as well… and I also got a call from people from CareerBuilder.com. Should the union go on strike, I start Monday.
People going on strike when there are so many people out of work is crazy! And I’m pretty sure they’re all older than me, and need the money more than I do at this point… I at least have scholarships to pay for my college til I get a job, and this, if the strike lasts, is exactly what I was looking for.
People depend on this job to pay bills and such, and they’re giving it to people like me, 18 years old and fresh into college.
February 5th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Actually, it is not everyone that wants to strike it is just that we have no option. We have to be part of the union. Even though I have not officially joined and do not pay union dues, they say I could be fired for this if I do not do it within a certain am ount of time, yet, the union is the one that controls whether we go on strike. I want to work, a lot of us do but we cant unless we submit a resignation form to the union in which case apparently they make your life hell if you do that. so to those that say “be thankful you have aj ob” or “its funny people want to strike when tons of others wanta job”…it is not everybody and we do not have a choice.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
because of your strike I have been given an opportunity to work at my local AT&T wireless store. Making more than I made at Verizon, not being a union employee won’t affect me much since I’m an honorable person with good moral values. Unions don’t really do much for anyone except themselves, well and those who don’t follow the rules or put one foot over the line. They seem to be the only ones who benefit from the money they pay in dues.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I have read comments from the people who want to go on strike and the complaints are the same. “I don’t want to pay more for health insurance”, “It’s not fair” wa wa wa. Hippocrates!! Welcome to the reality that the rest of Americans are in! You are no different than the management you complain about! You feel management is sticking it to you but you have no problem sticking it to someone else! Who? Me and the rest of America. If you are not willing to pay for your health insurance, then someone else will, the consumer. Its the same type of greed that got the auto industry in trouble. Look, I had to purchase a one way ticket to another state to cover a striking worker if it occurs. My wife and kids are alone now due to immature employees who need to suck it up and realize they are not upper management and don’t deserve the benefits they have. Loose the entitlement mentatility! You are entitled to NOTHING! You want more money and benefits, then do what I did. WORK your butt off and take the promotion when it comes. On the other hand, I want to thank you smucks. I got to leave my hectic job to come up here and relax while watching the big flat screen in my very plush hotel, eat all the expensive food I want and the company picks up the tab!! I’ve spent the last few day site seening in the company paid rental!! HA HA HA
February 5th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
In a failing economy where people are GRATEFUL to have an income, I can’t believe that there are actually people out there who don’t realize how BLESSED they truly are. You may think that your strike will force AT&T to “do the right thing” but consider this, there are staffing agencies that have employees READY TO GO come Monday morning. This could really jeopardize your jobs in the future. To that end, I say go ahead and strike because I will be making GOOD money while you are gone. I would advise you and your co-workers to THINK FIRST!
February 5th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I am a steward for CWA local 4202. I work in the Springfield Call center and let me explain that we are not greedy. We have not even ask about wages yet in our talks yet. The company has taken the position that it wants to save as much money as possible and not pay its workers, who have over the past 4 years have not only taken on duties a a sales rep, but are now required to be customer service, sales, tech and collections. We had to take our healthcare to an arbitratior due to ATT wanted to raise our healthcare that was not affordable. A single person would pay $110 every 2 weeks and have a deductable of $2000 before 80% kick in. Married would of paid $180 every 2 weeks and then $4000 before 80% kick in. We offered a better solution which kept the model of keeping ATT competative. The arbitratior decided on our end and that troubles ATT. ATT has now decided to take back bonuses it pays their managers and the managers are telling our members it is our fault, when we dont get paid bonuses. ATT members (sales, tech, repair, customer service and collectio) do all the work. Managers don do near as what we do. We dont want to strike, we have car payments, mortgages, credit cards and other things we have to pay and we will be struggling to get what is fair and just. ATT has post record profits over the past 4 years. Also ATT landline unions have advise its members that to prepare to go on strike for 3 to 4 months and their contract is up in August. I urge all customers to email (bargin team ATT) Pat Cleary @ PC023T@ATT.COM and (Springfield Call Center Director) Nancy Wells @ NW7797@ATT.COM and tell them pay your members a fair wage and benefits. It seems that ATT only listens when thier managers have to talk to customers.
February 5th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Time to wake up. In todays times jobs are not aplenty. If you are not happy, go someplace else, your begging to come back. You will never make up what you will loose by going on strike. You know who really wins? The Union officials. Take a look around you. Many who relied on the Union to “save” them or rely on were not good employees in the first place. As for health benefits. I am Managment and pay for my health benefits. $130 a month for the top tier choice. $20 co pay. I had cancer in 2007 – 2008 and went through treatments and was glad to have the insurance I had. I was also Union at one time and a strike was looming. Do your own research! Do not believe what the Union is always telling you. Question everything and make an educated choice. Do not be a lemming to a cliff.
February 5th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
yes, but will my iphone be cheaper?
February 5th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
For everyone that posted here that they don’t have a choice. You DO have a choice. I had a union job once. Once. I will never work for another union shop in my life, under any circumstances.
The unions are on their deathbed and hoping against hope for the “Free Choice Act” to pass so they can go back to their brass knuckle days and get rid of this pesky private ballot protection. I’m sure they’re going to want to take a big stand to show that they’re still relevant…
February 5th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
And to “CWA LOCAL 4” I say – WOW, I’d LOVE to have that healthcare offer. Try paying double that for the same coverage because that’s what a LOT of the people in the US are looking at. And you fail to mention the $20 office copay and $15 drug benefits you’re looking at.
That same policy probably costs the company around $900 a month (I know, I’m an employer), and their only asking you to pay $220 of it. Five years ago that policy would have only cost $600 a month. Blame the healthcare companies – not AT&T.
I’ll say this – if the company I work for ever unionizes I may not be able to close the doors or dump my stock, but I’ll darn well quit and walk away.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
CWA LOCAL 4202 and other AT&T union members,
I sympathize with your frustration and the rising costs of healthcare. However, I just don’t see the wisdom or sense in this strike to get what you want at this time in our economy.
As a non-labor union AT&T IT manager who was previously with Cingular Wireless, we have faced 2 years in a row of benefit decreases, and bonus reductions. This year as you know, there are massive layoffs and no annual merit increases. We’re not thrilled about this either, but have hope that in better times, the company’s cost cutting measures and reinvestment in other areas to sustain our competitiveness will pay off or at least keep the doors open.
To say that managers or any other person’s position doesn’t involve the same amount of work is a somewhat insulting generalization. In my experience, a good worker with the right attitude is always productive and important to the company, regardless of their function. In Mobility IT, managers have been working like crazy over the past 2 years working countless hours to integrate wireline and mobility systems and support such products such as the iPhone launches which have pushed us ahead of our competitors. On top of regular duties, we are required to do hours of contingency training to prepare for the strike. Many of us have to do this in our personal time after work or on the weekends because we don’t have enough time in the day. If the unions strike, many folks will be required to place their lives on hold, travel to remote locations away from their families to keep operations moving for the company until some indefinite period of time when the contract negotiations are settled.
No one wants this to happen and it is further hurting morale as well as hurt profits by delaying strategic projects and increase operating costs.
All I can say is, that I am glad that unions have existed in the past and stand up for what they need, but in a time and economy like this, I really feel that they have usurped their purpose.
Everyone is having to make do with less right now. I am not thrilled about the current state of affairs, but I am thankful to still have a job.
I hope we can all be reasonable and get what is needed.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
How much empathy from the entire country do you think that the CWA strike will evoke?
The workforse of America has had reduced benefits, no raises or very low raises. Layoffs effect every company.
What do you think the average citizen will say when they see the CWA picket lines? They’re in he same boat as you or maybe worse.
Think with your head and not your pocketbook.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I’m an at&t call center employee, and although I don’t want us to go on strike, I will fully support it if we do. I work in an area with an astronomical cost of living – my rent is going up when my roommate and I sign a new lease, gas prices are going back up, and one bedroom apartments are neigh unaffordable even at the decent wage rate I make. I rely on the inexpensive benefits and raises we get to be able to move up to a point financially where I can make it on my own if next year my roommate doesn’t want to sign a new lease.
I understand that we’re in tough economic times and that it is indeed fortunate to still be working at all. I really love my job and would miss working quite a bit if we were to strike. Having to pay the taxes on what little money we would get while striking is also definitely not on my yay-yay-happy-to-do list. Sometimes, though, you have to be willing to make sacrifices in order to get what you feel you deserve. I am a hard worker, and so are our managers – they are extremely busy and dedicated people, almost literally down to the last individual. I wish they could take part in the union as well so they can fight to get what they deserve, also!
And to those of you who are going to temporarily be working at our jobs, try not to make too much of a mess for us to clean up when we come back. That is honestly my biggest fear with this strike. Oh, and don’t adjust my chair. I have it set just right.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
The real shame is all of the “unions bad” lemmings on this post. This is not a typical recession company. AT&T recorded a 12.5 billion dollar PROFIT in 2008. Mobility grew 13.9% in the 4th quarter of 2008. This isn’t a part a corporation on the ropes, in fact, this contract represents the workers in one of the rare instances of Corporate growth in the nation in these hard times. I am sorry you have lost your job. I am sorry that your previous company was unsuccessful. But don’t apply your personal history and observations to this very different situation. AT$T employees are paid less on average than other major cellular provider employees. This is a company grab based on the national economic situation, not based on the Company’s own fiscal situation. Don’t buy into it. The economy needs to be helped from the bottom up, not the other way around. Don’t begrudge a decent wage for workers simply because you don’t have one. That isn’t the solution.
February 5th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Ok so I am finding reading all these ppl posts very upsetting….I work for att mobility in a call center and I have to agree with the strike. Dont get me wrong I am thrilled to have a job and I really love my job, but just as other ppl have posted AT&T is not like all the small business out there going under. It is quite the opposite, they are a fortune 500 company with an almost 14% gain in their fourth quarter. And the strike is not about health care, our health care was already decided by an independent arrbitration. The union is asking for wage increases to offset the increase to our health care, fair preformance evaluations and work conditions. The union is not asking for anything unreasonable. AT&T is trying to take advantage of the current economic situation to fatten there shareholders wallets at the expense of their employees. I am so grateful for a job, but as a worker in America we deserve certain considerations i.e. fair pay… I totally agree with some of the posts, that ppl hearing about the strike need to get the facts before they judge the situation. AT&T is the bad guy not the union, and certainly not the employees… P.S. Each avenue of employment call center, retail store, IT…all have different situations…for example one IT person posted that they were not getting bonuses and I work for mobility and we still get our bonuses in fact up until the healthcare changes we havent noticed any differance financially speaking..more of the matters the union are trying to resolve dont even involve money matters but rather performance standards..so bottom line just get the facts before you judge
February 5th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Found this article interesting:
http://telephonyonline.com/residential_services/news/telecom_access_line_math_090201/index.html
So if someone moves over to AT&T’s uverse, not only are they considered “line loss” by the company but AT&T now makes double or triple(triple play) in terms of revenue.
This goes back to my first comment, the phone companies are still making billions upon billions, yet with their “doom and gloom” attitude, they are trying to bulldoze not only the workers but the union and government into giving them huge incentives toward everything political.
February 5th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
I don’t make 65k a yr as a att worker. in fact in the ctr I’m in we are on the lshort end of the srick. its not jsut the money…they want to take away a lot of other benies do I want to strike NO. Do I feel we should? YES when the ceo made over 25 million and the co. has made over 120+ billion hell yes we should. I would like to see a scab do my job with no training …….our job isn’t easy.
February 5th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Are you strikers crazy or what? Have you lost your God given minds? What in the world are you thinking? Are any of you on this planet where we all have made horrible concessions in order to keep our jobs to continue to live, not flourish, just live. At&t may be very profitable, however, so is microsoft and they have never had a layoff or a bad year and they plan to layoff 5000 employees here real soon just to be ready for any possible downturn in the future. All companies are preparing for the future. Everyone needs to go to work and be happy it’s there to go to before you all lose your homes,and the way of life you have become a custom to. This is no time to put pressure on any company, they hold all the cards right now, and you should know that this late in the recession unless you haven’t been paying attention. If this is the case, wake up!!! I will encourage every worker to cross that line if it means keeping their job and keeping their paycheck. If we were all given a choice today to lose our job or take a 30% pay cut, you better believe that 95% of americans would choose to keep their jobs. I pay $375 out of pocket a month a my portion for health care, that does not include dental or vision, it was a 75% increase for just two months ago, am I happy no, amd I glad I still have a job, yes. So
February 5th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
we were told we can’t cross the line…….to be honest I feel like the union hasn’t told us everything we need to know. I don’t want to lose my job!!! I love my job!!!!!! I don’t want some scab sitting at my desk, not knowing what they are doing and making more $$$$$ than I do. this makes me sick……i give dues that cost more than my health insurance!!!!! I only wish that the strike doesn’t go forth…..but I will be taking all my desk stuff home with me I don’t want some scab touching it.
February 5th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I work in a retail location that has 13 other reps. Last year we had eight. The traffic in our store has steadily decreased, however, the number of employees has grown. Because of this our commissions are less, yet we are still required to maintain the same quotas as before. On the mobility side of the business, there are “new” stores being built, more employees being hired and revenue for the company is growing. If the company is making money, WHY SHOULDNT WE? If we produce for the company, WHY SHOULDNT WE be compensated??? We deserve the best health care we can get…..if we get sick and have to miss work, we are writen up and givin Discplinary points,,,,too many points…no more job. yeah we need the best health care. Not free tickets to baseball games, or hockey games…or Dancing with the Stars tickets!!!!!If the company took the money that it spent on that stuff, not to mention all the other nonessential marketing items, they would still be saving money!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 5th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I have been in the cell phone industry for 8 years and am a mgr at a for store. Most of my reps are young and uneducated but very bright. They make more money working for AT&T than they could anywhere in my local area. In all situations like this there are three sides…..the wrong side the right side which is compromise and another wrong side. Everyone gets hurt in these situations. There used to be on the american work force common gratitude and loyalty. Now the corporations are not loyal to anyone but the shareholders and the employees for the most part are loyal tovthemselves with no gratitude for a good job. In the end unfortunately the power really is with the corporations. In todays employment woes these employees that are great wonderful smart and sturdy needs to be loyal. They should be thankful for the job. If you don’t like it go somewhere else. I have no degree no formal education but because of att and my hard work I pay my bills feed my kids and have a little fun. I owe it to companies in my past and and to say thank you. So if they strike they are doing a disservice to att, Americans who are out of work, but more importantly to themselves. I hope this gets resolved
February 5th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I find it funny on how people say in this econmy are we crazy. ATT has done great profits in the years I have worked. Let me tell you about ATT congratulations to us. One time they handed out little orange flashlights as a show or gratitude. A fucking flashlight!!! What about a bonses like managers get. After all, we union members do all the work. The managers boy you have it so hard sitting on your butts 9 hour days and what do you do. UMMMM you dont take the escalated calls like you should, you yell when your members dont make your goals, you try to find something to get us fired so you look like your doing your job and oh yes, those smoke breaks and having to go to other centers to work, when we go on strike. Let me think GOOD! Now lets see how you do taking calls 8 hours a day and listening to irate customers and stuff. Last contract we had we got 11% raise over 4 years, that not enough when our econmy is headed. ATT and Verizon is the biggest companies and it doesnt look like they will be lay offs coming soon. Yes it is true that ATT did surplus some people but all where managers!!!! GOOD. Lets not forget that they havent even gotten to wages yet in the talks. ATT wants to cap our sick time, they want to take our control time, they dont want to set up a reasonable flex time and allow senior members do off the phone projects and other things.I hear other union members bash our local and the local they work for. I say FUCKING LEAVE. When you did new hire training you knew there was a union and you had a choice to leave or stay and you stayed. Lets not forget that if there was no union, there would be little if no vacations, sick leave, flex time and healthcare would be through the roof and oh yes, brown noser like you would be managers.
February 5th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I am an AT&T Manager. In fact, I am typing this tonight from my strike contingency deployment city in a hotel room that AT&T is having to pay for because of this mess. There is so many illogical statements made by the pro-union voices that I had to respond.
First, why should the union be exempt from paying a greater share of healthcare? Everyone at so many companies are being asked to do so. Why do you expect that your pay should be increased to cover your costs? Doesn’t the defeat the purpose of the company trying to deal with spiraling healthcare? You are not alone in this. You are not being treated unfairly. And these figures you tossing around for management healthcare are WAY off base. I met my deductible last year and with my biweekly premium, I paid around $1200 for healthcare. More than my previous employer – I will admit AT&T’s plan is not as good as what I had elsewhere – but I accept it. Why do you feel you are special? Yes, you have the right to organize and try to negotiate for better – obviously you are doing so. However, I fail to see the logical basis for your arguments.
As for the comment that managers do not do all that much, that is absolutely laughable. I am not saying that the union members do not work hard, but when was the last time you found yourself working a 10 hour day for which you did not receive overtime pay or some other pay premium? If this strike happens, I will have to work six days straight and only get one day off…with 12 hour days. I do not get a single extra penny for that. Why? Because I do not view myself and AT&T as US vs. THEM. I am supporting my company, gladly doing what they ask and not complaining about everything I do not get.
Thirdly, as for the store reps being virtually irreplaceable (my conclusion from your comments), sorry, but here is a reality check. What you are doing is not rocket science. You may do it better than anyone else and if so I comment you. I know I could not have a sales career because i do not excel there. However, there are dozens of people out there who are now without jobs that could, with the training you have received FROM AT&T, do your job just as well. I am not trying to insult but just being realistic. Don’t believe? Check sales reps for non-unionized wireless carriers. Circuit City just went under. You don’t think they have some talented sales people that could not slot right into your position and not miss much of a beat?
Finally, regarding shareholders. This is a MAJOR problem in this country – wealth envy. Some people are so scared that someone else might make more money than them. As far as I am concerned, your only legitimate concern is whether you are getting paid fairly for what you do. That amount in comparison to someone else is of far less importance. And wealth envy is not even placed well for dividends! What do dividends do? They keep the AT&T stock attractive, a stock which has fallen nearly 40% in about a year. Who benefits from a better AT&T stock price? WE DO! Part of our 401(k) is now going into AT&T stock. Perhaps some of yours is too. Run of the mill citizens including probably many fellow union members in other industries have their retirement funds invested in AT&T stock and benefit from those dividends. Keeping the stock price up provides “currency” for AT&T to purchase asset purchases and other investments that they may need to continue to drive the business forward. And who benefits from that? Management and union employees alike because company growth provides real job security and more opportunity for all of us. So please stop moaning about someone perhaps making something because at the end of the day you benefit from that in many ways. Besides, if you want to be technical, the company exists to drive value for its shareholders. AT&T or any other company does not exist to provide jobs. It hires people who provide greater value than they are paid. If this is not the case, then there is no point in employing those individuals, whether that be you, me or anyone else. We work at the pleasure of AT&T – we are not entitled to anything. Granted, a company should care about its workers and support them because in the long run that will help them, but that is an operating choice.
Bottomline, if you think AT&T is so bad, then why do you work there? Why do union members often seem they are so much more loyal to their union than their employers? As to those of you who say you would rather not strike but feel pressured by the union. I hate to hear that but am not surprised. Union coercion and badgering is one of the reason that Card Check must never been allowed to pass the U.S. Congress. Unions want to make you think that companies are the only one who get dirty, but unions have a long standing reputation of harassing people who do not join them or support their initiatives. To suggest that a private ballot for unions is unfair is absolutely flabbergasting.
Hopefully, this strike will not happen and the union will be reasonable about the current economic state we are in. If not, I intend to walk in and do what the company asks of me. If someone wants to call me a scab so be it. I will wear that title as a badge of honor for I have virtually no respect for unions or those who would refuse to do their jobs when their demands at a minimum border on unreasonable and ill-founded. There will be many of us that will work diligently to be sure that you ahve a job to come back to all while sacrificing the many things that we should be doing to keep AT&T highly competitive in the telecommunications industry.
February 5th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
For those of you who aren’t in the know, all non-union AT&T employees are considered ‘management employees’. Don’t know why, but that’s what they call us. I’m not a people-manager, but a system’s administrator, and I’m considered a ‘Manager’ because I’m not in the union. My medical deductible as a single person is $1200 a year before the company pays 90% of the costs. All preventative benefits are 100% covered (like twice a year dental cleanings, yearly eye exams, etc.). Something like $25 per paycheck is taken out for benefits. Admittedly, in AT&T Wireless and then Cingular, benefits were nearly 100% covered w/ little to no deductible. BUT, they took out a lot more per paycheck, if I remember correctly. I think adding up what they took out per paycheck was about $1500 a year. So really, I think our new plan isn’t as bad as it first looks. It’s pretty good compared to other places. Unlike the union contract that guarantees raises or other compensation packages, I’m only guaranteed my base salary with the potential for up to a 12% bonus based on business unit and company performance (after 8 years of employment I’ve only seen 100% of my bonus ONE time. Usually it’s 50% or less of my bonus). I have to PROVE via my annual review that I deserve a merit increase (a raise). We also get a 3% match of our 401k contribution even in this economy. I’m not sure I understand the comments above me that says that the employees should be paid MORE because the company is doing well. The company should be saving its earnings as cash so that it can weather this economy. You should be paid what the market deems your position is worth just like anything.
February 5th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
You are all right. I dont think AT&T should take care of employees. they should just worry about the bottom line, continue to dehumanize the people that keep the wheels turning. we should pay att for a chance to work for such an awsome company.
February 5th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
CWA LOCAL 4202,
It saddens me that you take this position and it only confirms to me that the virtues of union philosophy are largely misrepresented by people who ask not to be judged, yet judge, and feel that the company owes them a guarantee. This is a business, not your government social security program (which by the way, will probably have worse returns in the long run than your current job and benefits). While I believe that a company should treat employees fairly, it’s core responsibility is to stay in business and in this industry, it won’t take but 2 years after a competitor catches up that we might drop back to position 2 or 3 or 4.
Also, please don’t assume that some of us managers did not start on the phone and do not know what it’s like to handle irate calls in customer service. I understand how hard your job is. To say that a manager does nothing but sit on his/her butt for 8 hours a day shows how naive you are and how entitled you feel. I won’t assume that everyone in the union has the same attitude as you.
I’ve never heard anyone on my team look down on anyone else’s position in the company regardless of whether you work in a call center, install cables, sit on an executive board, program all day, work in the cafeteria, or sell phones. I don’t wish unemployment on anyone. However, I would not care for your unprofessionalism on my team.
I hope many union workers do not end up jobless. You may get your contract renewed in the short term, but we could all lose in the long term with that kind of collective attitude.
Trust me that no one on the non-union side the strike to happen let alone wants to fill your jobs while you strike. Attacking other employees of the company including the company itself leads me to question why you would even be fighting for this job.
Good luck.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
I am a former ATT manager and support what these bargained employees are trying to accomplish. When I was with ATT last year they changed my healthcare benefits without even notifying me. My rates nearly tripled and I was stuck with a huge deductible that I had not had prior to the change. If they are trying to switch these guys to the same benefits package as the non bargained employees they will have to pay a $2000.00 deductible before the insurance even kicks in. These guys make pretty decent money, most of my employees last year where averaging around $15 an hour plus commission which averaged about $850.00 a month all the way to 2k or more, however sticking them with this joke of a benefits package will dramatically change there quality of life. When you are paycheck to paycheck like a lot of these guys are it doesn’t take much to push you into a financial hole. ATT expenses more in a month for travel expenses for district management and staff then they do on payroll for these guys. What ever the union is trying to get for these guys they more then deserve, trust me ATT can afford it. They force these guys to constantly push the grey areas just so they can make enough of a bonus to pay there bills. Increasing quotas and constant third party door openings really put these guys between a rock and a hard place. And a dirty little secret, ATT is pushing to eventually be all third party locations. They make a killing off these guys, have no overhead, and have no accountability for the constant fraud committed by these organizations. I personally wish I had stayed a bargained employee and had stayed out of management. The union really protects your back because trust me I tried to be honest and stand my ground when district management was pushing a fraudulent agenda and they steam rolled right over me.
February 6th, 2009 at 12:35 am
Hey cwa loco whatever, nice post. Typical union angry rant. What do you do in your spare time, push kids down on the playground and kick puppies? What is wrong with the company making money? Isn’t because of that you have a job in the first place? Isn’t that made you want to apply for work here? Properity? Success? Have you ever worked for a poor person? I have and let me tell you what happened. One day the owner came in and said we are dropping your health insurance but will give you a hundrded bucks more a month so you can by your own. This was the kick in the butt a 20yr old needed to get out of his comfort zone and move on. Its been almost 20yrs since that happened and what has changed? 6.50hr then, 30hr now. Almost a five fold increase in pay because of help from above, hard work and not worring about the other guys business. The guy in the mirror is who you need to focus on.
So here’s an idea for you. Opt out of your insurance, pocket your premium and then FIND YOUR OWN. Why do you think the company has to bend to your greedy wishes? Thats why they are called BENEFITS, NOT RIGHTS!
Are you so brainwashed you can’t tell your union to lower IT’S dues?
Simply stated, a union is for people who don’t have the self confidence or ability to make it on their own and feel they need to join a gang. With that gang membership comes a false sense of protection and the illusion of knowledge. Lets face it, you’re not going to put forth the effort to learn something that may make you a more productive and efficient employee when you know you are protected. Since you know you are protected you become complacent and lazy. Then after doing as little as you can for years, as you are jealous the company has the nerve to not share the wealth with you, you get promoted to union stewardess to which then you get a chip on your shoulder and you feel important. Why? You have never proved your worth. Your whole career is a sham because you had your hand held(protection) the entire time. How can you possibly take pride in your accomplishments knowing that it wasn’t your ability and intelligence that got you there but simply a contract. Hence the illusion of knowledge.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:49 am
GO ON STRIKE ..WE ARE ALREADY IN PLACE TO REPLACE YOU..UNIONS ARE HISTORY…WE ARE LEAVING TONIGHT TO BE IN PLACE SAT.SO GO OUT AND STAY OUT
February 6th, 2009 at 5:54 am
i agree with th above writer we are already in place in new york city at the penn hotel waiting to see if you idiots walk. unions are destroying these companies and they are a thing of the past…
February 6th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I have family that are in management with ATT and a friend as well. My brother-in-law has been told to be ready to stay in a hotel in Penn and work at a store there if this strike goes through. He lives in Alabama and has a 3 year old. Same with my friend. I work a full time job with a bank and a part time job delivering pizzas to make ends meat right now. I have already been told there will be no raises for the bank and I will be lucky if I don’t get a pay decrease this year. But you know what, if I need to I will find a third and fourth job to make it work. In a time when the economy is in a bind and there are a million plus people that are without jobs I think this is a huge example of selfishness. And I know that it may not be every ATT employee that is supporting the strike. But for those that are moaning and complaining about benefits, maybe you should try to understand what the term benefits means. It means they are not guaranteed things. I think that in this day and age you should be greatful for what you have.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:33 am
These guys are really an idiots. I am a former att and left sfter 8 months because if their attitude. At work they are always complaining! They even not realize that att hire them and they are always on cwa meeting! All i can say is att will survive even months of strikes they are going to do. They are piece of useless..
February 6th, 2009 at 9:11 am
We are not asking for more than what we have. at&t makes bank as is.they see the week economy as a chance to cut benifits that we have now. de la vega made 12 mill in 2008 i guess that just wasnt enough they need our benifits cut to keep competitve. we just got touch screen kiosks that cost 3k each that are never used. we constantly get emails about how well the company is doing. work in a store or on the phone i dare you its hard to balance work and a family and then get your pay cut benifits raised and see if you dont loose faith in the greatness that is at&t
February 6th, 2009 at 9:12 am
I am an AT&T employee and have been with the company for 7 months. I see the writing on the wall, and I am willing to strike to get AT&T to make up for their MAJOR cuts in commission that were started in January and are continuing. AT&T intends to cut back and maybe even cut out commissions for employees that are sales professionals and have been helping AT&T post growth even in this recession. You may ask how the hell do I know? I was let go in the first layoff round with Circuit City, The same one they attribute to the demise of their company. I later worked for a company called the Good Guys a west coast electronics retailer that cut commissions gradually then sold to CompUSA (now bankrupt)for a loss when the commission cuts did the opposite of what they had hoped it would.
Companies need to learn that if you want professionals on your front lines, you must pay the price to keep them. If you want People that could care less about your customers to sell and support your products, then by all means get rid of Corporate stores and let Best Buy & Walmart do it solely. I promise AT&T that if they continue this stubborn behavior they will share the fate of the companies that I mentioned above. AT&T customers already pay more for their features, devices, and rate plans. What would keep them loyal to the company if they then replaced the helpful Caring staff with hourly burger flippers.
February 6th, 2009 at 9:17 am
I didn’t join a “gang” I was told that I was told I had to join the union and give dues. I can say that not a lot of workers here feel the union has done squat for us nor do we really know what is going on . believe me its not all about money n unless you work for the co. most of you know squat about the co.
February 6th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Let’s face facts….. This particular Union (and many others are out there) is a sham. The concept of the union was noble and needed back in the day when there were no laws protecting worker’s rights. However, those laws are now in place and the union now has become a net to hold a bunch of worthless, low-level, non-striving, employees in place to support thier own interests as a business in and of itself. Most of the retail workers are kids (yes even at 26, you can be considered a child when you wear jeans that are hanging off your rear-end) and basically are there to collect a paycheck. NO one perosn who works here should ever consider themselves to be enititles to ANYTHING! you should work hard to learn the business and to become more productive for the company and yourself. That type of thinking is never present in a union. I mean really…. Just because you have been here longer than the next perosn should mean nothing as it only shouod matter how productive of a worker you truly are. The union really promotes poor work ethic, and i usually find that the members that I have met are a bunch of morons that have the verbal skills of a chimp. So, go ahead and strike. I wish OBAMA has a pair and did what Ronald Reagan did in 1981 when the air traffic controller union went on strike. He made the FAA FIRE all of the workers that striked and REPLACED them all with people who wanted to work!! That’s the problem now.. These people do not want to work, they just want to get paid for showing up.
February 6th, 2009 at 10:26 am
THE REPLACEMENT WORKERS ARE ON THE WAY…ESP. IN MANHATTAN.. GO ON STRIKE
February 6th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
OK, So Colorado where I work, is a forced union state. I have always been anti union, but when ATT wireless was bought by Cingular Wireless, i was forced to be apart of this. Now because of for non right-to-work forced union state I live in, none of my co-workers, me included want to strike…. But we do have to here, cause we are forced to be in the union. I have been a worker for the new att for over 7 years now and have been in the industry for 10. I have seen ATT wireless go from a great paying company to a better paying company to a forced union, with bad pay… commissions being cut, increased health care, cost of living. Being a commission sales rep, I make my ends meet and put food on my table, feed my family by the commissions I make. I unlike some on this site, wont be striking I would rather resign from the union and deal with that then loose my job or pay, so is everyone else in my store. Good luck with the people thinking they will replace the att workers with a perminate position in the stores. Once the strike is done so is your pride, I just hope that the mess left behind by your incompitance and lack of training wont make our lives, or the lives of loyal customers bad….
Good luck with your thinking that you replacements will have anything set in stone here other then being just inconvinances.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Just got to says this. The Union has lead 20,000 AT&T employees across the US to picket lines while in January alone 589,000 skilled workers lost their jobs. You do the math. Any of the Union leaders take basic economics of supply and demand. 7.6% unemployement rate = 32 million very hungry and eager job seekers. Here’s a rhetorical question anybody want to fill out an application? Oh yeah by the way my salary was frozen but I won’t have to eat sub-brand Mac’n cheese for 15 days before I get $200 dollars from a strike fund. Waiter, I’d like to order now………
February 6th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
To all of you who feel that AT&T is screwing you over by cutting commissions, I ask you to read the news for once in your life. I defy you to find a job that ISN’T making cuts in some way. At least you HAVE a job to go to every morning. Count your blessings, and stop whining.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
All you folks who plan on striking go right ahead. You might want to keep in mind though that this is not the time to be without a job! The country if you have’t noticed is not doing so well. I have been unemployed for 3.5 mos and taking contract work here and there and the competition is stiff! I am sick of it. You folks striking will be a blessing in disguise. I do not have a problem crossing your lines but, remember that there is always someone else who is willing to do your jobs for less…
February 6th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
PS. commission cuts started happening before this much more obvious ecnomic downturn….. So, don’t say we are ungrateful, this is something that has been happening to us for years, and now the union and att are in a position to come to a new agreement on this. You are right, this is very bad timing for a strike, but on the other hand we had to wait till the contract came due for resigning.
How goofy and wasted would all you “scabs” feel if this gets resolved before monday……. at least you got a free vacation right??
February 6th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Not sure how serious your contract is going to work out for you but I went through the same mass hysteria with Qwest Communications. They said they were going to layoff 1800 people! Well, I know they got rid of a lot of people but not sure how many? Then about 2 mos later after they “Cried Wolf” they didn’t let any of the techs go?? Not sure about other states but this was in AZ! Too many Idiots making scare tactics. Keep in mind your medical might go up but honestly, be greatful that if you do not strike that, you have a job/income. Wish you all the best.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I used to work at $%&&%% Bell Wireless before it became Cingular, which beacme SBC and then AT&T Wiireless again..SBC which is now the new AT&T is “a satanic darth vader”. of a company. well I was a supervisor in Net Ops, were told that they will get and I quote” the most for the least” and went on to explain that what it meant was the most amount of work out of everyone for the least amount of money/benefits… AND if you did not like that they would get someone else to do your job or eliminate the position and give more work to the others….most managers lost their personal lives, forget your kids and wife..you never or seldom see them…why get a divorce, you wont see them, you will be strapped to a desk 12 to 14 hours a day, and weekends too…one guy said that is really not fair to be so blunt about this and your demeanor your portraying here is degrading to us all, we have personal lives, wifes kids, bills to pay,, he was told with the same stern deamanor and I quote again he raised his voice ” FAIR…there is NO FAIR here…if you want FAIR go to the State Park FAIR and that only comes once a year”… they then proceeded to hatchet and weed out posistions and people, of course that guy who spoke what was on his and elveryines mind was one of the first ones to go..they will always reduce the number of employees, increased the number of cell sites per tech or employees per manager and eliminated any Preventive Maintenace on the cellsites. These guys will tell you everything and anything to screw you and use fear and intimidation to work you till you die…and three people have had heart attacks and did died i knew or knoew of in 2 years time…the will and do eat thier own…believe half of what you see and none of what you hear… their profits have allowed them to gobble up tons of companies yet the employees are told they cannot afford to even give you water in the brek room or napkins..everyone was wondering…what is next to go..the toilet paper… GOOD LUCK…they love this stike and want it to happen and they love it if you take waht they are shoving up your butts…it is win/win for the “corporation”….not the employee… the employee is a widget and the managers are encouraged and trained to treat you live one to be used..no emotions, you are not human and you have no feelings…then the managers themselves are desenistized to have feeligns and then you have depressed zombies, no atmosphere, cold offices, no one is happy, only the FAT CAT corporate executives whose greed and mindset described above that has and will destroy this Country. someday you only will get a paycheck and it will be small…no benefits, nada…. gone are the days of treating you as humans..you have non identity and are a widget. an indentured servitude is the future for our children and our childrens children…corporate america is almost form of satanic misery, depression, poverty is what and ithey have brought to you and your families and the country as… the sky HAS fallen….
February 6th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I have been a call center rep for good old at&t for almost three years. At&t is constantly sending out emails regarding our millions of dollars of profit. Last year they made something like $123 billion dollars. It is very sad to me that a company like at&t cannot support its employees. We are abused every day by customers, I have been called every name under the sun! The least at&t could do is act like they care! All we are asking for is everything that we already had. They are trying to take everything from us that we have worked so hard for! Everything from reducing sick pay days, to eliminating bonuses, to lowering vacations days. Everyone sure has a lot to say about us going on strike but we have no choice. I of all people understand that times are tough as my husband was recently laid off! People act like we have a choice about this, should we just rollover and let at&t screw us all?
February 6th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I find it odd that managers complain about CWA. We knew about the manager going to take calls. We have a lot of pro union managers telling us information. If your a manager I dont feel sorry for you at all. Remember you chose to be a manager. When I started for ATT I like the direction Cingular at that time was taken. We were respected and paid good until ATT/Cingular took away our commissions, and then placed roadblocks like attendance and quality and time the feature had to stay on until you got paid. Then it was taken away and in some cases removed all at once. How can you say that ATT has to do this to stay in business. There is Verizon and ATT the 2 biggest cell phone companies. This company has had record profits year after year after year. What did ATT do, one took managers cell phones away, which we know is only a matter of time to they do this to us. 2 they took away her extra vacation time you pay for and now you have healthcare that is alomst to high to afford. My manager has even told me that he cannot afford it. In Illinois we make more than managers and all we want is fair wages for the work we do. We are now required to do tech, sales and collections and all we ask is to be paid for it. I think you manager should get into the union as well. You should be paid more than us, but I agree and may have been to mean to all managers, but some do care and support us, but majority dont do shit. I used to be in the intern program and let me tell you it is a joke, I got out of it quick. I cannot yel at people like they wanted us to. I at the time didnt really care about the union until we did our 2005 contract. Now I think and agree we all dont want to go on strike and we all want what is fair and resonable. If ATT is so great and wonderful, why dont they tell us what type of wages they are willing to pay. Why if they are such in bad shape they are in talks to by Sprint. Why if they are in bad shape they are doing UVers and just entered into with Direct TV. Why if they are in bad shape did they give past CEOS and president free healthcare. Do you have free healthcare, I know I dont. To all the managers out there, how did you feel they took your bonuses away this year. Was you planing an getting something with that bonus. When and how much do you get for raises? Must be nice to have gotten a bonus, when it is us that take all the calls, figure out the billing errors, reslove misinformation given and fix things when they go down. When managers only listen and score calls, have team meetings, put us on discpline and yes give credit over what we can give. Boy that is really hard work………=( you poor things. I cannot wait once this is over the landline has their day and I support them.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
It’s the same old story. Nothing has changed since unions was first created. So, while you are walking and complaining about your benefits. I’ll be sitting at your desk and waiting for them to offer me your job. I need one and I’ll have yours. So I say “Thank You” for striking. I was once like you guys, complaining about every little thing that the company did. Well, I have had to pay for everything including 100% health insurance for a family of five since, deciding to pursuit my happiness as an entrepreneur. So, I’m hanging up my hat of self-employment and taking your hat of employment. “Bye”
February 6th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
in response to Scott Baker…. i haved worked in a new york store for 5 years and the union dues are only like 20 bucks per paycheck and the average new york rep makes well over 50k a year… so the union dues arent the problem… if 20 percent of your pyay went to healthcare and u have kids at home, woudnt u lose your mind and strike?!!! ok then… i hope they get this together because the more this company makes they either try to lower our base or somehow give us less in commission… when i first started this company there were many reps making 6 figures and owning homes, then they cut the pay with the merger and then it just went down from there.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Attendance??? You mean at&t expects you to show up to work on time on your scheduled days to work? That’s absurd.
Quality & Time??? Are you telling me at&t expects that when a sales person sells a service or feature they really expect you to be consultative with the customer and make sure that it is something that will really meet the customer’s needs and that it is not just something that you add onto their service because so you can get an extra $5 commission.
Here is some advice from a sales person that is still going to be making their salary plus commission while you are drawing $200 from a strike fund.
YOU ARE IN COMMISSION SALES!!!! If you want to make more money, sell more stuff. Give yourself the raise.
February 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
http://cwa-union.org/att/mobility/mobility-bargaining/mobility-bargaining.html
I love the tone the union takes. Maybe they’ll learn a similar lesson the UAW is learning now.
February 6th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
AT&T is made up of people. Manager or not, we are all people. AT&T is not a robot that makes its own decision. It is people. People that feel the same doubts, have the same fears, and live in the same world. Every employee at AT&T should feel blessed. Blessed because they have a good job at a company that is stable. In order to stay stable, we all have to be flexible. Yes, our company has been fortunate enough to still post profits. The point is not what we have now, but what we will sustain. In order to sustain, there is a need to make sacrifices to do so. The CEO did not want to have to be part of laying off 12,000 people. But in order to keep the future a little bright, it had to be done. The same goes to the union negotiations. Something has to be done to stay on top. Everyone in the compony makes that possible. Yes, the union members are usually the ones on the front line. Thank you for all the hard work you do. Lets not let your hard work go to waste by refusing to look at the enviroment in which we live, and be willing to make adjustments. 8% of our country is out of work. Their job is gone. If you had no job, these issues would be irrelevant. Let us look at the facts. Yes, you deserve more. So do those not employeed. Unfortunatly, the current economy has to make us see through different eyes. We have to adjust what is important. Health care cost a lot of money. Someone has to pay it, and if the company has to do so then there would be less to spend on other things, like fighting off our competitors. You do in fact affect the bottom line. The bottom line is the compass for everything we do as a company. You should feel proud, we are the best. The best in almost everything we touch. So, lets change our perspective, and be willing to negotiate. Lets not point blame, or try to side track other with jargon. Lets come to an agreement. The union memebers, and the manager are all peers. We all have to carry the burden. Please, union members, do not think that you carry it all. Also, please do think that you are above the rest of the world. Lets be one, and move foward. Then hopefully, 4 years down the road we will live in a whole new world. Till then…..
February 6th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Everyone has to eat, provide a place to sleep and feed their kids, so it is a matter of survival. I dont blame anyone one way or the other whether they want to work or strike. I only saying that corporate America and AT&T being one has sold out the very soul of the country for greed, and as an individual dont matter to the them. Their holidays are always going to GREAT. They are selfish, they dont know you, they are thieves in a suit with business cards as their burgarly tools. They justify one way or another in thier minds it is ok to take as much as they can away from your life as they have limited consciousness. MONEY is their GOD! and they will go to sleep and even go to church believing they are doing the right thing. They WILL continue to loot the country and loot your childrens future. They love you to strike or love you to take their raw deal. The guyb who says he will be glad to take your job and be happy does not realize that his childrens and their childrens future will suffer. he is a stuck, as are all of you when you only have bad choices presented to you. I will never work there again and have burned my ship so I wont go back. Not an option. I feel dorry for you all, This is the decline of our socitey and Rome lasted 2000 years, we have only been around about 300. You cannot do as the Constitution says when it get this bad and that is revolt, tear down and build a new society, they will imprison or kill you first. Accept our future generations are destined to Corporate misery for years to come. All the while these Corporate Execs live well and make MILLIONS of dollars while you east donkey tacos. The more Mexico becomes like America, the more America vecome like Mexico, poverty and low wages are the future for the population. You have to bow down and become a “beggar” and a widget at work. Please Master/Manager, whip me, disrespect me, demean me and can I have another. YES and I HAVE to hurt you or my boss will beat me, so take another one. and be happy i can hurt you and your life and yuour childrens lives. Because the execs 16 year old kid needs a new Bentely and fly to Vegas for a $75 Kobe Beef hamburger for lunch and watxh Chris Angel the companies private jet. Hey there is always the State FAiR for you to go to for entertainment….oh I forgot..you cannot go as your stuck working 6 to 7 days a week 12 to 18 hours a day and so you dont have the time to go. Well your Manger will just haved to be more mean and hurt you some more and you will forget about the FAIR..next they will pass laws to cheer and fed you to the Lions, hey we are going backwards here. arent we?…thought this place called America was supposed to take us out of the Dark Ages and not hurt people for sport and greed?… well we might as go Witch Hunting while we are at it… hey and if they say youa re not a Team Player…I got news, the phrase Team Player is a management term to make you feel guilty for not taking their bad contract or going along and selling out the future generations and are not willing to help giving them most of your life for the least amount of money,so dont buy the Team Spirit thing, this is all planned and controlled chaos to keep you working and then you die or grow old and relaize you never lived your lives…you spent it strapped to a chair beating robbed and emotionally beaten…enough of me! I go to go eat my dog food taco and be HAPPY I have it and then i was wondering if you can do me a favor since I took the time to educate you..can you spare a piece of that AT&T toilet paper, eeer, I mean AT&T paycheck, I feel a strike coming on,
February 6th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I am working for at&t and i fear that the strike will hinder my pocket! I am not wealthy and im simply a poor college kid trying to make something out of my poor miserable life. Why does the Union have to go and mess things up. I need my job! who’s going to buy my baby’s milk? I know its not going to be IWC, they are only thinking about this entire situation from their own perspective. I think that this strike is silly and i am greatful to be making more than 8 dollars an hour! You morons who are posting a crap load of BS here and you need to shut up and go back to selling your phones and taking your calls.
February 6th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
the AT&T Manger in the above post asks for 4 more years….Richard “Tricky Dick” Nixon asked the for the same thing 4 more years…and we got Watergate, I am not a not a crook! and he never knew about Watergate….please…another AT&T brainwashed Zombie…blind to the big picture… dont worry about now ..worry about now 4 years from now… and then what …just another feel sorry story for the 18 millon dollar year CEO trick to get you to bow down and be a Team Player…..no napkins in the breakroom and no water was three years ago…I saw them go the 19 yead old Uverse “kids” installers and ask them sign a waiver form for their afternoon dinner break beacuse if you were a the customers house it MAY upset the customer you want to eat and use your UNION negotiated rights to do so…so your body functions are now being stripped of you…try to go to the bathroom as a Uverse tEch….just dont ask to use the customers bathroom…hold till the install is done and then go to the truck and do it in your pants and run to the next job or the GPS unit will report you for hanging around longer than 10 miinutes in one spot…,.so please..
Its ok..you still got the toilet paper for now…be HAPPY for the toiler paper…but soon they will ask you to buy and bring your own…and mark my words someday your great great grand children will ask about something they dont know existed…BENEFITS….what are those…BENEFITS???..is it some old 70’s rock band? i thought SOILENT GREEN was our compensation? kinda tastes funny but they the kids got to eat….an dlets take a glimpse to the year 2200…our human species future AT&T says it needs to reduce the amount of SOILENT GREEN paid out..they need to ensure that the year 2201 CEO gets his brand new yearly corporate provided 24K Gold Bentely. forwared to year 2300 hey there goes a pidgeon….The Future generations Turkey Dinner… so your great great grand kids will be saying ..it tastes, well kinda like that three beaked SOILENT GREEN chicken fingers from the McAT&T! i want more….sorry the new 2200 Union Contract wont let me give you more thank one SOILENT GREEN a day kids…lets go the AT&T Museum…. during our 5 minute luch break son…whats that Dad…that is a picture of an AT&T empoloyee from 2009….why does he look so sad Dad? he is not sad Son…geesh …he looks sad with that AT&T toliet paper 2009 Unon contract shoved up his but?. NO ..son… HE IS HAPPY….see that is what the company sign says below..and the company or its Managers would never lie to it’s employee…..They took their brains away years ago…we dont need to think anymore…well we need to go the AT&T pharmacy and get out daily dose of AT&T Medicine so we can stay HAPPY ..we need to work and lives all our in this cubicle and this stuff helps!!…aww Dad… I want stay and see the next 4 years 2013 contract picture…that AT&T Manager was talking about in the posting….ok….wow Dad they say they took away their DENTAL benfits..waht are those…they were for teeth but now we just mumble…AT&T got tired of the employees so they took away thier Dental benefits and that is why your teeth fall out at birth…wow…Dad…that is just GREAT! I AM SO GLAD TO BE WORKING HERE SINCE I WAS 5 BORN!!!…Yeah son… AT&T child slave labor is GREAT!
back to the present…2009 ohhhhhh ….jeeshhh …aaaahh…hey thanks for the AT&T Paycheck.,..err AT&T toilet paper…(or Union Contract)….that strike is coming on and its gonna be messy stinker….damn those SOILENT GREEN tacos…
February 6th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I am working for at&t and i fear that the strike will hinder my pocket! I am not wealthy and im simply a poor college kid trying to make something out of my poor miserable life. Why does the Union have to go and mess things up. I need my job! who’s going to buy my baby’s milk? I know its not going to be IWC, they are only thinking about this entire situation from their own perspective. I think that this strike is silly and i am greatful to be making more than 8 dollars an hour! You morons who are posting a crap load of BS here and you need to shut up and go back to selling your phones and taking your calls
February 6th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Fuck Verizon
February 6th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
In all seriousness….I am very very sorry and saddened to see my ex co workers, people of this country hurt and suffer over corporate greed yet again. Take Care…Best Wishes…love yourself, that faceless company and others like it never will…
February 6th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I am a current AT&T wireless employee and actually like my job however the company is attempting to decrease our wages and take away vacation days. I have worked there for almost 3 years and I look forward to the vacation days and the raises we receive. I voted yes for the strike because I recently bought a house and receiving a decrease in pay is NOT part of the American dream. Call us greedy or selfish but realistically speaking we work hard just like everyone else does. You say we just answer phone calls,but we really don’t “just answer calls” or just sell phones. There are numerous responsibilities that we do that are unknown to most customers. There alot of behind the scenes responsibilities that occur everyday. So yes we will strike,it is probably not a great time to strike with the economic woes ,but we have to do what is best for our families.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
stupid posings and intenet jokes are very dumb but amuse the mind for bad times….grim humour over a stupid and greed induced situation !…swears are for not…try telling this to you boss…
peace, love…I am outta here… i got to go back to and get my yacht ready..and get my squeeze some Dom….. sad for you poor UNION slaves… i feel bad…ok..that moment is over…but now i go to move on….i got propblems too..we all got them,…try sailing to Maui from Newport Beach when the the rain is coming… maybe i will just take the corporate jet and let you guys foot the bill….
I can see it now…STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE!!!NO SCUMBAGS! yeah i can hear the screams now, the chaos all over the news on the TV Stations, anger, rage, no food…all brouht to you by AT&T Uverse …sign up now to see yourselves get screwed!
February 6th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
STRIKE!! AT & T is the worst!!
February 6th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
with close to 600K jobs lost in January it would be a great surprise if there was a strike
February 6th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Go work for AT & T and see what a crap company they really are. They care just for themselves and the bottom line. And after the strike, we will have jobs for life cleaning up the mess the managers and replacements make of all the systems we work with.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I am a non-bargained for employee. I have worked for at&t Wireless since 99, before the Cingular merger. My healthcare costs have doubled, and my coverage has decreased. I found out recently that no one who is not bargained for will receive a merit raise this year.
Obviously, we are living in interesting times. To survive, smart companies have to cut back. Yep, at&t asks for more growth every year. I started at entry level sales, and I performed well and received promotions. I have managed employees for this company for some time. Unfortunately, my experience is that with the exception of a few stand-outs, few employees these past few years exhibit a desire to work hard for their company. There is an adversarial relationship growing that can be attributed to both sides.
Yes, the fat cats can give up something too. Hopefully they will. Hopefully, those bargained for employees who feel they are entitled to it all will see that they need to give up a little.
Hopefully, cool heads will prevail, and we won’t have a situation that will tarnish the reputation of a brand that is an American icon. Hopefully, I won’t have to travel half-way across the country, away from my wife and kids to fill in for those who strike. But if I do, I will suck it up, smile, and proudly represent at&t to our cherished customers. When the rest of you are ready to get back to work, I hope you appreciate what you have.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Is it not funny how managers say how wonderfull it is working for the NAZI ATT empire. Yes its wonderful working if your a ATT manager. You dont have people yelling at you, you dont have to listen to irate customers yelling in your ear and not able to hang up on them. You made those big bonuses, ooops, I forgot ATT the one that posted profits after profits just took your bonus away. Ummm Where do I sign up to be a manager. I feel every union member pain, I have to worry about where money is going to come in and worry for my family, but one thing I can say, lets look at the contract we have now and lets look where ATT is at now. SBC/ATT landline have a good contract and they say it took them 20 years. We are only asking for a piece of what ATT earn, well what we all did so ATT can earn. We could run ATT w/o the dumb ass managers. We have the power and we can get the respect, the honor and the pay we deserve. Not all unions are bad, and sometime it looks like they leave us behind. I personally know one of these members at the talk table and I know she is fighting for us 110%. We have to stay strong and hope we get whats fair and just
February 6th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
the company CAN afford it..they just dont want to and never will give back what they take EVER!… BE REAL its the same old story for generations…go study history..They CAN afford to buy this company or that Celebrity and pay enormous Salaries to a select few but say the CANNOT to give you good benefits that would be compatative to 1985 pay.. your wages arte stagnated and have been designe dot be that way yerars ago,.,THE word is they already have sub-contractors already lined up to come in and work your jobs..You have only 2 bad choices to chose from… no matter which way you go..THEY WIN! that is called a win/win! even the Managers are screwed, poverworked and are used aS punching bags. Managers are people too and they are beoing screwed too!! Secret is they agree that the company is greedy but cannot say or do anything…They eat thier own….spys are everywhere….friends who say they are your friend sell them out…the AT&T office envirnoment is designed that way….keep everyone confused and worried ans scared…Emotional Vampires and Corpoate Darth Vadors prey on the Managers too…offcie politics is a sea of swill..they are paranoid, afraid to dare to say that the “Emperor Wears No Clothes” $60 million on a DEAD TROUBLE TICKET SYSTEM THAT DONT WORK….yup…the WIRLESS TT system is a piece of junk..and no one can say anything.. the guy who made it happen already left and retired…so they need ” a work around to fill the gap” which means it dont work and dont say it ..just do something about it..but they cannot…they are zombies…UNION employees, non Union, and Managers …you are all doomed and you are all in the same boat…but its good pit you all that way….as the top execs get thier way….go to Corporate Lawyers and execs and drag these guys who are the orchestators of this ..into the street and TAR & FEATHER THEM.
Controled chaos it is all designed to be this way! The top execs and insiders such know this…think they get rich being kind! or stupid.
your only way out it to leave someday and the sooner the better.. one way or the other….once your gone, you will never ever want to go back… nor would you want to…STOP AND LOVE YOURSELF and stop hurting yourself. suffer now and get something esle no matter what it is or end up old and realize that once you are old you can never live as that company or its ill like will still be ther eoncve your dead and gone..YOUR real life is too short to put up what they do to you and your loved ones…FOR GREED! STRIKE AND LEAVE….one day they will come up to you and say…thanks for your 25 years of service but we are letting you go to save 50 cents. Have a nice life your 63 and all ofa sudden,.,,it will hit you…..my God,,my whole life was spent dreaming about doing this and that and now i am too old to do so…GET IT NOW!.,..if you dont GET IT….you will one day and when you do…it will be too late… I GOT IT, I LEFT and I suffered for a while…and I am not the one suffering at AT&T… I am content and know I made the best thing I culd ever do and LOVE myself and not that dysfunctional way of life… see ya…you wont go….your TOO WEAK!…. yes sir..may I HAVE ANOTHER…HURT ME MORE AND MORE AND MORE…YOUR ALL SUCKERS FOR PAIN…AND YOU DESERVE IT FOR STAYING THERE! THE TRUTH HURTS…SORRY OT BE THE ONE TO DARE SAY…” THE EMPEROR WEARS NO CLOTHES”! GIVE IT ALL AND GIVE’EM HELL IF YOU DO! ME…I WILL JUST WATCH IT ALL AND LAUGH… AND ALREADY AM.. I TOLD PEOPLE YEARS AGO..SOME LISTENED, SOME DID NOT…YOUR LIFE NOT MINE TO WASTE AWAY WHERE YOU ARE and be DISRESPECTED AND be DEAD..that is what you are if you stay there ….DEAD….GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD STRIKE!!!
BUH BYE
February 6th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
No such thing as FAIR in here in our company SBC)….FAIR is something that comes to the State Park once a year….and that quote was by a TOP SBC Executive to the local Management Team when they took over 1998/1999 GET IT…there is NO FAIR at AT&T/SBC in thier minds and never will be… tired of trying to educate ALL of you…time for a Cuban Cohiba cigar and a bottle of Dom…..your suffering.. I am NOT!
February 6th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
why strike and try to get more money for reps in mobility (especially the call center in farmers branch,tx)that doesn’t want to do their job when they are at work, barely comes to work and manipulates the system when they are there. The use the health care benefits like FMLA/DISA to take extended vacations..so before the CWA start sticking there necks on the line you need to look into the people you are striking for..they are not worth it..
February 6th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
I see both sides however, At&T is in the business to make money and innovate to stay competitive. The owners and major shareholders who put in their money to risk are rich…its not thier job to make the employees rich-if you don’t like how you are compensated-if you don’t like someone telling you how much your services are worth-then do what they originally did…..start up your own company!!!!
February 6th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
CWA LOCAL 4202,
Perhaps if you began to use proper English you too someday could be a manager, director, VP, or even C level executive. You claim that you could run the company without managers. Maybe someday you’ll have the opportunity to do just that. Good luck.
February 6th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
why climb that corporate ladder…own your own as the man said, be your own boss is a good idea. be all you can be for yourself, not others to benefit off your blood and sweat. be a manager at AT&T,,nope,…been there done that….no live, work 12 to 16 hours a day, never see the wife or kids, no wat to go t after school practices,..NO LIFE… NO THANKS…. rather be poor and content than ruin others lives…. they told me pick one and mess with him and maybe even FIRE someone, all said with a wink/wink of scourse,,i said why….so the others will work harder and be afraid…destroy a mans life to get them controlled chaos.. you dont wan to do this…we will find someone who will….. GET IT!….probably not .. small minds are the reason you are still there….no rationalization from an atmospehere and mindset that is built and intened to be irrational… it is called PERPORTRATED INSANITY …. or as you will Management Stle…Performance Management….screw thy fellow employee and lie about it…the DARK SIDE…beleive in our way of life…and next thing you know….your drinking their Kool Aid….. AT&T Kool Aid….stress kills…. and destroys…and so do they…
February 7th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Strike?? I don’t want you to strike. You all do your jobs just fine. I’m sure you know by now, I am supposed to learn one of those jobs; so I can be shipped off and fill in for you. Thanks for that.
Let me put my life and family on hold to do a job I have no desire to do. Who’s going to fill in for me, huh? who’s going to be there to read a book to my 5 year-old? I’ll be in another state, doing a job I’m not qualified to do, so someone else can get paid more. Nice.
So, I’ll go there. Fill in for you. And, try to do the best I can–to not screw anything up. While *you* go and complain about the company, your pay, your benefits, and how I’m screwing up everything while you’re gone.
Even though I’ll try to do my best… you’ll criticize everything I’ve done… complain about it until you find something else to focus your negative attention on.
Who loses? You? You choose to strike. Can you lose if you make a concious decision to strike? Hmm.. you might lose out on some money; but, then again, you knew that. Me? I like having a job, too. But I won’t be able to do that while you strike. Because I’ll be doing *your* job. A job you’re good at and I’m not. A job you might like to do, but I don’t. Why? So I can keep *my* job. I actually like what I do; and… I’d like to keep doing it.
Because, in the end, I like coming home and reading my child to sleep.
No worries, I’ll just put my life on hold.
For you.
And your union.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:45 am
Im very upset at the mere fact that I see a ton of ATT Reps nagging about STRIKE….& how they want want want more more more….when most are on a fixed 40hr set work week….we dedicated….mgrs & yes I TOTALLY LOVE my job!!! I LOVE what I do & I LOVE our customers we happily service day to day that make LIFE meaningful AND AVERAGE 50+HRS/WK spmetimes…by choice to satisfy our customers & our workers & yes….fill in whenever duty calls!! Yes…AT&T is a huge corporation….THEY TAKE pretty good care of us ALL! I see Reps pay checks…I see how much my reps pay for benefits….TAKE A LOOK AT THE ECONOMY U IGNORANT REPS & Union negotiators, who want MORE MORE MORE! With no real degree requirements…..a lot of reps are making a TON…of income. YES….A TON!! Get GREAT medical benefits that cost NEXT TO NOTHING, check outside for how wonderful other companies medical benefits are!!!NOT!! Dental, Vision, Legal Assistance….401K plans that the company MATCHES….TUITION REIMBURSEMENT….FREE PHONES….discount plans….did I mention unbelieveable COMPENSATION & pay plan!!! and while many employers are having to lay off their workers all over the world going UNEMPLOYED……It is SOOO ignorant & irresponsible of the union & its supporters to demand EVEN MORE when the rest of the world is WANTING A JOB!! Did u ever think of the possibility that AT&T just says….lets NOT negotiate….NO CONTRACT & hey….lets just get our own NEW non Union workers!!! ALL OF THE DEDICATED MGRS LIKE ME….YEP…I COULD RETRAIN ANOTHER STAFF THAT WOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR THE TONS OF BENEFITS AT&T CURRENTLY PROVIDES OUR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES TODAY with their CURRENT PAY & BENEFITS!! which for those of you who have no idea is definitely NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT! AT&T is a great employer for both reps & managers alike!! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS PEOPLE OR YOU COULD BE ON UNEMPLOYMENT STREAK TOMORROW IF IT ALL CRUMBLED TO BITS & AT&T COULD NO LONGER KEEP AS MANY OF US EMPLOYED DUE TO GREEDY UNION DEMANDS IN THE WORST OF ECONOMIC TIMES HITTING US TODAY!!!
February 7th, 2009 at 2:40 am
STRIKE…. GO AHEAD.. THE ONLY THING STRIKES DO IS MAKE THE UNIONS RICHER.. THEY WANT YOU TO GO OUT. IT FILLS THEIR POCKETS.. I HOPE ATT AND CWA GO OUT.. THEY BOTH SUCK ANYWAY..SOMEONE WILL REPLACE YOU..YOULL DO THE UMEMPLOYMENT THING ..COLLECT STRIKE PAY AND STILL LOOSE IN THE LONG RUN.. HAVE FUN BUT ILL STILL CROSS YOUR PICKET LINE
February 7th, 2009 at 4:19 am
AT&T Mgr Says:
February 7th, 2009 at 12:06 am
” Because I’ll be doing *your* job. A job you’re good at and I’m not. A job you might like to do, but I don’t. Why? So I can keep *my* job. I actually like what I do; and… I’d like to keep doing it.
Because, in the end, I like coming home and reading my child to sleep.
No worries, I’ll just put my life on hold.
For you.
And your union.”
Wake up fool! You are buying into the us vs them mentality that AT&T wants you too. You blame your employees for wanting a decent wage? You blame your employees for being willing to act to try to achieve fair pay for fair work? You blame your employees for wanting to not lose even more ground? your employees are not the ones making you miss reading time with your children. Your employees didn’t assign you to travel. Your company DEMANDED it of you. Your employees didn’t ask that you be forced from your home for days or weeks. Your company DEMANDED it of you. Which employee told you to learn a new skill set and perform someone else’s job? Your company DEMANDED it of you. Think through who is forcing you to do these things..It is your company’s choice to make you travel, to make you leave your children and family for a while, and to do a job you don’t understand. That is your company’s choice. You are doing AT&T’s bidding. They have told you to jump, and you have weakly replied “How high?”
February 7th, 2009 at 6:17 am
***************SO HERE WE ARE IN THE HEAT OF ANOTHER BATTLE BETWEEN WOULD COULD BE CONSIDERED GOOD AND EVIL. LET ME FIRST SAY THAT I REALY CANT AND DONT HAVE A SIDE ON THIS ISSUE BECASUE I FEEL THAT THE WHOLE BATTLE COULD BE SO MUCH EASIER IF THE NEGOTIATIONS WOULD JUST CONTINUE AS PLANNED. OH WAIT IM MGMT SO I MAY COME OFF A BIT BYEST.
SO IM GOING TO GOING AHEAD AND COMMENT ON THIS ISSUE ONLY BECASUE I HAVE READ SOME OF THE STUPIDEST THE COMMENTS ON THIS PAGE. I HAVE WORKED FOR AT&T FOR 10 YEARS NOW, BOTH ON THE BARGAINED AND NON-BARGAINED SIDE AND TO SEE SOME OF THE COMPLAINING THAT IS GOING ON ESPECAILLY ON THE EAST COAST MARKET IS TRULEY FUNNY, FROM BOTH SIDES I MUST SAY. A BIT ON ME, I WAS A REP FOR SEVEN YEARS PARTAILLY UNDER THE CWA UMBRELLA, THEN YES CHOSE TO GO INTO MANAGEMENT, WHICH I GUESS SOME REPS DO NOT FULLEY UNDERSTAND THE PROCCESS OF A “CARREER PATH” AND ARE JUST OK WITH BEING WERE THEY ARE, HEY ITS YOUR WORLD GUYS. I HAVE SEEN THE BEST WORK CONDITIONS AND CAN TELL YOU PROBABLY THE WORST BUT I CAN TRUELY SAY THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST COMPANIES TO BE WORKING OFR RIGHT NOW IN THE ECONOMIC STRUGGLE WE ARE CURRENTLY IN. IF YOU TAKE A STEP BACK AND TAKE A LOOK NO MATTER WHAT SIDE OF THE FENCE YOU ARE ON YOU HAVE TO ADMIT IT’S NOT THAT BAD OF A GIG. SO HERE IS A BATTLE REGARDING PAY, LIFE, HEALTH, JOBS, COMPANY SURVIVAL, AND THE ONLY PEOPLE TRULEY JUST BITCHING AND COMPLAINING ARE PROBABLY THE ONES WHO DO NOT DO THEIR JOB TO THE FULLEST DAY IN AND DAY OUT. And THE REPS AND MANAGERS WHO DO ARE ULTAMITLEY ARE THE ONES WHO SUFFER FROM THE OTHERS COMPLAINING. SO HERE IS MY “OPINION” ON THIS ISSUE;
PAY-THE AREGUMENT IS OBIOUSLY THE REPS ARE GETTING ENOUGH OF IT AND THE COMPANY DOSENT REALLY WANT TO GIVE MORE OF IT. WHEN AT&T PUTS OUT THE COMMISSION STRUCTURE EVERY YEAR EVERY REP IS GOING TO BITCH AND COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW MUCH THERE GONG TO LOOSE, THEN THEY FIND THERE NITCH LIKE EVERY YEAR BEFORE. ULTIMATILY MAKING EVEN MORE THAN THEY DID THE MONTH BEFORE. WITH AN AT RISK OF $1400 MAKING AROUND $4500, ON AVERAGE, IS TO BE HONEST A BIT OBSERD. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND IF YOU SET THE RULES OF THE GAME AND YOU WORK YOUR ASS OF WHY NOT YOU EARNED IT, RIGHT. OK, ILL GIVE YOU THAT, GOOD WORK GUYS. SO THEN COMES HOURLY PAY- SO EVERY YEAR AS MANAGERS WE DO EVALUATIONS THAT REALLY MEAN NOTHING WHICH TO BE HONEST ARE EXTREMLY TIME CONSUMING AND ARE WORTHLESS BECASUE THERE IS NO IMPACT TO REPS, GOOD OR BAD IT MEANS NOTHING. SO THE QUESTION I ASK THE REPS WOULD YOU REALLY WANT THE SYSTEM TO BE ANYTHING DIFFERNT THAT WHAT IT IS NOW. I ONLY WISH THAT WE MANAGMENT COULD HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER THE AMOUNT OF THE NEGOTIATED RAISE BASED ON YOUR PERFORMANCE ON WHAT YOU DID FOR THE YEAR. AND YES I KNOW, SOME OF YOU ARE PROBABLY SITTING IN FRONT OF YOUR COMPUTER ON THE SALES FLOOR NOT DOING YOUR JOB BITCHING AND COMPLAINING ABOUT WHAT I JUST SAID, BUT TO BE FRANK REPS ARENT EQAUL. SOME OF YOU ARE HONESTLY BETTER THAN OTHERS AND I WISH THE GOOD ONES COULD GET A HIGHER RAISE THAN OTHERS BECASUE SOME OF YOU GUYS JUST DO A BETTER JOB THAN OTHER AND SOME OF YOU JUST FLAT OUT SUCK AT WHAT YOU DO. YEAH I SAID IT, WHAT U GONNA DO? MAYBE THE PROBLEM IS I AM ONE OF THOSE MANAGERS THAT TRULEY CARES ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO MY TEAM, I RESPECT AND VALUE MY TEAM AND ITS BECASUE THEY WILL WALK THROUGH WALLS FOR ME IF I ASKED THEM TOO AND EVERYONE OF MY TEAMS BEFORE WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME, BUT THOSE THAT DO NOT PULL THEIR WEIGHT ARE NOT HELPING MY CASUE WHICH IS THE SAME REASON THE POSSIBILTY OF STRIKE IS EVEN BEING TALKED ABOUT, MONEY IN THE BANK. SO ON THIS ISSUE I CAN UNDERSTAND BOTH SIDES, BECASUE ULTIMITLEY THAT’S THE REASON, AND ONLY REASON, WE COME TO WORK, MONEY.
HEALTH BENEFITS- ON THIS ISSUE I HAVE TO BE HONEST, IM PRETTY ON SIDED HERE BEACSUE I REALLY CANT SAY THAT I HAVE MUCH PITTY FOR THE REPS. YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN GETTING THE BEST INSURANCE I HAVE EVER SEEN FOR ALONG TIME NOW. I REMEBER WHEN I USED TO GO TO THE DOCTORS AND THE FRONT DESK NURSE WOULD SAY WOW YOU HAVE AWESOME INSURANCE, AND FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS ALL I HEAR IS OUCH YOUR INSSURANCE SUCKS. SO IT’S TIME TO PAY THE PIPER, BECASUE I FEEL THAT AT&T IS GOING TO BUGE ON THIS ISSUE MUCH. I MEAN ALMOST FREEE INSSURANCE FOR YEARS AND NOW YOU MAY HAVE TO PAY FOR IT, SORRY JOIN THE REST OF THE WORK, AT LEAST YOULL HAVE. MAYBE OBAMA WILL HOOK YOU UP AND GIVE IT TO YOU FREE AGAIN, WHO KNOWS. BUT I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT YES THE INSURANCE PLANS NOW ARE TERRIBLE BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I KNOW IF SOMTHING HAPPENS TO ME OR MY FAMILY I CAN GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND I CAN GET TREATED, ILLL HAVE TO PAY FOR IT LATER BUT ATLEAST I HAVE IT. SO GOOD LUCK THERE GUYS!!!
WORK PERFORMANCE- YOU KNOW, I WILL ADMIT, YES I CHOSE MGMT, AND I HAVE BEEN PROUD OF MY CHOICE AND HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK. I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT EVER DAY I COME TO WORK AND GIVE 100% EVERY DAY. I CANT SAY THAT FOR ALL THE REPS BUT I KNOW MY JOB IS TO SHOW THEM WHY THEY NEED TO. AND IT’S HARD EXPLAINING TO THEM WHY THEY SHOULD GO INTO MGMT, OBVIOUSY. BUT SOMTIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE A STEP BACK IN ORDER TO TAKE ONE FORWARD. I UNDERSTAND THAT WORK SHOULD BE FUN AND ALL THAT BUT WE HAVE A JOB TO DO, SO WHEN ALL THIS IS GOING ON EVERYONE PAYS THE PRICE. ALL THE MGRS HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE THAT THEY DONT WANT TO BE TO DO A JOB THAT ISNT THERES FOR A PAY THAT ISNT WHAT THERE USED TOO, IN AN EVIRONMENT THAT MAY NOT BE SAFE FOR THEM. BUT NO ONE TAKES THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. SO I SAY IF YOU WANT TO BITCH AND COMPLAIN ABOUT WHAT IS GOIN ON, COOL, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT, AS LONG AS YOU DO YOUR JOB EVERYDAY YOU GO IN. THAT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO NEGOTIATE THE BENEFITS OF YOUR JOB. OTHERS SHOULD GO HOME, OR APPLY AT YOUR LOCAL McDonalds.
STRIKE- IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS WHO WOULD BE IN THEIR RIGHT NIMD TO STRIKE. OH WAIT, BARGAINED EMPLOYEES, I FORGOT. YOU KNOW I COMPLETLY UNDERSTAND STANDING UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT AND JUST, BUT WHEN YOU SAY “GIVE ME WHAT I WANT OR ELSE I WONT DO THE JOB” IS TO BE QUITE FRANK STUPID. IT BRINGS FORTH THE REASON THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF A STRIKE AND THE REASON THAT AT&T DOSENT WANT TO GIVE IN. I THINK THAT ALL THE REPS SHOULD NOT GET PAID WHILE ON STRIKE AND SHOULD HAVE THE OPTION OF WORKING, BUT THE CWA DOES NOT GIVE THEM THE OPTION. WHO KNEW THAT BITCHING AND COMPLAINING COULD BE A FRUITFUL BUSINESS TURNED INTO A CORP, WISH I HAD THOUGHT OF THAT. WHEN I WAS A REP I DID NOT PAY MY DUES, WHY YOU ASK, BECASUE IT DIDNT MAKE A DIFFERNCE. I GOT THE SAME RAISE AS THE LAZIEST PERSON IN MY STORE THE SAME BENEFIT OPTIONS, THE SAME REPRESENTATION IF I WERE TO GET IN TROUBLE. AND THEN THE REASON BECAME SO APPRENT ITS TO SUPPORT THE REPS IF THERE IS A POSSIBLE STRIKE AND CANT AFFORD TO MAKE IT , AND FOR OTHER THINGS OF COUSRE, FOR RAINY DAYS OR WHAT NOT. SO WHY STRIKE, I JUST CANT UNDERSTAND. I GUESS FROM POINT OF VEIW OF ALREADY MAKING LESS MONEY THAN MY REPS FOR WORKING TWICE AS HARD, AND HORRIBLE BENIFITS FOR YEARS NOW I JUST CANT FEELTHAT MUCH SYPATHY. THE UNION IS GOOD FOR THE REPS AND BAD. IT MAKES DECISIONS FOR THEM THAT MAY NOT BE GOOD FOR THEM AND IS A VOICE WHEN THEY MAY NOT WANT ONE.ALL I CAN SAY IS THE REPS WHO DONT DO SHIT ARE VERY LUCKY THEY HAVE THE CWA BEACUASE THEY ARE VERY EXPENDABLE. AH WHO KNOWS I DONT HAVE AN OPINION ON THEM ANYWAY.
SO TO CLOSE OUT THIS ENTIRELY WAY TO LONG COMMENT, I CAN SAY THAT I HAVE SEEN BOTH SIDES TO THIS ARGUMENT AND THE BATTLE WILL BE FOREVER AS LONG AS THERE IS A LINE DRAWN IN THE SAND. I CAN BET THE GAZA STRIP WILL PROBABLY BECOME A NUETRAL TERRITORY BEFORE THE CWA AND AT&T CAN EVER JUST SEE EYE TO EYE. TO THOSE REPS WHO ARE TRULEY STANDING FOR WHAT THEY BELIVE IN, GIVE 100% OF YOUR SELVES AT YOUR JOBS EVERYDAY, I HOPE YOU GET WANT YOU RIGHFULLY DESERVE. MGMT, STAND TALL BECASUE THIS JUST ANOTHER OBSTICAL IN OUR WAY AND IS JUST ONE MORE THING TO ADD TO OUR ALREADY OVERPILLED BUFFET PLATE OF TASKS, AND JUST REMEBER ALL THE MOTHER FUCKERS THAT DO YOU WRONG NOW, PAYBACKS A BITCH. TO AT&T, DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO!!! HEY IF YOU NEED TO RAISE THE COST OF BENEFITS OR CUT THE REPS PAY A BIT TO KEEP OUR DOORS OPEN AND TO KEEP US A FLOAT, THEN I SAY GO FOR IT. OH, YEAH AND DONT TAKE THIS ALL OUT ON US (MGMT) WHEN THE DUST CLEARS. FOR SOME REASON THAT ALWAYS HAPPENS, ITS LIKE TWO KIDS IN THE BACK SEAT ONE YOURS AND ONE THE NEIGHBORS, AND THEY THE NEIGHBORS IS ACTING ACTING BAD AS SHIT. YOU TAKE THE ONE HOME WHO IS PROTECTED AND YOURS WHO ISNT, AND TEAR INTO THEIR ASS. COME ON GUYS GET I RIGHT THIS TIME!!! YOU KNOW IF DOC BROWN PULLED UP IN THE DELORIAN AND SAID HOP IN AND WE WENT BACK IN TIME TO THE POINT I HAD A CHOICE TO GO INTO MGMT, WHO KNOWS WHAT I WOULD DO. ALL I CAN SAY IS RESPECT & LISTEN TO EACH OTHER AND HOPFULLY THIS WILL ALL GO AWAY. *****************
KISS MY ASS WORLD!!!!!!!
February 7th, 2009 at 6:25 am
Like many cell/technology companies, people do outsource thier customer servie. I am sure ATT is no different. Do you realize what you are doing to this industry? I am sure ATT has already prepared their outsourced resources in light if the pending risk. I would. But at the same time, you have to realized that it cost a company like ATT less money to hire a 3rd party customer service center than to pay one of its own employees and that is largely because of the Union. You have to realized that with any job there will be a salary cap, in which it would become not profitable for a company to continue to raise benefits and pay. You also have to realizse that you pay a large amount of money to a group of people that can try to fight for you in your Union. Do you realize that these people typically make 6 figures? You are literally throwing money away, unions can make a lot of promises, but you have to understand that nothing is a guarantee. In light of being in a recession, don’t you understand that it is the working people of America who will be the back bone of pulling us out of recession. So please go to work, be thankful that you have a job. Know that regardless of a union, ATT can outsource your job. Don’t give up something that you have that is good. If you didn’t have your job what would you be doing? Check your local newspapers. Is there good health insurance and choice hours in Fast Food? I can’t imagine that your pay would be any better in Fast Food than what you currntly have now. Think about these things, there are people who are hungry for jobs, even if it means not making the same hourly wage, people still need jobs and regardless of the job take pride in it. You are working, you aren’t taking a government hand out. I have more admiration for the person who takes a job doing what most people would look down upon them for because of the supposed connotations with that like Walmart, a grocerie store or dare I say again fast food. They are working, they care to be someone and if it means stocking shelves or flipping burgers, they shouldn’t be ashamed, no working American should be ashamed.
For those of you who are ATT unionized employees, wake up, look around, and take pride in who you are and who you work for. Work! Earn the wage your employer can pay you and be satisfied and give thanks at the end of the day that you were able to put food on the table, that you live in a country where you can see a doctor if you need to, where you have the freedoms to pick your career and your jobs and your hobbies and your religion. But go to work, and know that when things turn arround you will be rewarded.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:28 am
# bill Says:
February 6th, 2009 at 5:49 am
GO ON STRIKE ..WE ARE ALREADY IN PLACE TO REPLACE YOU..UNIONS ARE HISTORY…WE ARE LEAVING TONIGHT TO BE IN PLACE SAT.SO GO OUT AND STAY OUT
February 7th, 2009 at 7:10 am
i fine it incomprehensible, in an economy as shaky as ours is presently, how a group of individuals think they’ll be financially ok when, by their own actions, are about to turn their lives upside down. as a vendor of company, that puts bread on ALL your tables, and seeing the prep that your company has undergone, it’s absolutely bewildering to me how irresponsible you’re being…
February 7th, 2009 at 9:02 am
I almost feel bad for the ATT reps. Unions are forcing them to strike and because of that, they risk being replaced by people like me who are just looking for a job. Although I do have wireless experience and am a great sales person, I probably won’t feel completely right come monday morning when I cross the picket lines. Unfortunately though, the longer the strike goes on, the longer the scabs who are good sales people have to showcase themselves and the more the chance of you reps being replaced goes up. I’ve been apart of a union before, we went on strike, they brought scabs in who wanted our jobs badly enough, they just so happened to our jobs just as good as we did, and they REPLACED us. But I do apologize in advance if I do end up taking anyones job, I need it horribly. I’m single, unemployed, and a full time college student living on my own with a ton of bills. You can see why I would agree to get paid $15 an hour to do your jobs. And although I will feel bad for the reps who may or may not lose their jobs, I need to work to feed myself. This presents the perfect opportunity for me to do so.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:13 am
CWA Local 4202, I ask, if AT&T is so bad why do you stay? I know it is not perfect, but the positives outweigh the negatives so I stay. The labor market is a free market – if you do not like what a company is offering, go someone else as soon as you can. If you stay, that implies, to the degree that you are able to find employment elsewhere, that you agree with the total compensation package your employer offers.
As for your attitude, I have read numerous of your posts and almost all are bitter and negative. Perhaps that is a part of the discussion we are having. I must wonder if this type of attitude contributes to AT&T’s poor customer service reputation? (http://sprintconnection.kansascity.com/?q=node/949) Notice that T-Mobile continues to rank highly but they are not union. Coincidence? My gut says no.
As for your continual suggestions that managers do nothing perhaps you are talking about store managers or CC managers (whereever you work). I do not know. You seem to act like dealing with customers, resolving their issues, taking calls is the only real work in AT&T. Sure it is important because that is the face of the company to the customer. However, it is just one piece. Did you ever think about all the other functions that managers do? When you can engineer the network, layout marketing strategy, navigate legal issues surrounding all the government regs that have to be followed or analyze the financial state of the company maybe you can say that you could run this company without managers. Based on your comments, I seriously doubt that you could do that. And if those folks dissapeared tomorrow, pretty soon you would not have to worry about dealing with irate customers nad their problems because they would go ahead as the network stopped working and new ones would stop signing up because there was no marketing message to drive them into the stores to buy phones and service.
Finally to ex SBC zombie, who thinks that a tech should just leave a customer’s home during a job because he is hungry, this is a perfect exmaple of what is wrong with unions. It is all about THEM. Sometimes you make sacrfices to satisfy your customers. Maybe you have to wait an extra an hour for dinner. The customer is who pays your salary and in a competitive market, if you disrespect them, they will just go elsewhere. Heaven forbid that you don’t get to your “union negotiated” lunch break precisely at 12 noon. I suspect your attitude is the minority even with unions, but even if a few percentage treat customers this way, this is how you a company gets a bad reputation because dissatisfied customers are much more likely to be vocal in their complaints. You don’t think Randall Stephenson, Ralph de la Vega or John Stankey skipped some meals, worked some long hours or spent weekends at work to get where they are? You don’t achieve success (depending on how you define success) by demanding an extra penny for staying five minutes over your shift or missing a meal or having it late. Those execs are highly paid and they have a skill set that is very uncommon. Supply and demand. High demand, low supply – they get paid a lot because the VAST majority of people in AT&T cannot do what they do. Yeah, they make millions and I don’t. Well I do not worry about that because the only valid concern for me is am I fairly paid, not how much more someone else makes. Even with no raise and a limited bonus, I am fairly paid and I am grateful I have a job and career opportunity at AT&T.
February 7th, 2009 at 10:15 am
First off, the birdman and I were speaking about this strike matter that will be going on tommorow. We spoke it over, and we decided to get some beers and do a little malaka. On another note, f**k all those people who are talking crap on this, we don’t care if you don’t have a job. It isn’t out fault u went to get your master degree in banking and get laid off. Plus, we get paid more than these bankers; all we do is sell phones to idiots like you and rip you guys off. For all we care, you guys can go suck a big fat c*ck!!!…Oh yes, one more thing : get yourself a job and stop trying to apply to corporate jobs; wake up and smell the cofee!!
February 7th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Here is some interesting facts for you guys. I am a union member, but the union has failed to inform us of some critical information. I will also include the links of where this information was obtained.
http://www.ecouncil.org/glossary.html
ECONOMIC STRIKE — Economic strikes deal with money (more pay, increased benefits.) and they are different from strikes that are not caused by unfair labor practice of an employer (refusal to bargain, lockouts, etc.). Employers may permanently replace employees who engage in an economic strike.
This is only one such site that has this info. Google it and you can find many cases that have also gone to court and the courts have sided with the employer because of the law. this is not unfair labor practice strike. This is an economic strike.
Also this next one applies to the workers living in washington state.
Here is a link for the washingstate unemployemnt. You can’t even collect unemployment if the union strikes or if you voted against the union http://www.esd.wa.gov/uibenefits/faq/labor-dispute.php
and this last ones is from unionfacts.com. Check it out
http://www.unionfacts.com/unions/unionProfile.cfm?id=188
This is a link from http://www.unionfacts.com that has all kinds cases that were filed against the CWA for unfair practices, LIES, LIES and more LIES like they say the company is doing. Don’t know about other locations but at the Bothell location I personally nor have anyone else I know encountered any threats from any member of the company. Mangagement or anyone. They are allowing us to wear our union pin’s or bracelets if we so choose to. So who is really lying here? The union needs to look at this from the companies point of view also. Everything took a dive in the ecomomey after September and nothing is stable at the current moment in time. You can not base the companies profits off the last half of the year nor whats going to happen this year because no one knows if the economy is going to stabelize. I pay union dues.. We all pay union dues. Strike is not the best option for us or the economy right now.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:05 am
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!! are the pickets ready to charge! REVOLT against the tryannist who would take food from your family and your great grand daughter and take her too?…STRIKE FOR THE FUTURE GENERSTIONS WELFARE…DONT BE SELFISH! to the zombie AT&T Manager..yon some kind of Meds??..they wanted the AT&T Uverse techs to waive thier right to a UNION negotiated bylaw, so if they are owed it they deserve it..part of thier compensation!! why dont you ask the company to reduce your pay $10k a year since you are so dedicated to the welfare of the employees and you dont eat!..sure we all worked through lunch before, but to give it away altogether is just an attempt by AT&T to take away your bargained rights. then waht the heck will they ask for next….they might as well not give you water or napkins in the breakrooms….oh yeah…they alreasd took that away! duh…GET IT you lose and.,.besides it is a law in Law you get your work breaks and meal breaks.. duh! ..you are oneof those brainwashed Mangement Zombies who is expendable…as is everyone…”we love you” and next week they take you away at 2PM on a Friday nd hand you a pink slip. waht happend to AT&T Manager? dont ask or your next! please…READ THE FACTS I have STATED already in previuos posts…is that all you can come up with! “if I only had a brain” is you ill likes motto……”the most for the least” is their AT&T/SBC mantra geeesh…i guess I am trying to rationize with irrational people…. it is 1776 all over again…REVOLT NOW… no more bullshit raw deals! no more ONE WAY deals….TAR & FEATHER the corporate lawyers, the top execs who pit managers and the workers agasinst each other…you are all scrwed on thew end!!!! dont be the Benedict Arnolds of your childrens future…give them an inch and they will want your first born child! AT&T = The Darth Vader mentality of Corporate America. well off to get some popcorn and watch the Revolution against the AT&T Tryany on my AT&T Uverse service in HD….let the game begin! A vegas bet is the top company execs win!!…it is setup that way…. they win no matter what happens to you dedicated zombie managers or you poor slob employees… they still get the million dollar salaries, plus bonus! to AT&T Manager …you can always get a lobotomy. you will be working your ass off while the Strike goes on so see you suffer too… lol .,.small minded and that is why you work there…and LOVE it! please… more lies, more BS…same circus, differant clowns!
February 7th, 2009 at 11:12 am
First off either way it goes I think fighting for something right now is important. The fact that a lot of people don’t have jobs, and the economy is bad has no bearing on how the union and AT&T does business. AT&T mobility (the actual part of AT&T we’re talking about here) posted gains off the charts in 2008. Saying you should be happy you have a job is like telling a Chinese woman at least you can have “x” number of children, they’re nice for giving you that.
Secondly, to the poster of “the comment to end all comments (I’ll relinquish the caps for the sake of the readers).” The fact that you’ve been with AT&T for 10 years and are still what seems to be some sort of first tier management reminds me that sticking with the union is the right thing to do. The reason you state that “we just can’t seem to understand why someone wouldn’t stay union,” is possibly because your increases have been cut, your bonus has been cut, and many of you make comparable or in some cases even less than us. I personally don’t believe that AT&T mobility should be plagued by the losses of the landline departments.
Lastly, I’m not a huge union guy, in fact this is the first union I’ve worked for. I like AT&T as an employer and I think for the most part they give fair pay for fair work. I don’t think it’s out of question to ask for increases as the cost of living goes up, and our bad economy puts additional hardships on the common person while AT&T posts gains in the high billions.
If we strike, I’ll strike, not as much on principal as the fact that I live in a non-right-to-work state. I can only hope that everyone can come to a fair agreement that works for everyone involved.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:25 am
actually i am only 12 years sold and antagonizing you all…i dont work there…i am in junior high school Hey Wally… what Beav?… guess i must be doing a good job at antagonzing these people..look at them all suffering and sressing out from my emails….geee maybe I will become a top exec for AT&T someday and learn the skills to destroy peoples lives! gosh Beaver.,..that sound just swell! Hey Beav…I got an idea to….it’s called SOILENT GREEN!… Welcome to The Twilight Zone…AT&T style!
February 7th, 2009 at 11:31 am
your all under paid…no matter what they tell you to belive in thier BS..your digits in your paycheck and the price of food, etc.. are not keeping up…SIMPLE MATH for the small minded…!
February 7th, 2009 at 11:51 am
the only solution in the end you will see (if you got any brains) is to leave that place, suffer now so you wont be in the same boat 4 years form now and you will be free to love yourself and not the company! there are no more 30 to 40 year jobs our parents had…things are not improving they are going backwards….corp america took that way of life away years ago….few people will ever get to to what this country used to do, that was work the same place for decades and be able to retire,,,job security is gone and most peoples retirement is gone believing in these corporate executives and companies like AT&T… wow…and i am amazed to see people say this is okay and “the company care” yeah right….where is your water and napkins in the breakroom, this alone tells that the company does not care abouit you as an individual or as an employee..that is a blatant FACT,and since the company put GPS in the company vehicles they have promoted even more disctrust…your widgets! and if you dont go along then your not walking in the same direction of the company circle….Zombies and popor worker bee slobs..sad….sad… sad… wel I am GLAD I LEFT of I would be suffering there still…..i am laughing at it all…GET OUT or 4 years from now it will be the same story…. the definiton if insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a differant result….well the AT&T Strike and Leave it Beaver is on my AT&T Uverse as you got to go watch some comedy and laugh daily..laugihng is good for the soul!.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Ok.. I will say what everyone else is thinking but is worried about actually saying it…. Most Union workers are you-know-what’s(can’t say because its so impolite, but you can figure it out), white trash, or just plain lazy people. Face facts, this is true. You know it deep down where you dont want to admit it, but (like the saturday night live skit goes) REALLY??? These responses by workers that are non-managers ALL sound the same…. They are jealous about the ones that have made a good career here at ATT and are too lazy to make the commitment to the 50-60 hour work weeks (NO overtime) to get to the next level. In order to get ahead, you must be willing to work after hours on your on time, to gain the knowledge (ever-changing information in a really fast paced world of technology) needed to get promoted. RETARDS… TAKE NOTICE…. The 40 hour set work week is OVER!!!!! It has been for years!! You want a 40 hour work wek? STAY in low level jobs for the rest of your lives!! Go work at a bank or a library. BUT this industry (and our customers) of telecom DEMANDS your committed time to be the BEST at what you do! If you honestly can say that you are the best (and always strive to be the best) at what you do, you will get seen and will get promoted. However, coming into work late, calling out on Mondays and Fridays, talking in slang, wearing a bone through your nose, whatever…. needs to stop. Bottom line, asking for hand-outs (OBAMA is finding out this the hard way) is never going to work in a country where we are built on a free-trade and capitalist goal. Let me put this in a easier to understand point of view….. Would you rather have quantity or quality when making a purchase? Union member= quantity… Non-Union= quality. You see, your jobs are not easy… never would say that because we do work in a faced job industry. HOWEVER, in this type of industry, we can not (I say WE because a company or family that is strong views ALL jobs important) allow the lazy, uneducated stay a part of the group. They infect the group as a whole and bring down the QUALITY of the entire workforce. I am not sorry for posting this. I feel its high time that the truth get spoken here and sometimes the truth does hurt. Again, if a higher force would come into the picture (Ronald Regan did in 1981-82 with the FAA)and just tell all these people that strike that unless you made a real effort in this contract and not take the stance of being entitled, you should be fired and not allowed to post for your job again. For those workers that want to work (really work), then break through those lines and let the managers know that you want to better yourselfs and not be a victim of a Union that just is a bad company in and of itself. The unions are old school mobs/crime lords in disguise. They are a product of a socialist viewpoint and should NEVER be allowed in the business world ever again. Workers should be paid on Preformance and NOT just be awarded raises or anything of the such unless they earned it and stood out among the masses. This socialist type of structure invites laziness and produces poorer quality workers. Again quality or quantity….
February 7th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
And why “real AT&T worker” from post above are the 40 hour work weeks gone….answer that Mr. Smarty pants? …dontcha think that is kinda nasty and not showing respect to you fellow humans by being racial and calling people “white trash” ? race has should have no place here…dont matter who you are.. they will screw you and take and make you work harder for less moeny… maybe corporate american execs set it up that way…so all your saying is its okay to work you harder for less pay and not to stand up to this..yours is the brainwashed mindest that has brought us the recent recession..fun isn;t it…these people who AT&T Manger said have special skills are the same ones who brought this country to the brink of bankrupting… the company and you want to let them have thier way even more….YES SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!..YES….corporate america execs knows what they are doing alright ans you say trust them, they know they are getting rich by making you all work harder for less money and benefits ….after year sif them telling you things are GREAT..in a sudden ..your retirment is gone too? So when does the 50 and 60 hour work week become 70 or 80 hours…and you justify that in your mind that is all okay??? no wonder our retiremnent accounts dropped….guys like you this think that way are weak and wont stand up to Tryanny.. bet you want to be a top exec and destroy lives too..those corpotate type mindsets like yours are bad for the common worker guys who now never share time with his kids because Dad and Mom are at AT&TV working..no wonder kids are on drugs and have not much future to look forward to but 70 hour worke weeks….you call that living..I call it modern day slavery…..Dad and Mom are not around to raise the kids as they have to work 75 hour weeks to buy AT&T SOILENT GREEN!,,,being slaves is okay is waht you ra saying and you are dooming your future genrations to 80 hour work weeks in the end!..corpoate takes…and takes….and takes…and takes.. and takes.. duh! another one enters the tent and throws his brainswashed mentality in…..same circus, differant clowns…another stooge….your name Shemp or Curly?
February 7th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
STRIKE NOW! it;s the American Way to revolt against GREED, EVIL and CORRUPTION! it is 1776 all over aqgain Be a TRUE PATRIOT and give them the HELL back they have wrought upon you and your family! worked last Holiday…think about that, cannot go the dentist, missed an anniversary, a football game,..the company needed you to give up your personal life…think about all those shitty times and GIVE THEM HELL! STRIKE NOW, anmd STRIKE VERY VERY HARD! for me… I will say here and watch it all chaos… on Uverse HDTV of course. God Bless and pass the picket sign! send a pciket sign to Washign ton DC and ask Obama to autograph one of them!
February 7th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
wow some of you are getting down right mean. I have worked for AT&T mobility since it was Cingular. When the union came in we lost our privilage to do some work on our own time.. The 50-60 hours you are talking about putting in is against union contract unless you are getting paid for it. I have actually been reprimanded for working on notating accounts on my own time and have been reprimanded for being at my desk before the 4 min and 59 seconds that we can clock in. Now that is BS. If I want to sit at my desk and research CSP or anything else to better my knowledge on my own time we should be allowed to, but we are not. They are limiting us what we can and can’t learn.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
and P.s. dont check your personal email on your lunch break… STRIKE NOW ……please so your kids wont have to work 70 hour weeks…
February 7th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Now some one who has brains!…Natasha..you see the UNION and the Company are in colussion…. only let learn what they want you to… anyone check to see the last time a CWA Union represntavie was paid off? the company ussualy hires the good ones away or buy them off one way or antoher and sells the Union employee down the road… i told ya before…leave the AT&T Circus..it all smoke and mirriors… your all screwed..adn yup the UNION is suspect to being corrupt too….but STRIKE anyways!
February 7th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
yes lets all just strike so the company can hire permanent replacements at a lower wage. wow. They have already stated as far as call centers go they will just rerout calls.. no big deal to them
February 7th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
it takes crisis to change….so give them one hell of a crisis as BEST you can if you do strike..do it for your futures….they got the money ..they are using the economy as an excuse..
February 7th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Not everyone can afford to strike. Look at what happened to boeing. They were off for two months.. No paychecks what so ever. In washington state you can not collect unemployment during a strike and that is the law. Unfortunatly Washington state is not a right to work state so for the people that count on the paycheck to feed their families and pay there bills, what are they going to do? Most of the people at my location are just to young to understand. I am 23 and am the oldest person on my team. The next closest one is 19. They are all talking about the strike as if its something cool.. One guy said to me its cool because we get time off work and don’t have to worry about points and such. They don’t even care why we would be striking
February 7th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
hey ..natasha ..your fellow coworkers on the picket line will give you a pass and forgive you… go ahead to work,,,,just watchout for the other picketers who dont know you when they call you names, like scumbag, etc..and then terrorize you when you go to work…dont worry the cops and security will be there to ensure no one gets in your face and threatns to follow you home… nasty situation and tempers do flair.. some of them break the law and do nasty things …best you get out of the place and find a new job ASAP..Natasha….always have an updated resume ready and always be ready to leave that Circus of Evil Clowns…whether is is voluntary or not..
February 7th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Union members authorize strike at AT&T Mobility
23 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Unionized workers at AT&T Inc.’s wireless unit have authorized a strike, the Communications Workers of America said Friday.
The strike authorization is a routine move in the process of negotiating a new contract. The current contract, which covers 20,000 CWA members, expires at midnight Saturday.
“Bargaining is continuing and the parties remain hopeful that a new agreement will be negotiated by the expiration of the contract tomorrow,” said Michael Coe, spokesman at Dallas-based AT&T.
Union workers normally continue to work under the old contract for a time if no agreement is reached with their employer by the expiration date. The union has not set a date for a possible strike.
The CWA said little progress is being made in discussions. Critical issues include compensation, employment security and working conditions, it said.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
A segment of AT&T’s Mobility unit voted Friday to authorize a strike if their contract concerns over compensation, employment security and working conditions are not addressed by the time the group’s contract expires at midnight Feb. 7.
A statement from the Communications Workers of America released Friday indicated 85 percent of CWA members at this particular AT&T Mobility division voted in favor of the strike. AT&T (NYSE:T) is based in Dallas. Candice Johnson, a spokeswoman for the CWA, said this contract does not affect workers in North Texas, however.
AT&T spokesman Walt Sharp said this particular contract is one of more than 50 the company negotiates and that it affects no Texas workers or any in the broader Southwest region. The contract in question does not relate to the former Bell South and SBC territories, he said, and represents just 20,000 of an estimated 300,000 AT&T workers.
“A strike vote is typical. We’re not at all surprised by it. The negotiations are continuing,” Sharp said.
Under CWA’s process, workers vote whether to authorize a strike, then the CWA Executive Board ratifies that action. The final step is approval by the CWA president, who sets a strike date.
“For AT&T Mobility members, a critical bargaining goal is to build a career path and opportunity for jobs within the industry, and to stabilize incomes,” said CWA Executive Vice President Annie Hill.
Negotiations are continuing. The current contract covers 20,000 CWA members in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, the mid-West, Mountain States and the West Coast.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
If you strike they have enough sub contractors (and managment) to cross the picket lines to fill your shoes…..know you are screwed either way you go…
February 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
You are experiencing typical ATT scare tactics(changing locks,turning in keys,restrict access to systems,etc,etc)that are designed to divide the workforce. You pay dues so C.W.A. will negotiate your contract that entails wages, benefits & working conditions. C.W.A. has represented it’s members for more than 50 years and is prepared to do whatever it takes to prevail in this round of negotiations. If A.T.T. refues to bargain in good faith and a STRIKE occurs, C.W.A. is prepared to support their union members. They always have and they always will. Just do what your union asks you to do and you will prevail.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
thats why I am crossing the picket line. I do no support this strike at this time. I voted no and I will be at work
February 7th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Nation’s Unemployment Worst In 30 Years
Employers Cut Nearly 600,000 Jobs In January
POSTED: 5:25 pm PST February 6, 2009
UPDATED: 6:13 pm PST February 6, 2009
LAS VEGAS — The unemployment numbers for January are the worst the U.S. has seen in more than 30 years.
Across the country, employers cut nearly 600,000 jobs in January. That brings the national unemployment rate to 7.6.
It was the third month in a row the jobless numbers exceeded expectations. And some experts said it will only get worse
February 7th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Natasha your okay in my book! now where is AT&T manger today? hhhmmmm… come out, come out where ever you are…!
as Michale Buffer says,,, just before the boxing match begins…ladies and gentleman, “lets get ready to rumble”
yeah ex worker above is roght..typcial scare tactics…more than likely you will get a shit contract and all willgo back to work…the contract company really wanted…They say they will take away more but really wanted what you will end up getting..and that will be less and lees each contract….its a game… and you always lose
February 7th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
DONT LISTEN TO ANY UNION REPRESENTATION!! they say they got 85% vote of its members! Im a rep…a Union member…I NEVER GOT TO VOTE!! I WOULD VOT NO STRIKE NO STRIKE!!! WE ARE WELL TAKEN CARE OF BY AT&T!! Union…CWA only looking to line their pockets…WE HAVE GREAT PAY…GREAT MEDICAL+DENTA+VISION+401k WITH COMPANY MATCH+TUITION REIMBURSEMENT+FREE PHONE $400 VALUE+FREE PHONE SERVICE!!! & MORE MORE MORE!!! DID I SAY GREAT PAY…YEAH…$60K A YEAR…WORKING HARD!!! + GREAT COMP WHEN I WORK EVEN HARDER I COULD MAKE MORE!!! UNION IS FOR LAZY WORKERS THAT WHINE….WANT MORE MORE MORE…BUT DO LESS LESS LESS!!! WAKE UP….ID BE THE FIRST TO CROSS THE PICKET…WATCH OUT UNION STRIKE PROMOTERS…AT&T COUDL REHIRE THE THOUSANDS OUT THERE WHO ARE OUT OF JOBS TO TAKE YOURS! BE SMART….AT&T IS A GREAT EMPLOYER IN AMERICA, WE ARE BLESSED…..I AM BLESSED TO WORK FOR A GREAT CORPORATION MADE OF PEOPLE LIKE U & ME! IF YOU ARE NOT AFRAID TO WORK HARD & BE REWARDED FOR WORKING HARD & EARNING YOUR KEEP….AT&T IS A GREAT PLACE TO BE!!! ITS NOT EASY LET ME TELL YOU….BUT THEY ALLOW ME TO MAKE A GOOD LIVING FOR ME & MY FAMILY WITH GREAT BENEFITS…..I DONT KNOW WHO THE UNION GOT THEIR VOTES FROM BUT SURELY IM NOT ONE OF THEM….WHICH TELLS ME…..THEY MANIPULATED THE VOTES & PURPOSELY WENT TO THE MEMBERS THEY KNEW WERE PRO-STRIKE & GOT THEM TO VOTE!!! THEY MANIPULATE EVERYTHING! IM NOT SURPRISED!! CLOSING REMARK…I AM AN AT&T REP…..LOVE AT&T….AT&T IS A GREAT EMPLOYER….FAIR……GENEROUS…..I SUPPORT AT&T…..I DO NOT SUPPORT THE UNIONS ANTICS & STRIKE & WILL CROSS THE PICKET…SO CWA TRY HARRASING ME & ALL THOSE I KNOW THAT WILL CROSS, WE CAN FILE COUNTER HARRASMENT SUITS TOO!!!! CWA BE SMART OR YOU MAY HAVE ALL THOSE THAT YOU ARE MAKING STRIKE ON UNEMPLOYMENT STREAK SOON!!! BECAUSE IF I WAS AT&T…I’D SIMPLY LET GO ALL YOU STRIKERS & REHIRE ALL THOSE OUT THERE THAT WANT TO WORK & NOT FORTUNATE GOT LAID OFF & NEED A JOB!! I just cnt believe this is happening now!
February 7th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
My hope for the upcoming week is that the union does not call for a strike until at least four or five more days of negotiations have continued. Not only would I much prefer to work while the negotiations continue, it also makes me smile and laugh when i think of the scabs and management lackies checking everyday to see whether or not they are going to work or go home. Oh how sweet that is. Scabs across the nation, hoping for a chance to be a fucking scab, in limbo everyday while a contract is negotiated. The mere fact that AT&T has brought on scabs should be enough for the union to decide not to call the strike right away, or after most locations are done with business for the day, but right in the middle of a busy day. A walkout at a call center on a Monday at 1pm would let AT&T truly understand how important the employees really are.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Reading comments above shows a few things
You work a 40hr work week to be average. More to excel and be successful.
I started out at the bottom and worked my up to manager. I have more experience at the bottom(7yrs) than I do as a manager(3yrs). I can do the job of a striking worker better than my job as a manager.
Strikers should ask the union to lower their dues. At&t needs to compromise and so does the union.
A striking worker walks out to keep their job the same(no cuts), I am replacing them to keep my job. We both get screwed.
Health insurance, discounted phones, cable, etc are benefits, not rights.
You are an employee not an owner so you are not entilted to the same money as them. By the stock and become a shareholder if you want. I don’t have any stock in AT&T nor will I.
Like it or not, at&t has the upper hand here. When everyone strikes at&t will drag their feet and by the time a contract is approved, it will most likely be only what they wanted to give in the first place. Strikers will return to work getting what non union people have gotten, only now strikers will be broke. I will return home and not lost a cent.
This recession is just begining and its gonna be back. Think out 10 yrs or more. Look up Peter Schiff on youtube and get his book Crash Proof. Wise up people, we are in for a ride.
February 7th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
this whole strike deal is so sad! I love my Team…love my JOB PERSONALLY…yes we all work very hard…but my team here all love their job & we all feel fortunate to have a job. My entire team all plans to cross the picket! They are all very upset as they were not part of any vote to strike which tells them that the union CWA manipulated votes…not all members voted…nor were they even notified to vote, just another ploy to get what the CWA want,this strike has nothing to do with what the members wants…its another ploy for CWA to get more more more! My team & I so saddened by the many ungrateful individuals out there when we are facing the worst economic times….& should be thankful we are not one of those THOUSANDS unemployed with no job to support our families! AT&T really is a great company to work for, both for managers & reps alike.
February 7th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Back and forth, back and forth. We can all make a good argument for either side. When it comes down to it, we are all people. Managers are usually just old CWA workers who choose to follow a career path. Please stop slamming them. Union workers are in the fore front of the company, and are usually the only people the customers sees and talks to. Please stop slamming them. We all must get along. We all make AT&T the best. Stop slamming the company. You made the company. You. The union worker, the manager, you did it. You can keep on doing it. Customers are reading this stuff. What woudl you do they started dropping us like a bad habit because of all these arguments. Then you would not have a job anyways. And like I said earlier, then all this would be irrelevant. Blah, blah, blah, blah. It pays the bills. If you do not want to feel like your part of the compnay, then don’t. But you are. Thats why you may need to sacrifice something. Managers, and the Union. And, again, thats also why our company has done so good. Because of you!! Come on, stop making us look bad. Please, lets be a role model for the current economy. Lets be realistic. I said this earlier, AT&T is not a robot that makes its own decisions. It is us. Us. Lets not beat each other up. When it comes down to it, we love the company. Mom often made me give up stuff when we were broke, and we often had to eat Ramen noodles everyday. But we were provided for. Even if it was not exactly what we wanted, or planned for. If the union goes on strike it will hurt the economy even more. Please, please, please support the company. The union can be a good thing. I am not saying it is not. But if it was not for AT&T, you would not even be in a union. You have to support both. The union does not pay your bills, the company does. The union protects you. Who protects the company? You do. Managers, and union employees. Please, ponder the issue hard before you slam the company. Imagine yourself working for the cable compnay, who has no union. Please. Fight for yourself, thats fine. But also fight for your company.
February 7th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
February 7, 2009 (3:45pm)
Bargaining resumed this afternoon and will continue as the 11:59pm deadline approaches.
With just a few hours left until the contract expiration, the Company continues to reject all demands being presented by the Union.
February 7th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Right now my division gets 2 guaranteed raises per year. .50-.60 cents. We get 2-4 cost of living increases per year. As the cost of living goes up, so does our pay.
We get 4 quarterly bonuses that top out at about $350 each time.
We pay what… 10% of our health benefits. Under the new contract they are proposing I pay 20%. The arbitrator says that it will go up a percentage over the next 4 years or so until I reach 20% and that anyone new will start out at that 20% rate at the time they accept the job.
That’s 6-8 pay raises by the time I hit the 20% mark. Are you kidding? I’ll take it. The nation has lost MILLIONS of jobs and they are predicting MILLIONS more to be lost in just the next few months. And let me tell you this, I SEE companies cutting back on their extras. I SEE companies opting out of the bells and whistles and rolling back to basic plans to cut costs – but you want to b**** about paying $30 dollars four years from now instead of 15$? If they cut back… eventually we’re going to be hit. I’ve already seen the reallocation of employees. First you reallocate… then you cut’em baby. Some people need to wake up.
If you don’t like it, quit. That’s one less person they’ll have to cut later. Find another freaking job. Find someone else that’ll pay you better and be done with it. I’m sick of it because now I’m about to be off of work for this dumbass strike that I voted against and the only way to get paid is to picket for a % of my wages. That’s bullsh*t man. 2 days of any strike is more than what they will compensate me for (required to be off a week to two weeks before I see payment – rumor has it $250 for a week or two weeks.) Yet they have the nerve to tell me that if I cross the picket line to work, I will be fined for a mount most likely equal to the days wages. Two days of work nets me what they’ll pay me for two weeks of picketing. So who’s really losing?
I am. In two and a half days I make what I’ll get for two weeks of part time picketing. (not that I expect the strike to last that long) The union is hurting me right now. That’s how I see it. I can’t afford to be out of work. I can’t afford to picket. So what, pay an extra few dollars a month. At least I don’t work for circuit city – 54,000 jobs lost. At least I don’t work for CSX Railways… first layoffs in 30 years. “It’s for your own good.” Cut the crap. If you’re paying bills like I pay bills the every day counts. So what do you think I’m going to do? I’m not going to picket fools… I’m going to go to a temporary agency and fill some spots. I have too many skills from administrative to machine operating to stomp around in the freaking cold over a few dollars a month.
Many people are out of a job and now these people want to cry over something that they won’t feel the full effect of until a few years from now, not far from the time of the next negotiation. By that time the economy will be soaring upwards are we’ll all have lost our jobs. If it rebounds we’ll be headed into having even better benefits and ammo to renegotiate with. If if fails, the damn contract doesn’t matter.
Hell, we have the potential to rake in +1000 in bonuses and increases yearly by performing and just doing your job by the book and it’s not so bad. PEOPLE ARE LOSING JOBS. PEOPLE ARE OUT OF WORK. I came from a job where my deductible was $5000 Mr/Mrs Rep, on top of that I paid heavily every month for my benefits. I know people that were paying over $200 a month for family insurance with still high deductibles and decent % copays. Furthermore, I was living with my mom and only made enough to cover bills and rent contributions.
$15 bucks a month.
Now don’t get me started on the Union. You know what. I’m not mad at AT&T because they haven’t yet manipulated me or used fear tactics to get me to vote for a strike to force us to represent the SOLIDARITY bullshit. For the past few weeks the union has been doing to ME what they said they would protect me from. I, personally, blame it on the people that are the faces of said union. I don’t think they’re doing their jobs and being as informative as they’re supposed to be. All I’ve received is a muck of information that’s not entirely true or false. Well… that makes it USELESS. It’s meant to keep me confused or misinformed so that I can’t make my on decision/opinion. As a matter of fact, I can say the following as a fact: If I have communicated any opinion of the issues herein in any way that proves to be my miseducation and misunderstanding of the matters at hand, it is a direct result of the irresponsibility of my paid representation’s failure to provide and volunteer accurate information and resources. That is a FACT.
It’s a fact and it’s not fair. It’s not fair at all. They didn’t tell me that Indiana is a right to work state and that I could cross the picket line. What they said was (I have the email to prove it) – ‘You MAY NOT cross the line. You will be prosecuted and all wages are forfeited. It’s a violation of the constitution.’ (the Union constitution I guess)
They can’t do that in this state but they bullied me around just for checking my options. They can’t do that to me in a right to work state but they CAN fine me for the wages as a workaround. If they would’ve told me then it would’ve given me a little more faith in SOMEBODY because that means they’re working in all honesty.
I’m not saying AT&T is blameless but I’m surely not going to say that my representation is as informative and straight forwardly innocent as they say they are. Constantly giving me paraphrased information and not being clear or caring that I’m concerned with being off work pending a strike. That’s pretty damn inconsiderate if you ask me. Now who can I trust? So what, it may be somewhere on a website but that’s not very courteous. A lawyer is a form of representation but they don’t make you go to law school before you go on trial. Do they?
To be honest, our local representation comes off as a bunch of misinformed-commy-bastards that fight super hard to warp our minds with poorly spelled/punctuated pro-union propaganda to get us to hate our lives, doubt our company, negatively charge our work environment, and treat ever encounter with a manager with hostility and suspicion.
Here’s what I’ve found. As a professional before looking for a career in telecom. Go to work. Work hard like you would on any other job. Know your shit. Be on your P’s and Q’s and stand out for your own good. AT&T is a large company in need of good people with good character because at the end of the day, the policies and tactics that you are up against are more personal than they are professional. AT&T likes you. Your boss might not. AT&T wants to develop you into a very important asset to the company. Your superior might see that in you and feel competition. Or hate you because you’re pretty. Any other petty argument that every day humans act on in every day life. Yet and still, good work speaks for itself and it is widely recognized.
Now if you want to be union-for-life then fine, go ahead. Slouch on your performance and cry for representation when you’re up for review. Commit FMLA fraud and ask what your options are after you’ve been exposed. Play the attendance policies and cry about it when you’ve reached the end of your rope. Or, just show up everyday and abide by the rules with the attitude that you’re only there for a paycheck. You’ll be able to get by for years until you retire.
As for me, I’m career oriented and right now all I see is a bunch of people using an organized body to fight for someones personal drive to prove to all of their arch enemies that they aren’t bitches. They have a few bullets and man are they ever so ready to sound off.
Yes, I will benefit from any resolve that comes from it. But at the end of the day it won’t make any difference to me. When you’ve been without pay, benefits, and you have sat around wondering how you’re going to get by with NOTHING… then you can talk to me about good cause and representation.
I live in the now. The future is all speculation. We could die, change jobs, lose focus, get a promotion, win the lottery, etc. before anything mattered. You want to offset the costs? Good people fighting for my “rights” whilst penalizing my “right” to work? Then cut my union dues to offset the cost. Cut back on the people you have running around preaching hellfire and damnation. And for christ’s sake, get somebody that knows how to spell and proofread.
Don’t make me give you all examples…
February 7th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
if they let you walk and strike then they want you too then they will try to break the union there…
The Rebel Picketers are ready and the Scabs are ready! The Picketers in the cold rain and snow screaming at the Scabs that are taking their livehoods away! The Rebels retaliating by terrorizing the Scabs, following them home…Rebels and their families starve. No Solient Green for the kiddies! The Scabs are ill trained, Managers work 80 hour weeks doing craft work and their own jobs, thier families suffer too, trouble tickets climb to astronomicasl levels, then after 2 weeks of a strike Rebels set gasoline fires.. Telco equipment, manholes and remote cell sites are torched in 20 States, Telco B-Boxes or telco feed boxes and main cables hacksawed at the street level, (ya got to dig up the concrete to replace the cables and days spent re-splicing the main cables) for the CO’s, fiber feeds and the Fiber boxes for FTTP dont like it either! RF tower Antenna cables cut, cellsite become bulls eyes, and the cell antennas, shooting up the cellsites is reported everywhere on the local news in Podunk USA, Scabs cannot getin as Rebels have super glued the cellsite locks or drilled the key cores, solar panels and remote telco boxes the desert and remote areas are destroyed with rocks, and someone dynamites a remote desert site, a can of gasoline burning out a BTS can really be specatular to watch in HDTV on my AT&T Uverse..(Hey guys..dont hit my area,) Backhaul Mircowaves Radios and feed horns are a nice bulls eye too!. Thousands of landline and wireless screaming for their service to be restored. The AT&T Revolution is in full swing after 3 weeks, Scabs are attacked at home, the whole nine yards of AT&T Evil Clowns and the Tent of Horrors is being pitched and coming to a town near you.
God Bless You AT&T for your GREED and destroying lives an and for the damages you are about to cause because you wont fes up some of that $123 billion you made last year.
All the while Rebels and Scabs alike load guns, ladies get your Pepper Spray ready. STRIKES are NASTY business and the long it goes the worse it gets. AT&T Mgr will you please voluntarily reduce your salary to avoid this, your dedicated to Darth Vader so work for free for Gods sake and save the company their families from this misery.. IT STRIKE TIME BABY! I anm glad I dont work there! lol! I’d watch, write and read about it than live it!
February 7th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I fondly remember! when they blew up the GTE manholes in Long Beach Califronia back in thw 80’s near Long Beach City Colege..half the city of Lakewoods landline gone in an instant..so it can happen as desribed..a little bity bloody and over glorified? well watch as the Picketers get nasty when the first paycheck after they Strike dont come! TEMPER TEMPER..SCABS will be targets as the Picketers are atarving and thier bills go unpaid and personal credit get ruied…this is gonna be FUN! Nice of AT&T to let this happen..now isn’t it! The AT&T Revolution coming to one of 20 States near you!
February 7th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Picketers/Strikers and Rebels A Reminder that it is a Federal Offense to detroy telecommunications lines or equipment! ya’ll looking at 20 years in a Fed Pen….to the Scabs & Mgrs good luck and watch yourselves….so this is the NEW AT&T huh….yup looks likes a win/win situation to me alrighty.
February 7th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
STRIKE OR NO STRIKE YOU ALL LOSE IN THE END!…..MGR’s, Union, non union, Picketers…. and Scabs contractors..yup Scab’s lose too as they dont get any leach work, they sit ther are anxiously waiting to take your job..drewling about it.,.. he he…
February 7th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Former Tech do you have another update as to what is going on? I am on Standby right now and wish to know the status as we approach Midnite.
February 7th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Are you AT&T folks having any FUN YET? isn’t this just what you needed in the middle of a bad recession/depression….souplines ready at the Union Hall…faces of despair like the 1920’s “brother, can you spare a cellphone minute?” the corp execs got a grand excuse to do it now…the @123 Billion is not enough for them…..your all stuck in bad times and AT&T/SATAN is taking advantage of you Beware.. greed and lust for your slave labor lurks in the minds of AT&T corporate men…evil comes in all shapes and forms…an one form of evil is the AT&T Union Contract… hey like my bad splling..just glad to encourage you all and throw out my kind words like the gasoline on the BTS fires….STRIKE OR TAKE A BAD CONTRACT = YOUR DOOMED NO MATTER WHAT!
February 7th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn starting in most places in 1929 and ending at different times in the 1930s or early 1940s for different countries.[1] It was the largest and most important economic depression in modern history, and is used in the 21st century as an example of how far the world’s economy can fall.[2] The Great Depression originated in the United States; historians most often use as a starting date the stock market crash on October 29, 1929,
SOUNDS FAMILIAR!
February 7th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Hey Ex SBC Zombie you are having a blast with all this aren’t you?! Lol.
February 7th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
YEAH i worked there and they treat people like crap..in human…they (AT&T/Bell did a study years and years ago….they got this stuff down to a sciend on how to work people in telecoms..the quick LD is thjat they do “pay attention” to their people/employee at the Telcos and they tend to stay longer..basically they use a mild form of brainwashing…always saying “good things” but nothing ever gets good….your wages stagnate and the atmospehere is always dismal…Psycologists confirnmed it…so they are manipuilating people and controlled chaos is good…keeps people worried and in fear while the corp bean counters find ways to take and take.,. like i said..the napkins and water are gone from the breaksrooms…that right there tells you you dont matter…but people refuse ot believe it…..they AT&T “over promise and under deliver”
better to write than partricipate as a contestant in this! besides its raining and need to heat things up…. a STRIKE is good cheap entertainment!
February 7th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Ha,ha,ha. You are soooo right! I couldn’t stand working for QWEST but I stayed trying to be loyal to company, and self! Unfortunately, they paid me VERY WELL! I got sick of their BS cuz every month for a year they were always threatning to fire me cuz I missed my numbers by a .50 or whatever. People there were mostly negative and some were even afraid to speak up. Not me. I always spoke my mind and spoke the truth. My Supervisors were cool and I just wanted to work and earn a decent and respectable living. They do instill fear but I was never afraid cuz I always said all they could do is FIRE ME!! Well, sure enough they did and here I am 3.5 mos later w/o a steady work. The one thing I can say is I am glad I DO NOT WORK THERE!! I have taken a short vacay, classes for knowledge and did a lot of house/yard work that I neglected to do becuz of ALWAYS being made to work MANDITORILY! I am wondering if at the last minute the UNION will see the light and come to their senses? In either case NOW is NOT the time to be w/out a job! I hope the best for everyone.
February 7th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
they willprobably drag it out for 2 months and work under the old contract and the company will give bit but they always get waht they wanted to begin with…just a ploy to say we are not giving that much….act like they want this but really will take that…. yup! telcos are your typical “one flew over the kookoo;s nests”
February 7th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Wow. The amount of misinformation on this board is amusing. CW Local – you embody the union stereotype: irrational, full of misinformation that you feed your members, and your command of the English language is exceptional. If things are really that bad, I’d leave. However, your ignorance leads me to believe that you can’t make what you do elsewhere. I’ve left jobs when I have been screwed and made out quite well. Besides, I can fight for my own raises, I don’t need someone to do it for me. In fact, your union prevents those who actually deserve raises from getting them because they’d have to give them to everybody. You shaft the good workers and relegate them to being mediocre. Here’s the deal – those workers in stores make commission. Do you know what commission is? It gives you the opportunity to make more money on sales. If you want to make more money, sell more. That’s what sales is about. In fact there are a lot of sales people who have to seek out their customers; wireless companies have stores that people walk in to and buy a service that everyone wants. I’m not saying it’s easy, because it isn’t, but the sales reps have it pretty good and I hate reading the BS they have been fed by an entity who is just as eager to profit from them as AT&T is.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
CWA IS A JOKE!!!! WON’T EVEN TELL US THE TRUTH. TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON, THEY TELLYOU THEY WILL THROW YOU IN JAIL IF YOU WANT TO RESIGN AND GO TO WORK. I HATE THEM!!!!!!!
February 7th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Zombie, please do the country a favor and leave… as in leave the country. Stating that a company is “Satan” and all that other crap spewing out foy our mouth only confirms that you are a 20-30 something black male who is either lazy and/or feels that something is owed to him. The 40 hour (sticking to my last point and responding to your reply about it) work week is history in some jobs/careers. YOU people BITCH and moan about wanting to get paid “fairly”. Since you have demonstrated to me that you are one of many uneducated workers out there, let me try to spell this all out in crayon for you…. 1. Unions take from your paycheck. 2. The “services” they offer are at this point extra bullshit red tape that a legit company has to do to get rid of dead-weight workers (like yourself) 3. only make it harder for companies to conduct business 4. ARE in and of themselves play the role of what you seem to think AT&T is in that it (the union) FORCES the worker who falls under a certain classification a union member by default. In other words, they MAKE, or FORCE a incoming employee to be in the union whether they like it or not. IF THAT is not the definition of being a strong-armed dictator, then PLEASE let all of us here know. Like I said earlier, sometimes working (AND NOT BEING AT the actual jobsite and on duty) 50 hours plus is needed to gain the knowledge needed to get ahead in this industry. Yes, this means log onto A COMPUTER at home or somewhere (library) and EDUCATE yourself on the industry you work in and gain the upper hand on the next guy/girl. YOU are NOT, I REPEAT NOT entitled to pay for this… It is a commitment you make towards yourself to better yourself. Its like having a gym membership and you only go 3 times a month and have the nerve to get pissed that you dont look like the guy/girl that has been busting their butt going 5 days a week every week for that same time period. if you put half the energy that your negative rants on this blog I have read from you, you may have made something of yourself. But, some people just dont get it…If you want to bitch, whine, and moan, go right ahead. Times are tougher now and you can either choose to stay ahead of the pack or keep keep dreaming that a employer would want to work with someone like yourself. Oh by the way… affirmative action will soon be (thank GOD) a thing of the past here soon from what I hear on the political front… I say hire the best qualified employee and not because of some darn quota that only dilutes the efforts of hiring the correct candidate.
February 7th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
at&t REAL worker – Loved your gym analogy!! Ain’t that the perfect description of a union worker? Notice they don’t look buff but fat instead?
February 7th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
That is because fat people are mostly that way due to being LAZY.
February 7th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I too am a retail manager in the non-orange region. I hear non-management employees saying they have it so good and crying about how bad it would be if they had to pay more than $11 per paycheck for insurance. If you’re a sales rep for AT&T you have it made and then some. Yes AT&T has made a lot of money. Please tell me what organizations, exept for non-profits, that don’t have the intent to make a lot of money. Not only do some of my sales reps make almost as much as I do, but their benefits cost a fraction of what I pay. $11 per pay period and your crying it might go up? Really? Please grow up! how about an $1100.00 deductible per family member and after that it is only 90% coverage. That’s your manager’s health care cost. Someone else said be grateful you have a job and I agree 100%. One of my peers may have to leave her five-year old daughter who has Cystic Fibrosis for up to 3 weeks because of union members who only want power and their way or no way, and pampered sales reps. My market is potentially losing over half of its managers to other markets while this fiasco plays out. I am not standing up for AT&T. What I am doing is telling pampered sales reps who are crying that you don’t have a damn thing to cry about. With benefits and commission you make more than some college graduates and you still want more. Give me a break! Get your pacifier out of your mouth, take your diaper off and grow up!
February 7th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
And other thing Zombie…. While someone like you would take the following as an example of being “satan-like” or whatever the hell rattles around that skull of yours, i view the following as “it being the way it is”…
I say that if pitted up against you or anyone else, and it comes down to who does the best job, you will DAMN make sure I will kick the living crap (not actual contact, but through work ethic and sheer pride in a job well done) out of you/them if it meant me getting promoted or standing out from the rest of the persons in my field. The old motto still rings true… “GO BIG, OR GO HOME”!! Have some real guts and actually take some pride in your job/career. If that means you want to work less and play more, than do it man. I got nothing against that. My problem with people like you is that you always piss and moan about what I GOT, yet are unwilling to do what I do to get to where I am. I am sorry that you had a crappy time with your past job, but maybe you can try a different work ethic/attitude approach and see if it produces a better outcome for you.
February 7th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
i also work in a call center for Verizon wireless but as an outsource vendor. we get paid per call at rates weighted by quality and other metrics. since we are outsource we only get overflow and if we dont take calls we dont get paid. i am in the top 10 at my center and still only make around $35,000. my healthcare costs with me and my son is $110 a month and it has a $1500 deductible.
now anytime money is taken out of one’s pockets some resentment is going to happen. that is normal. but one thing everyone has to realize, its not the company that is forcing higher health care costs, its the health INSURANCE industry (notice i did not say health care industry!!! very important point to remember) that is forcing the higher costs.
my SO works at a major oncology center doing PET scan authorizations. she is now doing re-authorizations because the health insurance company vision statement is not to watch out for its customers, its to watch out for its shareholders, so their main goal is to deny as many claims as they possibly can even if they are supposed to pay for procedures. Her job primarily deals with extending the lives of patients suffering from end-stage cancer. Michael Moore’s “Sicko” is not as far-fetched as we like to think… as a matter of fact, its mostly dead on.
so, the bottom line is that the company may simply not have a choice but to pass on some of the health care costs to its employees. remember you dont want to work for a company like GM, a company that is imploding under the weight of its employee healthcare costs
February 7th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I’m sorry, David – maybe the reps are “pampered” where you work, but that is most certainly not the case in my store. How about quotas that haven’t been reached by a single rep in our store since May of 08, but that continue to rise? That, my friend, is the definition of a pay cut and it’s sneaky, underhanded and dishonest as well. How about working 15, 16, 17 day stretches without a day off – on your feet in front of customers for 8-10 hour shifts? You want to complain about your insurance costs and deductibles? Well, my friend they are what they are because YOU are not represented by a union, so AT&T CAN. Ditto your lack of a raise this year.
A close examination of your attitude in your post should give you an answer to this basic question: why do the reps need a union, anyway? We do, because there is a management belief that we are nothing but spoiled, “pampered” whiners who don’t deserve the money we earn or the benefits that were sold to us as part of a recruiting effort. If our own managers don’t respect us or our work, it’s no wonder respect is non existent from the company as a whole.
Here’s the thing: we aren’t working for Circuit City or Linens N Things or even Sprint – we work for the great and powerful and gloriously RICH AT&T. I certainly don’t expect to be cut in on the billions – I’m not deluded. But you’ll forgive me if I don’t buy the whole use of the current financial climate in this country as a means to claim “belt-tightening” on the backs of employees – union or management.
For the record I’m against the strike – I cannot afford it, plain and simple. I also love my job at AT&T and feel genuinely blessed to have it – I am in an area that has seen 20+% unemployment. A strike at this time seems a huge a risk to me. AT&T is indeed mega-rich, so that if they chose to make now the time to break the union in its entirety they could do it and absorb the losses. But on principal I am against zillion dollar corporations facing cost cuts – not to stay afloat but to preserve the huge profit margins – and the first cuts considered are that of jobs, wages, and benefits for the hundreds of thousands of dedicated employees who help them earn those profits. I’m including you in that, David.
AT&T is trying to feed us the line that because the economy is bad, it follows that the company is in trouble and drastic measures are called for. I’m not buying it, David, not to the extent they’re trying to sell it – and neither should you.
February 7th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I did ..I have my condo and live in Cabo San Lucas 6 months out of the year! … I enjoy it and come sail back here to Newport and have a place in Henderson/Las Vegas too!…my new 500SL kick ass,.,,i did not get any of this by working hard there like you chump! “GO BIG, OR GO HOME”!! I got thre homes! lol.. get your own business and work hard at that..another one enters the tent…same circus, diefferant clowns!….I am off to Maui sooon as well….ever take the Road to Hana?..or se the sunset in Lahaina Town or go Moloki..ever been to Europe..or Costa Rica? In CABO..i can walk my dog on the beach, drink a Margarita and smoke a Cuban cigar. while you slave away and wake up old and realized you never lived you life, your were too bucy strapped to AT&T……try that one on for size..! lol YOUR A SLAVE TO THE CORPORATE DARTH VADERS…justify it in your mind anyway you want..I got smart and got out. and in a few minutes YOUR Strike is coming! and I am sailing my modest yacht to Maui! Asta Monyana… odealy.. pinche wheto! you loco in la cavassa,.. I go to Cabo Wabo for a beer anytime I want..and you? AT&T Worker from the above post?…lol.. try agian…come on…
February 7th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
oooh how did i do all that your asking yourself…i beamce a Realtor got into real estate at the right time and got out at the ritght time..,,you were still at your aT&T job and still are therre nowe and I am not.. and since you did not TOO BAD..why dont you get your own business ..give yourself all tehreason why you cannot and wake up and look in the moring ang look in the mirror…YOU would not even try to open your own business. and YOU wont ever be able to ..ever been to Cabo Wabo, dinner in Maui, been to Jaco, Costa Rica, Venice, Amstredam and see the Eiffdel tower….do YOU own a 500SL… so go back to your simple minded job! and come back when you get some brains! the souplines are at the Union Hall… i will be in Corona Del Mar on PCH at Oysters for bruncn while you wonder waht to do …asta la vista mi Amigo
February 7th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
YES SIR MAY I Have another? STRIKE IS ON! its midnight! YAY….HIT EM HARD… AT&T IS SATAN!
February 7th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE I & I DO EMPHASIZE… I HATE AT&T!
February 7th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
anyone having FUN YET? I am lolololol he he I am haivng FUN..finnaly ge tto see that place get its due MAYBE??? antagonzing the Evil Clowns and educating the poor worker slobs… working at T&T is not makine a living… it is an existince,… $123 BILLION IN PROFITS but no wate ror napkins in the breakroom? WAKE UP! the ygot the cash but wont let loose…GORDON GECKO GREED IS GOOD Attitude,,
February 7th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
AT&T rep who replied to my post. As I mentioned I am not all about AT&T. And quotas go up. It’s part of sales and yes, there are people who are getting insanely rich while others struggle. But let me tell you, if no one in your store has made quota since May of 2008, then I am amazed any of them still have a job. If you can’t make quota for eight months straight, you have no business in commissioned sales. It’s a sales job, not an order-taking job. I don’t think the reps are pampered per se. However, to have free cell phone service, my rewards points, great benefits, decent pay per hour, and more, and then want more… People want more but whine when the company, or any company, wants you to perform more… I just don’t get it. If people hate it so much, there are plenty of other jobs out there with less benefits and perks. oh wait, no there’s not. I’m not the type of manager who doesn’t empathize w/ where the reps are coming from. I was a sales rep too and I’ve been there. The title means more stress and a few more perks. As far as the bonuses go, they are not to the degree you think, or have been misled to think they are. But some reps have lackluster performance from month to month and then expect the union to save their job. Unreal. I don’t agree with everything the company does and I don’t love my job everyday, but I love having one. You mentioned pressure to hit numbers and irrate customers that we don’t have to deal with… Are you serious? Who do irrate customers usually ask for? That would be the manager. Where does the pressure to sell and meet quota come from? That would be upper management, down to COR management. The difference is we handle it. Do we like it? Not all the time. Do we complain? Who doesn’t every once in a while. And we have been on your end as a rep. I would dare say most reps haven’t been on the manager’s end. We have walked a mile in your shoes. Can most reps say that you have walked in ours? Highly doubtful.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Can someone ban ex SBC zombie’s IP address? Having a differing viewpoint and a (spirited) debate is fine, but when you carry on like a brat 13-year-old and add nothing to the conversation except for being a raging annoyance, I am all for revoking posting privileges.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
February 8, 2009 (12am)
Bargaining continued up until the contract deadline of 11:59pm at which time the Union and the Company agreed to stop the clock.
Despite numerous attempts to come to a contract settlement, the reality is there are more unresolved issues than those resolved.
The Union and the Company have agreed to meet again tomorrow to continue working towards a settlement.
Provisions of the current contract remain in effect for at least the next 24 hours while the clock is stopped.
Until you are told differently, it’s business as usual.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Last post was quoted from the CWA website
February 7th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
I am leaving tomorrow too after brunch, too much rain to sail to Maui…flying back to Cabo and wont be back on this board for while…..see ya…$123 BILLION IN PROFITS but no water or napkins in the break room? says it all….asta mi amigo
February 7th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Zombie speaks the truth….after years of working for the Bells/AT&T he ses the big picture…I will miss the sarcasim and the humor….hope he stays around… he points out the reality ….is that you are losing all the time..one way or the other!
February 7th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
David – re: quotas – you missed my point entirely. It’s not that we’re a bunch of sales losers/order-takers looking for a big company hand-out, it is that our store has very little traffic, and it’s steadily declining.
A bit of background information: we are a very small store with only four reps in a location that was aquired by AT&T last year. We literally have only one competitor in town, and they out-sell us easily four to one(I know, I used to work for them). The reasons for that are varied, but they include stronger signal (more towers) in this mostly rural area, cheaper phones and cheaper plans, and the poor reputation the previous company earned and won’t easily be forgiven by the locals.
My point was this: instead of AT&T adjusting to that reality, they simply raise last month’s highly unrealistic quota, as if by doing so some magical turn-around will occur. Our managers and area managers are obsessed with our features per op and accessories per op metrics (which we meet and exceed regularly), yet they are absolutely silent on the issue of the quota components not being met – starting with gross adds & opportunities and working down from there. I too wonder how a sales organization – any sales organization – can operate on a quota system but have absolutely no reprecussions if those quotas aren’t met. But that is EXACTLY what is happening here.
I am all for agressive quotas. I’m 44 years old and have spent my career in sales – so you bet I understand the concept. But when our store last month had an opportunity quota (which I believe all other quota components flow from) that we only met 63% of as a unit, it seems fairly absurd to raise that quota by 160%, don’t you agree? And to me, that raise is no more than the company’s way to pay us less than they did last month, and the month before that, and the month before that. And on and on it goes.
So … if being “pampered” (and that was originally your word, not mine) means facing the daily frustration of having no one to sell to, of having quotas we have no hope of meeting and money we have no chance of making, if it means working incredibly long stretches without days off because we have managers who don’t know how to work the scheduling tool and no one overseeing them that seems to care about it, then I guess that’s me – a pampered AT&T rep.
I’ll say again – I’m happy I work for AT&T, I love the job despite all this, and for me it’s only temporary – I plan to relocate within the year to a more thriving market and I have much faith that our conditions here are the exception rather than the rule. That’s part of the rub for me – with these insane quotas, I am deeply concerned with how my job performance will look to a manager in another market. I will be able to show that I consistenly am the top rep in my store, top in fact in my region, but I anticipate meeting a few with your thought: I don’t meet quotas, I am therefore no good at selling. Fortunately there are five other stores in my area suffering identical fates, and I will hopefully be able to convince a potential manager that we couldn’t possibly ALL suck, could we? LOL
I honestly don’t know if what the union is currently fighting for will have any bearing whatsoever on my current location; we appear to live in the land that AT&T (and the union, for that matter) forgot. Frankly, I believe this store and the ones in our region are not long for the AT&T world anyway – it costs more to keep us open than the money we take in. Business 101. But I’m thinking that if quotas are at all addressed in these negotiations, it couldn’t be anything but good for us (cause it can’t really get much worse).
And David – I re-read my post. I didn’t mention pressure to hit numbers or dealing with irate customers at all, I don’t think.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I am supporting the union but in all truth, I am really sadened by all that is happening here. For a moment, I want to forget about the issues with the money and I want to forget about the issues with health care and all the other things that are being negotiated at the bargining table right now and look at what is happening on the floor! I have been with AT&T since we were Wireless, watched the transition to Cingular, saw CWA bargining come into my call center and then the transition to Mobility and through all that, I have worked in a peer to peer relationship with most of the managers that are at my center right now.
I have had a GREAT working relationship with my managers and since all this strike talk has started, you can literally cut the tension with a knife. I know many of my bargined-for coworkers who are planning to cross the picket lines if we do strike and they are some of the people who I have the greatest levels of respect for and while I know that I WON’T hold any kind of ill feelings toward my co-workers or managers (I understand that we all have bills that have to be paid) – I don’t know how my choice to walk the picket lines will affect those working relationships WHEN we go back to work.
I don’t care one way or another what your personal opnion is about weather or not we should strike is – the fact is AT&T is a bargined employer and for whatever reason, AT&T and CWA are not able to come to any conscensus right now. WHEN we go back to work, don’t let what’s been happening over the last few weeks or while we’re waiting for an agreement to affect our ability to work with our managers!
February 8th, 2009 at 5:43 am
Stop whining! If you dont like the policy apply for another company! But i think most of the att CWA members has a rusty brains. Old folks and they are in a position and cant handle the job. Go ahead and strike. Definitely att will survive and prepare for your pinkslip lol
February 8th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Well, this entire Strike thing seems rather unfortunate to me. It affects all Managers, union members, field techs, sales, call centers, and of course the customers. I’m sure what is going to happen w/ATT will be the same as what happened at Qwest last year in Aug 08. Qwest worked 2 weeks without a contract, came to an agreement and everyone went back to work…then the A**holes came back 2 mos later and gave SCARE TACTICS about laying off 1800 people!! What a GREAT company! LOL!
February 8th, 2009 at 10:01 am
There are many things to consider with regards to this company and this country of ours. This company will have a difficulty time putting it’s store front outside our borders to take advantage of loop-holes to keep from paying taxes,IE: a company like Halliburton and we all know who’s name is associated with that! Now who will carry the weight of that DEFFICATE? Well Mr&Ms J.Q. Public of course. Think of how many things that can be “outsourced”. Most ever tangible product we purchase,except with maybe some consumables like FOOD,however we all remember the recall of pet food from a different county,oh yea lets not forget YOUR children’s toys with lead paint etc… This is Corporate Americas way to continue THEIR current life style at OUR expense. So whats going to happen when J.Q. Public is no longer employed or is unable to purchase Corporate Americas products? Corporate Americas life style may be changed with out their consent.Granted Our County is Capitalistic and the percent of profits should be on a tiered scale from the lowest to the highest.Now at what point of this scale is the line crossed?Is it at LUDRACIS,UNREALISTIC,ABSURD, OR NOW TO THE POINT OF INSANITY?
OUR Country voted for a President that campaigned for change.Lets speak to our ELECTED OFFICALS and let THEM know WE need THEIR help to curb the excesses of Corporate America and to get a grip on the health and insurance companies on THEIR level.
Well,some of the few things left could be small parts of the communication industry. In the areas of Wireless,Fiber and even twisted pairs.
How do YOU feel when the service you PAY for doesn’t work the way it should. Wouldn’t it be nice if the first person you spoke to knew something as simple as what the weather is like where you are? Or seemed to have some compassion in finding a solution? INSTEAD OF KNOWING THE PERSON YOU ARE SPEAKING TO ONLY HAS A FEW MINIUTES OF PRODUCTIVE TIME AND YOU MAY OR MAY NOT GET A SATISFACTORY SOLUTION FOR WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR.
TO STRIKE or NOT TO STRIKE
Who will it benefit?Who will it hurt?
We all need to answer these questions with in ourselves,and use
“SOUND JUDGEMENT AND GOOD COMMON SENCE” a quote from my father.
I am a CWA member.I am with you, and I will stand when it is my turn!
February 8th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Just glad Zombie is gone. Maybe his canoe (he calls it a yacht) will tip over and bring peace to the planet.
February 8th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I am a manager for at&t. We are currently training people in other countries to take your jobs if you go out on strike. The reason that you make the wages you do and the benefits are because of the union. If if was not for them you would be working for much less. As a manager I have never yelled at me team but have taken alot of abuse from my own manager. As managers we try to shield our teams from the pain that is called AT&T. I would love to find another job but the reality is that it is hard to find a job. My team is part of the contingency plan and I hope tomorrow we are taking your jobs. My team is competent and will not mess things up while you are gone and will greet you warmly when you come back. Stand up for yourself, your company will not do it for you.
February 8th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
With the clock stopped at 11:59pm Saturday, February 7, 2009, Bargaining resumed today with the Union requesting the Company to extend the provisions under the 2005 Labor Agreement by thirty (30) days to allow for additional time to come to a fair and equitable contract settlement.
The Union re-emphasized the fact that the Company underestimated the necessary time required to bargain making it nearly impossible to address the issues that you, our members asked us to care for. Blatant interference on the Company’s part and the numerous reports of intimidation and harassment taking place in the work locations has directly attributed to the lack of progress which has been made to date thus accounting for the number of unresolved issues that still remain on the bargaining table.
GUCK YOU SCABS!!!!
February 8th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Dont let the union ruin you and you familys life style and way of living because they are truely the ones that profit from all of this. While your picketing you will be making $200 a week compared to the $650-$700 some of you guys make a week and every union official will still be racking in their regular paychecks and salaries. I was never a paying union member when i was a sales rep and probably would have never been unless i was in a state where you had to pay dues, i think they are good in some aspects but in the over all scheme of things i think their more trouble than their worth, i always done my job with integrity so i felt no need for their support. You guys (sales reps) make well above the average college grad and with the economy the way it is it would be in your best intrest to listen to your hearts instead of someone that knows you by your employee payroll number and not your God given name, think about that.
You know you work for a good company and since day one you started there has been constasnt change and this is just another day at the office so just tighten your seat belts and enjoy the ride. Embrace the change a majority of you voted for change now roll with it, i did.
February 8th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
“The Associated Press February 8, 2009, 6:40PM ET”
On Saturday, AT&T presented what it called its “best and final” offer to the union. The offer provides for average pay increases of 9.4 percent over four years, said AT&T spokesman Walt Sharp. “We believe that is very fair and reasonable,” he said.
“Wages are one element of a number of very complicated issues,” Johnson said. “There are many issues that have yet to be resolved.”
The union has said pay, job security and working conditions are key issues, and that little progress had been made before this weekend.
The CWA has requested that AT&T further extend the provisions under a 2005 labor agreement by 30 days to allow for additional time to reach an agreement.
Sharp said the company believes there has been sufficient time to address the issues at hand.
February 8th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Well, I’m a little bit disappointed. No striket. Another 30 days to negoiate? We have no guts or what? What’s the deal? I say strike and strike hard and strike now. We are just showing our weak side. The waiting is killing me.
February 8th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
CWA walked away from the table this afternoon – as of yet we are business as usual… but that’s subject to change when the 24 hour stay expires tonight…
February 8th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Nicely put att manager. I see the crap my boss gets and he still shields it from us. I am also a contingency worker and did the job I am assigned to do here for over 7yrs back home. When they return it will be in better shape than how they left it.
February 8th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
just got word there will be a walkout tomorrow at noon.
February 8th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
AT&T Mngr
That must be a local thing because I haven’t received word… Latest update is that we are reporting to work without a contract…
February 9th, 2009 at 12:05 am
WE GIVE SO MUCH BUT YET GET SO LITTLE IN RETURN . ATT WIRELESS REFUSES TO TREAT EMPLOYEES WITH RESPECT , WE ARE DOING MORE,YET GETTING PAYED LESS. WHILE ATT CONTINUES TO RAKE UP LARGE PROFITS. IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE. AS MEMBERS WE NEED TO STAND TOGETHER AND SEND A MESSAGE TO ATT. THAT WE WILL NOT TOLERATE HARASSMENT OR INTIMIDATION BY MANAGERS, WE WILL FIGHT FOR BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS, WAGES, BENEFITS, WE GIVE SO MUCH TO ATT WE PRIDE OURSELVES IN PROVIDING FIRST CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE, WE ARE HARD WORKING EMPLOYEES, WE DESERVE TO BE TREATED AS HUMAN BEINGS AND WITH RESPECT, AND IF IT MEANS WE HAVE TO STRIKE THEN, SO BE IT
February 9th, 2009 at 5:05 am
# att mngr Says:
February 8th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
just got word there will be a walkout tomorrow at noon.
The Union needs to do something. Every hour we continue to work without a contract makes the union look more and more impotent. Even strong union supporters might need to start questioning the wisdom of the CWA.
February 9th, 2009 at 5:49 am
I agree they need to do something – either accept ATT’s “last, best” offer, or strike.
Where’s the walking off the job at noon rumor coming from?
February 9th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
I heard that we are going to work without a contract. This means no wage increase and and business as usual. I stand by our bargin team and CWA, but what really pisses me off is why did we do all this mobilizing and do a strike vote when all along CWA and our bargin team had no intensions of walking out. Monday we all go back to work with ATT and ATT managers laughing at us. They called our bluff and they won. CWA is now saying that we didnt walk away from the table and that they want to bargin, but ATT refuse to extend the contract and now we are going to have to work for nothing. I ask CWA why?why?why?why?why?why?why?why? Is it because that with all our union dues we paid in, you cannot pay us to go on strike? Is it possible that are bargin team and Larry Cohen, CWA president has no balls and backbone? If we are going to admit defeat then lets take what ever ATT is going to offer and live with it for the next 4 years. When Larry and other union positions come up for vote, we replace them with people who care, and are will to take a stand and strike. I still stand by my union, but why did we do all this if we are just going to do nothing. We are truly sadden and that we are now a lughing stock for ATT mgmnt.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
att- must know that we are the image of their company,
why do we have CFT !
they must know we are going to strike 37 states here we come not only that they have othere contracts up coming in april we will see yes on a strike
February 9th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
CWA Local 4202 – I share your sentiments exactly. All this huge “WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT AT&T C’MON – WE’LL STRIKE!” was just so much bullshit – AT&T called the union’s bluff and the union FELL DOWN. So now what? Next we’ll be begging for the opportunity to agree to what they’ve offered .. and they’ll start taking things away.
We’ve just shown how utterly gutless we are. Accept their final offer or strike. Period.
February 9th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Right the union leaders. Send an email to every District VP. Send a message to your local’s leadership. Speak out if you want more from the union.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
lcohen@cwa-union.org– President CWA
cjohnson@cwa-union.org– Spokeswoman CWA
unityatatt@cwa-union.org– Bargaining Team CWA
cshelton@cwa-union.org; rcollins@cwa-union.org; bhicks@cwa-union.org; srosen@cwa-union.org; amilburn@cwa-union.org; pflynn@cwa-union.org; emooney@cwa-union.org – District VP’s CWA
send them a message about the state of negotiations.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
News Flash CWA LOCAL 4202… Most of you have and always will be laughing stocks of whatever you do when you all you do is complain… YOU CANT off-set the increase in health care RETARD!!! Most hard-working americans have had to pay more for healthcare recently. Deal with it. GOD!! Honestly, did you guys get dropped on the head as babies? It’s as if you were trapped in some king of time warp where reality just kind of flew by you all. Think about this for just a second…. Really think now… I know, I know, it hurts your head, but really think about what I am about to say here…. You all work for a company that hired you correct? To preform a job that is at-will employment correct? With the union, they FORCE certain portion of the workforce at AT&T to be a part of this “other business called a Union”. Ok, let’s look at this aspect from a couple of (hopefully you grasp these points here) angles. Ok, in a free (That means freedom) market society, you can apply to work at a company. The company will pay you a set fee for services you render (that is called work) so that nthey can better profit from it. That’s right.. I said profit. NOWHERE does it say or mention in this company that you will get some set % of that profit. Ahhh… NOW we get the big, bad Union to step in and act as if they actually want to make you get more for the services you provide. Now, let’s really put our thinking cap on really tight and process this.. They (the union) want to ensure that you workers get a set, fixed pay increase on a set pay scale (that they dream up) for what they think are fair wages for the work you provide. However, THEY take a chunk (dues that you pay and are forced to pay) and in the process, try to FORCE (i will get back to the force issue in a second, but i have to go slow for the viewing audience here) the Company (AT&T in this case) to pay set, fixed wages for a whole slew of workers which in effect, gives the REALLY retarded and narrow minded view that EVERY worker is as bright and ambitious as the one next to him or her… REALLY?? COME ON… No worker is the same. NO worker is the same idiot! One may work harder, smarter than the next and YET, the wages are the same for the job title each year? Freaking unreal!!! You mean to tell me that you really think that one worker is the EXACT clone of the other? Your response would be no if you are a sane person. BUT the Union wants you to believe that everyone is equal and that everything should be all molded into the same un-recognizable ball of grey matter that forms no identity or promotes no sense of being an individual or warrents the worker to work harder or smarter than the guy/girl next to them. That sense of thinking is called socialism. Yeah… that idea kind of took down a super power back in the late 80’s. It was called Russia. You see.. socialism does not survive in a world where you need to CAPITALIZE on things like work ethic, level of education, or just plain striving to be better than the person sitting next to you in a cube or another fellow store worker so you can get that bigger and better peice of pie. You want socialism? I say go become a morman. They are the closet thing to that way of thinking you are going to get here in the USA. Getting back to my FORCE angle… The Union FORCES a worker to be a part of it if they are employed under a job description that fits the criteria. In any case, FORCING somebody to do something goes against the very foundation of what this country was founded on. I mean, let’s REALLY dumb this FORCE issue down even further… Say a female and a male go on a date. At the end of the date, the male attempts to make a sexual advancement to the female. If the female rejects (this is called a choice) the male, and the male then proceeds to have sex with the female, that is called RAPE (OR FORCED SEXUAL ENCOUNTER). So, the male had the choice of accepting the rejection, but since he was displeased with that option, he decided to FORCE the female in having an unwanted sexual encounter with him. That my dear little, simple-minded, pro-CWA members is what the Union does to a company like AT&T. See AT&T HIRED YOU with the hope (i use that term in a loose way as I have seen some of the great retail reps in action.. HOLY CRAP…)you would something of yourselves and at the same time, be profitable for the company (that HIRED YOU), You know what the Union wants?? Your cash as well as AT&T’s cash… REALLY REALLY stupid way of doing business in my book. Of course, my hat is off to the actual CWA UNION (top level leaders and directors). THEY are the ones that PROFIT the most every single time. NOT YOU, the worker. Not ever… YOU people should think lard and hard at what offer is on the table. YOU are being offered automatic raises every year on that contract. In many jobs, there is no freaking automatics in terms of pay increases!!! YOU FOOLS are sheep to the UNION and they are harvesting you like nobody’s business. Unions protect the weak and stunt the growth potential of the worker that really puts forth the extra effort. Christ!! If you were all drug addicts, the UNION would act as enabler and freaking GIVE and provide you with more drugs to keep you hooked!! That’s excatly what they do… they enable the weak minded and lazy worker to keep the same attitude when it comes to working hard. They make you realize “why the FUC* should I strive to be better when that a-hole next to me is going to get the same pay increase that I am going to get next year. Of course, this is more true of the non-commison employee base, but even there, this mentality exists. So, you people think long and hard about what really is going on here. We are in bad ecomonic times, and you want to bitch and complain about having to tighten your belts on health care… Well you what??? Unlike the union.. AT&T is not FORCING you to stay employed here. Maybe you all should start realizing that AT&T just does not want to get “raped” any more. Have a great day and try to digest some of what I have provided for you.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I have been an AT&T employee at a Retail store for close to 6 years. Maybe I should change jobs and work for a the AT&T stores everyone is talking about. Because my job DOES NOT include health benefits, holidays, vacations, commission, service plan discounts, etc. The pay is between $7 to $8 an hour for full time employees. And, AT&T continues to add more to our job description all the time. At first we only sold cell phones, now we sell pdas, lap top connect, house phones, dsl and direct tv/dish network. Even with more and more being added to our already full day, pay has never been compensated for these additions, not even commission.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
There is no way you’re not getting benefits, holidays, vacation, or commissions. Even the now-expired CWA contract INCLUDES all that stuff. I’m gonna guess you’re an hourly employee, and you are required to work 8 hours a day. If you work MORE than 8 hours a day, you’re probably getting OVERTIME (if not, you can sue and win). They might be asking you to sell more stuff, but that’s all within an 8 hour work day. Where’s the problem? You’ve got 8 hours and a larger catalog of stuff to sell from. That’s a hardship? Really?
February 9th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
@ jamall
Are you working at a corperate store or an authorized retailer? Only the corperate stores are covered under the CWA contract and only those in District 7 are covered under the contract that’s being negotiated.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Saddened – I looked but couldn’t find the list of districts these negotiations cover, but it’s much more than dist 7. It covers stores in 36 or 37 states, including mine in dist 4.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Sorry ATT Rep Now, for some reason I thought everyone was in the district 7… but here’s the list off the AT&T barginign website:
Q. What states are covered by the current negotiations?
A. Following are the states covered by this contract, commonly known as the Mobility Orange contract:
• District 1: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont
• District 2: District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia
• District 4: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin
• District 7: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
• District 9: California, Hawaii, Nevada
• District 13: Delaware, Pennsylvania
February 10th, 2009 at 3:04 am
at&t REAL worker Says:
February 9th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
“Ok, in a free (That means freedom) market society, you can apply to work at a company. The company will pay you a set fee for services you render (that is called work) so that nthey can better profit from it.”
I KNOW YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE A NUANCED ARGUMENT HERE, BUT WHEN YOU USE A WORD LIKE “SET”, YOUR POINT FALLS ASIDE. THIS “SET” PAY HAS BEEN CHANGED NUMEROUS TIMES, AND NOT TO THE BENEFIT OF THE EMPLOYEE.
YOU RAPE ANALOGY, ASIDE FROM SIMPLY BEING CRUDE AND INCREDIBLY LOADED, FAILS IN THAT THE RELATIONSHIP OF UNION/EMPLOYEE DOES NOT FORCE YOU TO WORK AT THAT COMPANY. THE COMPANY HAS ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNION, ESSENTIALLY, IF THERE IS ANYONE FORCING THE ISSUE, IT IS THE COMPANY THAT TELLS YOU DURING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS THAT IT IS REQUIRED FOR YOU TO PAY UNION DUES IF YOU ACCEPT EMPLOYMENT. (NOTICE THE WORDS ACCEPT?)
“BUT the Union wants you to believe that everyone is equal and that everything should be all molded into the same un-recognizable ball of grey matter that forms no identity or promotes no sense of being an individual or warrents the worker to work harder or smarter than the guy/girl next to them. That sense of thinking is called socialism. Yeah… that idea kind of took down a super power back in the late 80’s. It was called Russia. You see.. socialism does not survive in a world where you need to CAPITALIZE on things like work ethic, level of education, or just plain striving to be better than the person sitting next to you in a cube or another fellow store worker so you can get that bigger and better peice of pie. You want socialism? I say go become a morman”
HERE YOU AGAIN SHOW YOU FAILURE TO GRASP THE LARGER ISSUES. YOUR FAILURE HERE IS TWO-FOLD. FIRST, IT REQUIRES THE BASIC ASSUMPTION THAT A COMPANY WOULD REWARD WORKERS ON MERIT IF GIVEN THAT OPTION. LOOK AT ALL NON-BARGAINED EMPLOYEES THIS YEAR AT AT&T. THEY WILL RECEIVE NO RAISES. AND I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT IN THREATENS OF THOUSANDS EMPLOYEES THIS AFFECT, AT LEAST ONE HAS “WORKED HARDER AND SMARTER” THAN THE GUY/GIRL SITTING NEXT TO HIM. SECONDLY, AN ECONOMIC COMPARISON TO THIS SITUATION DOES NOT EASILY COMPARE TO COMMUNISM (ie USSR in the 80’s), BUT MORE CLOSELY TO A FASCIST COPROCRACY. I WILL NOT INSULT YOUR INTELLIGENCE, JUST SIMPLY ASK YOU TO CONSIDER WHO HAS ALL OF THE POWER AND WEALTH.
“Unlike the union.. AT&T is not FORCING you to stay employed here. Maybe you all should start realizing that AT&T just does not want to get “raped” any more. Have a great day and try to digest some of what I have provided for you.”
I AM PRETTY SURE THAT IF I QUIT AT&T, I AM DONE WITH THE UNION AS WELL. YOUR NAIVE THOUGHT STRUCTURE HERE IS ONE OF A “WANNA-BE” CAPITALIST, PRAYING TO THE ALTAR OF A GIANT CORPORATION. THIS IS NOT A SITUATION OF THE WORKER STICKING IT TO A COMPANY. AT&T IS DOING JUST FINE. AT&T IS GETTING AHEAD. THE UNION IS JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE IT’S MEMBERS ARE ABLE TO STAY AFLOAT.
February 10th, 2009 at 5:13 am
The union knows it is selling us out. Check out this link, a “do not distribute” memo to union bosses.
http://www.cwa9333.org/docs/Working_Without_a_Contract_Explanation.pdf
February 10th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Good info to know Garvin…. We all know if we strike it will hurt a lot of us and our families. I am not a sales rep. I work for the call center but I deal with employees. I asked all those of you that have bash the union why did you decide to work for us then. The sales got it a lot harder than CSR in call centers. The team is trying to help you guys out and had there been no union well look what they have been doing all along. We now have a cooling off period. To me this is a big joke. We are now working without a contract which really means your healthcare and wages cannot be alter or change. This also means no contract that the wage you are at now you will remain there until there is a new contract. What that also means that if you file a grievance the company doesnt have to listen to it nor can it go in front of an ARB. They can alter hours and schedules at will and any changes they do as long as they bargin and CWA says no, they can implement them anyway. This is no about the money, but allowing those with familes more flexiable time at home, allowing better us of our control time, allowing better us of fles(exchnage time), allowe sales reps to take a day of vacation or personal time and not have thier quatas messed with, those of us who have pesnions be able to maintain them, redo of the job classifications, which would pay more because we now do more. I agree with everyone that the 200 a week then 300 a week is a fucking joke and Larry and the other CWA leadership should live on 200-300 week like the rest of us. I would like to see it 400/600 but that would mean higher union dues and the amount we pay in union dues is why it is 200/300. If we were to go on stike it would cost CWA 2 million a week at $200. Now I am not defending them, but I cannot live on 200 a week and in our state we cannot even get unemployment. I would rather go poor for a week, month or year than to see a fortune 500 company that has rake in millions and billions of dollars in profits, sponser the wwe wrestling pay per view, looking at buying sprint, giving past CEO free healthcare and 25 millinoin dollar saliries, than see a member walk out the door for some stupid customer abuse case, or sales rep fired because he didnt sell one sim card or phone and was only one sale away from making a commission. I look at what ATT offer in wages and if I take what they offered it would amount to $1.61 for 4 years which means 40 cents a year. In our economy, things will go up, we will pay higher cost all around, but why is ATT paying higher dividens to stockholders, I would love to have some of ATT stock. I wish that people had a right to get out of the union, but at that same time they could not have the benefits that union has given us. Meaning let the company give them a package that includes healthcare. Then lay in front of each of you if you go via the company here is what they will provide in wages, healthcare and pensions and then look at the unions, we all know given what ATT is doing to thier own managers, you would chose the union.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:01 am
CWA are brainwashing you.. Remember AT&T hired you not the CWA so pls stop this craziness!
How much money cwa getting every payday? You dont realizes you are paying for them and they are not really helping you.
February 10th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I am a steward for IBEW local 21 working in Illinois. We too are looking at the possibility of a strike. What many people who are bashing our employees fail to realize is simply this; ATT is not losing money. The company in fact continues to make huge profits year after year. What union members want is a fair slice of the success pie that they’ve helped create. ATT is being unfair by telling these members that: even though we are growing the company by leaps and bounds; even though we are making huge profits in an economically distressed time; and even though we are still the leading telecommunications provider in the world with a market share that keeps increasing; that workers deserve less for their contribution.
If ATT was struggling financially and on the brink of disaster like the auto industry, I could at least see a logical argument that at this time the company cannot afford to meet the union’s demands. If ATT was taking the money it was saving by reinvesting in our network infastructure or passing along the savings to customers, I could at least understand their position. This is not the case. The additional money that ATT saves does not get reinvested or passed on as cost savings to cusomers. It goes into the deep pockets of higher level executives. It’s their unabashed greed that maddens me to no end.
Regarding the healthcare issue I will say this; I understand that for the most part unionized ATT members have outstanding healthcare benefits. I also understand that our plan may be a better plan than many other Americans receive. However, it is important to understand that the employees have earned this benefit through hard work and dedication to AT&T’s success. The company just did not give it to us out of the kindness of their collective hearts. AT&T is in a position where it does not need to limit our benefits or pay. The company wants to establish these limits in order to make itself more profitable at the expense of its employees. I believe this is wrong. Our employees deserve to share in the company’s success because we helped create it. There also appears to be several people who believe that because their benefits are not as good, that we are somehow taking ours for granted or are unappreciative and therefore do not deserve them. This is the furthest thing from the truth. As someone mentioned in a previous post many ATT reps have families, mortgage payments, car payments, tuition etc…We fully understand and appreciate that we are in a better position than many, but does that mean that we should stop seeking to try and better our position. The company is improving its position why should we not be allowed to do the same. After all, isn’t that what the American dream is about. We are raised to believe, and many of us raise our children to believe that if you apply yourself and work hard it will pay off in the form of success. I don’t think I should have to apologize for the success we have attained and I am also not going to allow an unfair management structure to penalize me or other workers that have helped make this company successful.
February 10th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I have been following this trail for a few days now and since the decision has been made to continue working without a contract, I keep seeing people say that CWA is being foolish for making this decision… Let me explain the standpoint here…
If we walked out on day one, we would be giving fuel to the fire that union employees don’t want to work – they want more benefits and more money for less work and less effort… Instead, even though AT&T isn’t willing at this point to make a fair negotion with our bargining team, we are WORKING! We WANT to WORK and we WANT to prove that our CUSTOMERS are the ones that really matter. If we walk out, our customers are the ones who would really suffer and when we get back to work, we’ll have to clean up the mess that’s created by those who don’t know how to do my job nearly as well as I do. I take pride in my work and I do a damn fine job at what I do here at AT&T!
No one wants to go on strike – it’s better if we can all come to an agreement in a timely manner that benefits us all – the workers, the company, and ultimately, the CUSTOMERS!
February 10th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Ok, but what now? CWA posts these twice daily “updates” on their website – more propoganda about why they’re in the right and AT&T is in the wrong. Great, but what exactly is that doing to further the signing of a contract?
This whole thing really stresses me out and makes me very very nervous. Let’s do whatever we have to do – agree to the offer or strike or something – and then let’s put it past us.
February 10th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
This is the most recent update on the AT&T bargining site..
“MOBILITY BARGAINING UPDATE
Feb. 10, 2009 – There have been published reports — including in a statement by the Communications Workers of America — that the company and the union have agreed to a “cooling off” period following the expiration of the AT&T Mobility Orange contract at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, 2009. AT&T has not agreed to any such “cooling off” period. The company placed a fair and reasonable offer on the bargaining table and the union chose not to accept it. The contract has now expired and employees covered by this contract are now working under the provisions of the expired contract.”
This really makes me uneasy…
February 10th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
i know a STEWARD that in the middle of the work he is going to CWA meeting. and the best part is. he is using the at&t company vehicle! priceless lol!
February 12th, 2009 at 1:10 am
To AT&T IT:
I didn’t say I was part of CWA. I work at an authorized retail store as an hourly employee, where average pay is $7.00/hr. No commission, etc. And yes, it’s a hardship, really!!! Especially when you’re not given the proper training to sell all the new “stuff” AT&T sells. And yes, maybe I’ll try a corporate store where I can make more than $7.00 an hour, receive benefits, and other compensation. I’ve always been top of any sales team, so I don’t really care what you or any of the other AT&T reps have to say. I find all the chatter kind of amusing. What I think really matters is, without me standing behind the counter with or without my co-worker, our AT&T store wouldn’t survive, because the higher ups can never be found. It’s kind of like the old saying, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
February 12th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Reverse Ozmosis
I see that the CWA plans a weekend lefleting campain outside AT&T Mobility
Retail locations in an effort to plead their case to current and potential customers. I hope they realize the reverse affects their actions could may create. If customers are scared away or confidence is lowered than the loss of customer base would directly lead to a lower need for call center workers which are represented in the approx 20,000 CWA workers they represent. New customers and retention of current customers and their revolving monthly revenue should be of the highest importance for any business. Besides customers are not at the table to solve the dispute, infact customers would want the opposite of the CWA through thier desire for more minutes/data per plan.
February 12th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Porterhouse – I read that too on the CWA website and had to wonder what they’re thinking. Add this to the “Valentine” we were asked to send Randall Stephenson yesterday … I can’t help but have this picture in my mind of upper management laughing. We started out all tough and we’re going to strike and calling them liars, etc …. and now this. I’m certain they won’t be out at my little rinky-dink store (besides our union “local” is 600 miles away), but I still find it embarrassing.
As far as distrupting business – I don’t think that’s an issue. Afterall, a strike – which the CWA has always claimed they’re willing to do, complete with pickets in front of stores – would be the ultimate distruption. This to me just looks like a gutless, watered-down version of that.
February 16th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Because of the strike, I will have to leave my wife with 2 little children, she will have to quit her second shift job, and we loose our life saving income, maybe even foreclose.
Unions are nothing more than blackmailing whores.
The economy is bad, suck it up, there are many unemployed people who will appreciate new career at AT&T.
February 16th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Yes AT&T makes gobs of money, everyone knows that. Has anyone stopped to think that maybe they are trying to save money for a rainy day (NOW) instead of spending money like drunken sailors then stand in the government bailout line begging for money like the banks and auto industry???
February 17th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Union: On strike, Broke!
Scap: Working and getting PAID OT!
Thank you CWA!
George
February 17th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Ok SOOOO….
I love how I am reading all these comments about these “replacements”
think they can come in & do a job that takes months of training!!
Being an AT&T sales rep is very difficult & i dont think people understand that. Not only are you dealing with the general public (which can be insane) you get screamed at on a daily basis & have to keep your cool & know the system which is continously changing. Ive even heard of innocent reps being punched by customers. SO FOR ALL YOU KNOW IT ALLS who say the reps are kids well you need to get yourself a reality check! It blows my mind how people can talk about things they have no clue about! AT&T gets a bad rep because people want everything and anything for free and face it folks nothing in this world is free!
As for the pay cuts in commission and what not…
It wouldnt be so bad if they would allow some quota cut backs as well…
sinc they are cutting pay they should at least help the employees out in some way! Make it fair!
the quotas are sometimes ridiculous!
anyways before you start bad mouthing innocent people about being angry with their employer over this you should really know whats going on.
Plus AT&T reps dont work 40hr wks. There are weeks that you work 50hrs… not by choice either.
why should reps quit their job if their not happy??? things in this company are like a rollercoaster.. just like any other job/
February 18th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Looks like the CWA has no bite. AT&T will not give any more and CWA definitely will not strike…………. Thats too bad because this will pretty much render the union useless! Many other companies will take notes from AT&T and do the same. Companies across America are handing their employees raw deals under the excuse of the bad economy. Annd it seems we will just have to take it and shut up. Thank you Mr. Bush!
February 18th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I sure hope your union dues were worth it! After this, I would never pay another union dime…………….ever!
February 20th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Unions ruined the auto industry. Got people making way too much money and half dont pull thier own weight. Bottom line as I have said many times.. Workers in the union here get paid much better wages than most should get starting out. Also, getting health care paid as cheaply as we have had it over the years is over..done.. forget it… Time to step into 2009 with some common sense (a sense that many CWA union members would not even know if it bit them in the ass). America as a whole is going to have to tighten its belts. That means everyone takes a hit. Union and non union alike. As for the comment i read earlier with the (UGH! People speak before they know) crazy comment about saying the sales (retail) job is so easy but it’s not…. well, it’s not easy (work shouldnt be easy) BUT it doesnt take a high level of overall education to sell our devcies and solutions in an retail store. Dont even need a college education or higher degree. Just takes a average person with a decent wotk ethic. But you see, there lies the problem… most union workers I have met or seen in passing are not equipped with this wotk ethic trait… A work ethic is a situation where you either are born with it (family upbringing) or you learn it due to life situations that you may have gone through. BUT please, by all means PLEASE, walk trhough say 4 or 5 random retail stores. There is maybe 2 workers on a crew that are worth a damn and the rest are crap… you know its true and unless you can accept that fact, the union s will always have a bad rep. If we just gid the hell rid of the union, the company can do a better job of kicking out the bad apples in the bunch and ensuring a better work crew. The united states is slowly learning a painful and expensive lesson here. Unions (like other entities that have out-lived their originally good intentions) are a wasteful, cancer on american business. THE UAW is being called out. I think the CWA should be next.
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
i co-sign at&t REAL worker!
February 26th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I’m passing on comments I’ve heard from co-workers, retired at&t friends, & non at&t friends. First, with the state of the economy right now, very few people are going to be sympathetic with at&t workers who go on strike. They will not be rallying around union picketers & they will not be patient with the ones left to do the work. It will be a very good time for our competitors to step in & lure our customers away. Whether you agree or not, most folks believe we are cared for very well by at&t. I’ve heard over & over, if we are not satisfied with our jobs, then we should quit & let someone else who wants to work take our job. Too many people are out of work right now. All companies are making adjustments to try to stay viable. at&t has done well & we should want to work to help keep it that way.
I’ve also heard (have no way to know if it’s true or not) that if there is a strike, it’s possible at&t will lock out at least some employees & then replace them with non-union, lower paid, contractors. Again, there are so many people out of work, many with great job experiences that are willing to take a lower paid job than they’ve had before. We already have contactors working in call centers in Nevada – probably in many other states that I am not aware of.
I’ve worked for the company over 30 years. i started as a DA Operator & now work as an IT PM. I was a service rep. for 10 years. i’ve been through 4+ strikes, as a union represented employee & as a Mgr. Neither side is good to be on during a strike. When I was an union employee, I honestly do not believe we gained much while being out on strike. I certainly did not make up my lost wages. Everyone wants a satisfying job that provides a good income w/ decent benefits. Of course, the higher the salary & the less we pay for benefits, the better. That’s the American way. However, with what we’ve seen in the past year or so, often times “having it all” comes with a price. I don’t feel risking my job or our company reputation is worth the price.
You may see me as being naive, but i trust at&t to continue to treat me well as they have since I started working for them. If I wanted more money, better benefits, guaranteed job security, etc., I could have gone to work someplace else. In fact, many of my former co-workers have done that the last 10 years or so. Many found those other companies had the same & more “problems” than at&t. Many also found themselves out of a job as their company downsized, went out of business, out-sourced, merged, & so on. Very rarely was the grass greener where they went.
I ask all union represented employees to carefully consider your decision to support a strike.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
1 SENTENCE SAYS IT ALL.12 BILLION PROFIT MADE IN A RECESSION/DEPRESSION.IT’S TRUE THAT WE ALL NEED TO BE APPRECIATIVE OF OUR EMPLOYMENT,WHICH WE ARE BUT THE THINGS WE(UNION MEMBERSHIP) WANT ARE NOT OUT OF GREED BUT FAIRNESS AND NECCESITY.IN A TIME WHEN COMPANY’S ARE CUTTING BACK AND AT WORST LAYING OFF,OUT OF NECCESSITY,ITS NATURAL FOR THE PUBLIC TO POSSIBLY VIEW US AS SPOILED.BUT THE TRUTH IS AT&T IS NOT IN ANY SORT OF FINACIAL BIND AND ARE ATTEMPING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUTION IN THIS COUNTRY,ALL IN THE NAME OF CORPORATE GREED.ITS NOT THAT WE WANT MORE,WE WANT TO KEEP WANT WE HAVE AND DESERVE.THAT 12 BILLION WAS MADE IN PART,ON THE BACKS OF EVERY CRAFT PERSON WORKING FOR AT&T.CORUPT CORPORATE AMERICA HAS CONTROLLED THIS COUNTRY FOR TOO LONG.ITS TIME FOR THE WORKING MAN/WOMAN TO TRUELY BE TREATED FAIRLY.CWA STAND STRONG!!!
March 20th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
If the land-line strikes, they are just plain stupid.
March 24th, 2009 at 11:19 am
@ATT Tech Landline: Guess what? That 12 bill everyone keeps quoting came mostly because of WIRELESS success. Face it, landline’s time is over, and if WIRELESS numbers weren’t included, AT&T would be facing much lower numbers–maybe even a shortfall.
March 25th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
wow…. land-line are fools if they want to strike. I say that they are near-sighted. If you continue to request that a company pay for health care with no increase from the employee side to offest the rising costs, there will BE NO company to work for. They should leave the retirement aspect alone however. Those people worked for the retirement and should be taken care of. BUT you freaking retards that are still working need to contribute more as well to help the rising costs of health care. You dont know how good you have it. Go work somewhere else if you dont like the fact that if we all share the load across the board and tighten up the belts (some of the land-line workers are huge by the way living high on the hog before wireless took over. Anyway, hope to see the stike end if it happens at all. Let’s get back to work and stop whining about what not having everything go your way. If you don’t like it, quit. If a strike does occur, I say fire them all and replace them with the huge amount of unemployed (yet highly educated) workforce that is now available.
March 30th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
to all pretentious wireless employees and management:
wire-line and outside craft are the face of your freaking company. your cell towers are fed by the lines we work on. that data line you used to run that credit card. and that high speed internet used in every aspect of your job….also us.
on the side of healthcare: i love how u preach to the “lowly outside help” as u sit in ur cozy office using the data line one of us installed and that we currenty maintain. your biggest concern is stubbing your toe walking around ur desk. as the face of the company, the real “phone guys ” work outside in the elements, we are the ones actually taking risks to keep this company going. we need the medical coverage. name the last manager who died typing? how many techs have died providing dial tone? thats right shut ur freakin mouth!
by the way has no one noticed that only management is allowed to run their mouths on the AT&T INSIDER? afraid to hear both sides?
HEY MANAGEMENT, YOU WANT BETTER BENEFITS? ……. JOIN A UNION!
March 31st, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I cant wait to see our managers attempt to do our jobs, and I cant wait to get our well deserved raise. I feel sorry for the customers that are getting U-Verse installed while this is going on… These managers have NO clue what they are doing, when we first started it took 8 – 10 hours to do one install, and now that its more complicated than before, and managers got terrible training… its going to be funny. I feel even worse for the people that have a repair scheduled at this time too, because you’re going to be waiting FOR EVER, and when they get there, they will have no clue what to do. Im sick of hearing every single morning about the millions of ways I can get fired… then they ask us “why our moral is so low” We work in attics when its 100+ outside, and we work out side when its 10 degrees raining with wind. ATT screwed this position over the day it was created. Prem Techs deserve more money, and we will get it too, along with our health benefits.
April 1st, 2009 at 8:57 pm
today AT&T managers are paying 400-600 dollars a month for health care. they had no choice in taking what the company gave them. CWA would be fools to allow AT&T to force this huge payment upon them also. Greed on AT&T’s part is driving this stupidity. apparantly AT&T’s CEOs are not in tune with todays world. AT&T do yourself a favor, close the deal and let the stupidity and greed go.
April 1st, 2009 at 9:38 pm
“If you have not walked in someone else’ shoes do not judge!” Working for AT&T is the hardest job in the world. You are punished for working. There is no flexibility for being not even one minute late. The longer you have worked for the company the less you are appreciated. You are expected to be a miracle worker. No manager can do the job. You are expected to be a “universal” employee in every area. No, you are not properly trained, but you are expected to be at maximum performance. Every phone call is monitored and not for training purposes at all. The monitoring is degrading and unfair. You are expected to take abuse from YOU the custiomer. No other utility company would allow that. This company is not “family-friendly” at all. The company has no loyalty to managers are non-management. The “higher-ups” only cares about themselves. We generate the $$$$$$$$’s and should be compensated. How fair is it for a CEO to get millions of dollars in bonuses and never pick up a phone and generate a dime of revenue. We are entitled to raises and great benefits. Again, we generate the income. We provide excellent customer service and work holidays, sundays, weekends, etc….. We are educated, intelligent, professional, and want to maintain our lifestyles that we are accustomed to. We want what we work hard for. Of course, we fully realize that the economy is bad. We too are affected. We pay higher gas prices, groceries, utilities, insurances, mortgage, etc… get the point. Why should we be demoralized for wanting what we work so hard for everyday. We are the “HEART” of the company. We keep the money flowing!!!! Working as a contract union worker is the best thing that ever happened for non-management employees. We are represented fairly and only have the benefits and pay that we have because they are bargained for. Don’t hate, please appreciate that we care enough to fight for that in which we know is right!! Hard work deserves good benefits and great wages. CWA local 22 member and PROUD!!!!!!!
April 1st, 2009 at 10:00 pm
I am also a concerned AT&T employee- and with the economy they way it is I want to keep my well paying job with great benefits- I have been with AT&T for many years and I love working there. I pray that all will work out for the best.
Many of us have familys, homes and children that depend on our wages and insurance to support and care for them-
Please if you are reading this pray for us at AT&T.
God Bless!
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:29 am
WOW…, you guys are really freaking slow. The fact that you don’t realize the need to pay your CEO, raise stock dividends or maintain profit margins in this economy shows why you are unqualified to have an opinion on these matters.
AT&T has spent over $6 Billion so far on Uverse rollout, which is the reason many of you have a job right now. They need to show profits and raise dividends to encourage people to invest in AT&T stock, thereby raising more money for expansion – not to mention your next year’s wages. After all, 70% (or more) of the US still can’t get Uverse, and it’ll take tens of billions more to bring the service to them. The good news is that those tens of billions will pay your wages, and create thousands of new jobs for good folks just like you.
You should be excited to see AT&T reinvesting in expansion into new markets and increased hiring. Every dollar you try to squeeze out of them is a dollar which can’t be spent to increase business, thereby hurting your chances of remaining employed. Cashflow is the lifeblood of business, and you leeches will hobble your own company, making it unable to remain viable!
In case you haven’t noticed, AT&T is in a pretty serious battle with several cable tv providers, fighting to out-advertise, out-market and out-sell the competition. If you don’t allow your company to do the things necessary to fight and win the media war, you will not have enough new customers to install service for, and many of you will be unemployed.
If you guys strike, I’ll be the first one in line to take your job. Hell, I’ll quit my job to take yours! In order to stay afloat, companies need team players, not selfish narcisists.
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:13 pm
It’s very, very simple. If you don’t like what AT&T is offering, get a new job.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:04 pm
This boils down to corporate greed.skimming from us and fattening the big guys pockets.use the economy as leverage to take away from us and hire new people essentially as slaves.Uverse is all ran by new guys that are mistreated and abuse.we lose this strike and we will become the next walmart.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Best wishes to all of you who think that your job is a right. My neighbor across the street lost his job last month (Verizon), My dad has been out of work for 4 months (he has not been unemployed since he was 18 years olds old). It is truly a privilege to have a job today. I am a union member at AT&T. To me, it’s not just a privilege to work here, it’s an honor. Ask me what I’m willing to give up to stay here. Inceased cost to continue to have my awesome benefits? Sure. It’s far better to work hard for your check than it is to wait in line for one. AT&T, thanks for employing me. See you at the “crossing”. Hold the door open for me. My wife and child on the way also thank you for keeping the customers who want to do business with us.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:54 am
According to the latest report, unemployment in the US has reached 8.5% (ie; almost 15 million workers are out of work and still counting). I am a small business man with negative cash flow, surviving on credit cards to pay my rent, utility, business phone bills(by the way no health insurance or paid vacation)and support a family of four. Unions may be a necessary evil like the Management, but we should be aware of what we are faced with. An economy which is in the doldrums. People are losing jobs and homes. It is the greed that has brought us, this mighty nation to our knees. If we continue in the same greedy and immoral ways then the fall will be so hard that it will be difficult for many of us to get up. This is not the time for collective bargain but for collective sacrifice. So let us, unions and management come together in the spirit cooperation and mutual respect and work towards a just and honorable solution to our problems.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:35 am
I hope they strike and AT&T hires people who are laid off and WANT TO WORK. Get a grip people
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 am
wont someone please think of the contractors?! we have been around since uverse started with ZERO benifits…thats right…ZERO, and still greatful for the money we make. this strike will cause immediate damage but will also have lasting effects…you think its bad now? think of all the angry customers you and i will have to deal with when the strike ends…you think they are going to pat you on the back and say “well done!” or do you think they are going to say ” wtf took you so long…my wireless card has been switched off for weeks and i didnt know how to turn it back on…which to be honest…most of you couldnt do without tier 2 anyway…you are already paid what your worth and in these times thats more than most people can ask for….oh…and remind the member about channel 411 and uverse.att.com
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
its going to happen…most likely sunday…
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:53 pm
You are mixing up two reports. AT&T Mobility CWA workers ratfied a new contract at AT&T. Core (wireline) CWA workers are currently in negotiations with AT&T. Their current contract expires on Saturday @ midnight. Reports state AT&T & the CWA are light years away from each other in those talks.
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
It is horrible the contract was up during a bad economy. I feel for everyone. Even if the union decides not to strike AT&T can call a lockout. They will probably want you to strike for at least a couple a days because they save about 10 Million dollars in salaries each day the union employess are out.
I have been on both sides of the house, the benefits are great for the union employees, I hated switching to the new programs. No matter how people scare you on the manager benefits, yes there are some with high deductibles and there are some with lower deductibles. There are several choices.
I think what most people dont understand it is the union that decides to strike not the employees. Many employees do not want to strike, nor can they afford to go on strike, however if they do go on strike they have to show up or lose their job. I hope everyone remembers that if I dont show up for my strike assignment I too lose my job, so dont be too mean to me….
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Tier two, we are payed what we are worth? Are you kidding me? You guys sit in front a computer all day and talk to SOMETIMES an angry customer. We have to spend 4 – 6 hours with the customers face to face, while we are wiring their house? Granted you dont have benefits which sucks and I wish you guys did, but honestly, you cant say we are payed what we are worth when we do 10x more physical labor than you ever will sitting at your desk basing every thing off of BBT… Come on now. Also, if ATT hires people to take any outside field techs job U-Verse – 1 .5 years before you have a complete grasp of whats going on. I/R–Splicer- 5 Years to fully understand whats going on… ATT will lose way too much money if they attempt to hire people on, and even if they do, you’ll just last until the strike is over and all the techs that know how to do the job well come back, I dont care what kind of degree you have, you learn by doing this job not by reading about it and it isnt a quick learning process.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Tier 2 you are a CONTRACTOR!!! You knew what you were getting into when you started this job. When we started we were told we plug in boxes and thats it. When in actuality we work from the SAI, NID, and all IW. Now they are throwing more and more jobs at us like VOICE, Connect Tech and many of IR jobs. If anyone deserves a raise it is the Prem Tech. Why would AT&T give you benefits anyways when they are trying to take them away from their actual employees. Also you guys end up making us work more because of lack of outside knowledge and not being able to trouble shoot most of the problems we run into. Telling the customer we will run all new wire that is unnecessary. It must be nice to get a lunch the same time everyday and know when you are going to get off and having 2 days off a week. We are basically on call, sometimes miss lunch and when we call in I have had Tier 2 complain because it was their lunch time. Must be real tiring sitting in a chair chatting on the phone all day in the A/C. If the strike happens and looks like it will “I WILL NOT CROSS.” Time are tough right now but the company is not hurting because of it. We do avg 300 installs a day in my area alone. Customers are a month out on installs as well. What does that tell you about the service. Also to all of you thinking it’s easy and thinking you are going to get a job out of this I hate to burst your bubble but your wrong. You can not learn this job in a class you have to be in the field doing it for a year at the least to learn everything especially with the voice and connect tech responsibilities. BTW Tier 2 only thing I have found y’all excel at is putting people in OMA. Easy way to shove off you job to someone else.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I am not saying we need to make $50 an hour but at least be in the same boat as most the others. Whatever prem tech says we are well paid needs to have their head checked. This was good pay for the 80’s but with all of you talking about times today we can not survive on what we make. Sure we have OT but I would rather be home with family and friends than work a set amount of OT each week to provide. A lot of people are crying about having to go on strike and they have family they wont see or whatever how do you think we feel every single day. We never know when we are gonna get off until the manager tells us it is ok. We never know wether we are working 6 or 5 days or some of us wether we gotta work the late or early shift. Even the ones like me that work the early shift end up clearing most of the pool and do not get home until 7 or later. Tier 2 you have nothing to complain about come to our side and see how it is.
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:08 pm
One last thing (maybe). Think of all the surplussed employees. They all have families too and are making around $52K a year. Our top is $30K. That is a big difference and most will not be able to cope with the drastic pay decrease.
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:26 pm
“UNITED WE BARGAIN, DIVIDED WE BEG!” “CWA SOLIDARITY!”
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
To ATT Lockout you are so not educated on the Union. You apparently do not go to your union meetings or you would know the “Union” is all non mangement employees who pay dues and have a voice. Union employees also had the opportunity to vote whether to strike if need be. I quiet frankly do not understand why someone who grips about a Union would want to work at a Union company. Oh… wait … maybe for the great pay and wonderful Benefits that we have fought for…..in past years…Not because you believe in making life better for the middle class worker you are a free loader with no spine. I have worked for ATT for 24 years and would never work for a company that was not union. We all have a goal to provide a better life for ourself and our families. We are proud of the job we do and do it well. The managers in my department are 100% behind us because they know what we get they also benefit from. As we were carrying out our boxes today our management team was hugging us and told us to hang in there. To the people that think they will take our jobs….Dont make me laugh….. We would run circles around you… so dont get to comfortable it wont last long….. To the contractors… What a joke we spend most of our time cleaning up after you… ATT could care less about you because you are disposable…They keep you cause your cheap. To PREM TECH you make me PROUD to call you my Union Brother/Sister and we will all stand side by side on the FRONT LINE protecting our WAGES , HEALTHCARE, and most important our Retirees that have built this company. “UNITED WE BARGAIN, DIVIDED WE BEG!” “CWA SOLIDARITY!”
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:26 pm
All I’m going to say is WE WILL STRIKE!!!!!!
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Well said Business Sales Rep… I can wait to see what the next person that has no idea what they are talking about comment on what you said. It just pisses me off when I see scabs on here talking about how they cant wait to cross the line and continue working while we fight for them and ourselves. All they say is they have to work because they have to feed their families, we have known about this contract end date since the last contract ended, why havent you been doing like every other employee and setting money aside? There are a TON of employees NOT ready for this strike financially that will be standing next to us, they believe in what we are fighting for… “UNITED WE BARGAIN, DIVIDED WE BEG!” “CWA SOLIDARITY!”
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:22 pm
The Union KILLED the Auto Industry. I don’t see any benefit of a Union. ATT&T should FIRED all of them and hired new employees. Yup, all 111,000 of them. They are plenty of people out of work who would love to get a job right now. You people make me sick… Ungreatful!!!
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
We are not the auto industry! BTW what is ATT&T???? Quit your whining about everyone that is out of work. There is plenty of work out there. McDonalds, Burger King, none of you apparently mind the low wages so whats wrong with these jobs. Stop your whining and support what is right. None of you know half of it anyways and should not be able to have any say in it.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
To Business Sales Rep right on dude. I feel sorry for the poor guys and gals that will cross. Like prem tech said we will end up fighting for what they do not deserve (Steve).
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
If you can’t see ANY benefit in a Union then…. Well I’m not going to bother talking to someone who can’t even put a sentence together … “ATT&T should FIRED all of them and hired new employees.” Hopefully ones that can speak the english language correctly, because we do have A LOT of customer contact.
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:02 pm
As an employee of ATT I am happy to be gainfully employed. Regardless of the perceived gains in striking, the end result will be grim. The push to offshore our positions, decreased benefits, lack of contracts, this will all continue. Too many other companies are successfully negociating on these grounds for the almighty investor. Its about time to think less about more, more about the less.
God Bless you all…..
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:11 pm
PremTech: Yes, At&T is not part of the auto industry… but GM used to be in the position that AT&T is in now. You people are fools to not understand how you are screwing yourselves and AT&T.
BTW, tell me if I’m wrong, but don’t prem techs make $13 – 16 per hour? I know that there’s a ton of overtime being worked, and a $15/hr worker getting 50 hrs/wk makes about $45k per year… not bad.
Do you realize that, when a company is forced to pay based on length of employment or by job classification, rather than on skill and ability, the better employees are getting screwed by their own coworkers? If you are good at your job and a dedicated team player, then you probably deserve more. HOWEVER, the poor company can’t pay you any more without having to shell out the same raise to every lazy, irresponsible, substandard performer who shares your job classification. You see, the “brothers” who you are so valiantly “fighting” with and for are really the reason you can’t get a freaking raise or better health benefits.
Personally, I bet that there are enough folks out there who would be happy to make $40k/yr to replace everyone who walks off the job. And you should be happy; after all, you’re worth so much money, right? Guys as valuable as you shouldn’t have any trouble finding another good paying job quickly I’m sure.
April 4th, 2009 at 4:56 am
The thing is I don’t want to work all of that overtime to make that much. We have lives too and families we like to see. You can get any warehouse job driving a forklift making $15 a hour. We deserve more for how hard we work and the conditions we work in and what we put up with everyday.
April 4th, 2009 at 4:57 am
Plus JT, I am going to have to look it up but I will be late for work now but U-Verse has made I believe $14 billion in profit already.
April 4th, 2009 at 5:31 am
here is a scoop: at&t got an accountant CEO for a new leader. it is now all about blowing smoke up stockholders @$$es. 12.9 billion in profit last year, 4th quarter alone about 3 billion in profit. at&t got rid of about 12% of workforce. I am working in the office that used to have 5 folks – now it is just me. poor att? now they are not poor – they should jumpstart this economy, they should show that good American jobs is not a myth, they should start treating employees decent. at&t is NOT an airline or an automotive company – we consistantly posted profits!!! so keep that in mind. and YES we are the largest organized (as far as union) company in the North America. management wants us to strike – I am ready, I know customers out of my office going to be hurting. I do not want them to, but really, what is the choice? my last 2 managers were telling us how expandible we are and how we could be replaced at any time…. well, would be a good way for management to step up and actually SEE and Do what we (craft employees) DO. I make over $70K a year with benefits over $100K, I bust my butt and make my customers happy. Because of employees like myself at&t looks great and post profit – WHY SHOULD I TAKE AWAY PAY and BENEFITS FROM MY FAMILY? http://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/732717.htm take a VERY GOOD LOOK and tell me these people deserve a salary of $7-$11 FOR every SECOND of the day. I mean, think of it – CEO went to the bathroom (2minutes) to pee – got overall paid about $120, took two seconds to shake IT off – $20 give or take. should I continue? 🙂
April 4th, 2009 at 6:07 am
also few points: If a WIRELINE employee does not wire those T1 or T3s or fiber for the CELL towers – NONE of you have a phone. UVerse – That is wireline that makes it all happen in the Central Offices. 911 – again WIRELINE. Switching and routing of your calls (cell or wired) – again WIRELINE. you go to the bank ATM and you get some cash – holy crap – it was WIRELINE that furnished that Special tyme circuit. Businesses want PBX or Centrex or ISDN or T1 or T3 or OC-3 and above – again WIRELINE. DSL customers out there? HELLO, I am WIRELINE that house and maintain your DSLAMs or OCDs (if you are pronto). Ever been stock in an elevator and pushed that ‘help or call’ button? that’s right – WIRELINE is the one that furnishes that. Ever wondered why it was WIRELINE employees in NETWORK OPERATIONS that got to stay during 9/11 in their blast proof Central Offices? That is because ALL network is tied in via WIRELINE – be it cell phones, pagers, wired phones from POTS to OC-x, all of your fiber to the premise, 10gig, 100gig, ethernet over copper… crap, timing is provided by WIRELINE otherwise everything SLIPS. When there is flood or storm and schools and businesses are closed, power lost – WIRELINE Central Offices (ran by craft employees) get their butts out there and run generators, re-fiber, re-wire, drive in most outrageous conditions to their offices just to have thier customers working. if one has dialed 911 from their cell phone – it goes to a tower, from the tower to ME in the Central Office (WIRELINE) and then I hand it out to 911 dispatch. So it is not a miracle work – it is flesh and blood Telecommunications Specialist in the Central Office that ties everything together for you. Have broadband from provider other than at&t? good, because I manage that competitor’s pipes through wich your broadband/or any internet signal is routed…. get my point? if Wireless or UVERSE is a light, WIRELINE is that light source and a battery. without Wireline, Wireless is NOTHING, not other way around! So before jumping into Wireless, UVerse or Wireline discussion – get your Network Operations principles straight!
April 4th, 2009 at 7:06 am
All I can say is “Amen” PREM TECH !! TOPCRAFT IN MIDWEST !!! We know what we are fighting for. It becomes a sad day when the AMERICAN PEOPLE do not stand up for the middle class and continue to belittle them for striking. TO JT you are just plain stupid. The Union did not KILL the auto industry. That would be CORPORATE GREED !!!!! Look at the Banking Industry I dont see a union there? So who are you BLAMING ? If people want to help America get out of the mess we are in give more to working class people so they can spend that MONEY in their communities. Stop bailing out pitiful CEO’S that in turn take the money to give “BONUSES”. Sorry out of time! Gotta go pick up my PICKET SIGN !!!! PEACE !
April 4th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Sorry, but I need money and I need it now. It’s not a very good time for my financial situation. I got kids to feed and bills to pay. You guys who can afford not to work go for it. I know i’m a scab, but my kids won’t be starving. Sorry, but thanks for fighting!
April 4th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Oh! And the union is not greedy? As far as I know, most of the employees are not getting any raises this year. Last I heard union members are getting 2% while the rest of us getting ZERO.
April 4th, 2009 at 10:26 am
The sad truth…taken from a blog about a customer unable to get u-verse, but receives fliers in the mail about the product.
At the same time you’re screwing up my opportunity, I noticed that your employees are about to go out on strike… in the middle of the recession. I’ve read online that you won’t respond to requests to protect jobs of military reservists, won’t ensure that bathrooms have soap and toilet paper, and you’re offering your employees no raise for a few years – then 2% each year after.
2% in the middle of this recession doesn’t sound terrible… until I read that it would not cover the increase in healthcare costs.
And then I read about your CEO Randall Stephenson who’s compensation fell to a paltry $15 million a year, even though he took home a 22% increase. This included $376,000 in perks, including nearly $142,000 in relocation expenses, $83,000 for personal use of AT&T’s corporate jet, and $14,000 in financial counseling.
In 2008, despite the economy and me not being a U-Verse customer… in 2008, AT&T earned $12.9 billion, up from $12.0 billion the year before. Sales rose to $124 billion from $119 billion. So your business grew 4.2% and your earnings grew 7.5% but you can’t even give your employees a pay raise?
I want an iPhone, too. But I’m not sure I can support a company that pours money down the toilet, will probably benefit from the stimulus package (remember broadband is part of the package), and treats its employees like crap. I’m not a union guy at all – but in this case I might be cheering them on.
April 4th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Crossing you make no sense. This did not happen over night and you have had plenty of time to save for this. Glad we all have to suffer through this and fight for the scabs. You are not the only one with a family to feed. Find a part time job to get by anything except crossing the line.
April 4th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
@Prem tech
Yup, I know it didn’t happen overnight. I saved and saved plenty, but life happens. Pretty soon, those savings got depleted and I was praying that we won’t have a strike. I noticed how smooth the other negotiations went and I’m hoping/praying for the same in Midwest. If not then I don’t have a choice. I tried looking for part time already. I went that route. I can’t find anything. I even tried pizza delivery but no luck in this economy. I think anyone in my situation would do the same. For my family, I’m not too proud to beg.
April 4th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
To Crossing: Before you entirely make up your mind to cross, you need first to talk with your local officers and see if they can help you. I know my local will help find you PT work and otherwise help you to meet your monthly obligations. Solidarity is of tantamount importance and you haven’t been around long enough to get it.. And you may also wish to consider the future ramifications of such an act. Employees have long memories. Not a threat, just an advisory.
The strike is about a company that makes mega bucks and wants to relegate its employees to retrogressive takebacks across the board without any justification. They want to shred the contract and fully dictate the terms of the new one, to the detriment of the union membership at large. Randall Stephenson sees an opportunity with the down economy and low level of union support and wants to exploit it to its fullest potential for his own benefit. Ask me how? Think for one item about bonuses paid, particularly if he wins a large monetary takeaway.
It is an unpopular time to belong to a union, but the benefits unions bring to the working class of the entire country are still valid. If you want to work for peanuts with low benefits, by all means, join with the corporate fat cats. There is no parallel that can be drawn between the UAW and CWA.
Early in this forum someone said the main sticking point is wages. Nothing could be further from the truth. We would like only to maintain a standard of living to which all Americans should strive. We are far from getting rich at these jobs. We make a comfortable living which all Americans should demand from their employers. It is what is fair to ask from a company that made over 12 Billion Dollars in pure profit last year, and through Randall’s own admission the company is poised to expand even in these tough times. We regularly read his praises and credit to craft personnel for the company being what it is, but when it comes down to nut-cutting, we are a mere expense. He is trying to screw over the people who built this company, myself included.
April 4th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Premtech:
You don’t want to work overtime? Glad to hear it, because thousands of unemployed workers are dreaming of just that, and you’re about to give them the chance.
Also, in regards to uverse profits… Realize that this money comes as a return on the $6 Billion that has been invested in uverse this far. It’ll take far more than $12 Billion more to roll out uverse in the rest of the US.
I honestly think that a little time in the real world will do you guys some good. Try finding another job half as good as the one you’re forsaking. The grass is always greener my friend, but you’ll find this out soon enough.
I just hope that AT&T has the backbone to stick to it’s guns, and not deplete it’s financial lifeblood conceding to your whims.
April 4th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
JT I am sorry you are so ignorant to what is going on. U-Verse is the future right now and we keep getting slammed with more and more responsibilities. You can not expect someone to take on at least three more jobs and make the same money. What are we in the “fake” world??? You have no idea what kind of B.S. we put up with. Why don’t you enlighten on what appendix J is all about? Tell me how it is good and we are doing just fine. Also about the OT when I first started we worked 60 hours OT alone in two weeks. We all have families like I have stated numerous time and work is not what I want to do all day long until I come home and go to sleep. I like family time and to be able to get things done around the house and so on. I also said anyone can get a warehouse job making what we make and if our benefits get taken away whats the diff? AT&T is a great company to work for and I am proud to say I work for them but we need to be treated equal. We are in fact the ones that make the money and deal with the customers every single day. Without the guy that does the installs and repairs you have nothing.
April 4th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Business Sales Rep I need to get some picket signs as well!!!
April 4th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I will admit I am one of the younger guys out there but if I am going to be part of something (The Union)I am going to be a part of it until the end.
April 4th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Folks: You’re welcome (invited, even) to use our comments section to discuss all this. But please, no personal attacks or bad language. If I’ve deleted any of your messages, that’s why.
–Harry
April 5th, 2009 at 12:29 am
I am a U-Verse Tech’s wife. First off, to the contractors… my husband does not get double time either! He is under a small ‘thrown in’ contract and is getting bare minimum in wages for this job and btw… you knew you would not have job security. Sec. for any of you people reading this and feel like the union needs to go, your just upset with the way this economy has failed you and I understand. This contract ending just falls on ‘Bad Timing’. This job has been the best thing that could have happend to us almost 2 years ago, after 10 yrs. of worry and NO health insurence… I feel your pain. BUT, the CWA is NOT the UAW!!! They have only provided AT&T growth and security for their company! For AT&T to use the ‘Bad Economy’ as a way of keeping from paying out what is right is just plain WRONG!!!! They are not hurting nor are they any where near an AIG!! U-verse in the next yrs. to come will be making them just as much money if not more, along with other advances I’m sure. I am sorry for they way the banks F’ed this economy. We have paid our dues and my husband works in booty off and loves every minute but there comes a time when coorporate greed has to be stopped! They want us to pay all of our health care with no raise, last I heard. Thats over DOUBLE my house payment…which we can afford and have never lived above our means BUT WE WONT BEABLE TO AFFORD IT ONCE WE HAVE TO FORK OVER THAT MUCH IN HEALTH CARE!!!! To top it off… they want anyone hired after 99′ to NOT recieve health benifits after retirement, again… last I heard. This goes for all the union workers who keep AT&T moving on a daily basis! Soo ROCK ON CWA!!!!!!!! Dont let the “Devil” screw us!!!!! Gosh that sounds a Lil scary huh?
BTW… U-Verse techs and all other techs work their butts off! It is NOT a cushy job but it is a great one. They work in all kinds of conditions and in all kinds of spaces. These guys are in crawl spaces, attics, ditches running wires through brick and stone feeding them through tiny holes from first to sec floors and creating some thing outta nothing in some cases. If it soo easy.. I’d like to see you do this for awhile and then I tell you ” no sorry, you will not be getting any raise plus you need to pay for all your health coverage… and ”oh btw… we want you to do 2-3 more job titles on top of it for no more pay. Lets see how you would feel. They work in rain, shine and blizzards! all the while maintaining a one on one customer repore with the most nervous whiny customers when they realize that U-verse requires more then a simple ”hook-up” like cable.
April 5th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I would like to work 40 hrs a week, not be forced to work 49-52 hrs a week 52 weeks a year. I would like to make plans with friends and family, doctor appointments or anything else I want or need to do without ATT forcing me to work what ever hours they want, when can it be for the good of all instead of only for the good of the company.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:15 am
my buddy works for at&t and a monkey could do his job. he get’s paid $58,000 / year. that is rediculous. He should be making $25,000 / year with the skill sets he has. There are people in India that will do his job for $8.00 / hr. The unions are a big scam and should be done away with.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:26 am
I am a former At&t call center employee and even though the economy is bad, I say more power to the Union employees. At&t is a dirty company. It steals from it’s customers by forcing it’s employees into a corner when it comes to sales and customer service. Employees want to keep their well paying jobs and are pushed into the temptation of cheating customers in order to keep their jobs. I know that there is no justification for an employee doing the customer wrong but there is equally no justification for At&t management forcing employees into such a corner with crazy job requirements. If you think this is not true, ask any former employee or current employee off the record, or for that matter ask any customer that has had services they never wanted dumped on their bill.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Jing who cares about people in India we need work in the USA! If monkeys could talk and from the USA then give them a job. If it’s field work then you do not know what you are talking about or if you ever did it were not very good at it. Like I have said before it takes over a good solid year to learn U-Verse but now with the 3+ job titles we have acquired it takes longer. I&R work takes a good five years to learn all of it. U-Verse side now does Geek Squad work. We install internet, tv, phone, surround sound, networking, mounting tv’s on walls, fixing computer problems and everything in between also no we have to run power to the ONT which is not our job! Not to mention we all do installs and repairs there are not set groups to do one or the other. This contract is mainly for benefits and appendix J. You should prob read up on J.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Has anyone figured out that CEO’s are hated these days? Do you know how community organizations get mortgage companies to do right by their customers? They organize and picket the owners of the mortgage companies homes! Where do the top 100 AT&T managers live? Where do their children and grandchildren go to school?
April 6th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Remember how a decade or more ago ABC blew the lid off of the Food Lion grocery chain by proving how bad their meat departments were health wise by running an expose? I bet that CNN does not have the balls or the honesty to do an expose on AT&T and how they cheat their customers and employees. It would be easy to do but CNN is a pawn to their advertisers.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Bottom line. How many millions does it take for a CEO to run a global corporation. I know 14M is way too much to pay the ceo of at&t. If Randall Stephenson took a cut in pay along w/the other high paid administrators of at&t then the company would be able to afford to spend what is required for the at&t bargained for employees. The Union employees deserve everything their contract has gotten them and more. The fight is on!
April 6th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Hello, I am an ATT Tech in Denver and I am CWA and we need to stay united for a decent wage and health benies, because when att clears in profit 12.9 billion in this market they can come off with 5 million for health care for the core employees of their company. Also, note we are currently working without a contract and can be canned at any time for any reason…. scary, there are alot of people vested.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Back to work today and there was an energy in the air that I have not felt in a long time. People are very excited and anxious at the same time and ready to walk at any moment….. Wearing our RED…. Mobilization efforts are awesome and we are getting GREAT News coverage……. Stay United !!!
CEO Randall Stephenson lives in Dallas in a 1.9 million dollar house that AT&T purchased for him. Maybe we should drive on down !!!!
April 7th, 2009 at 5:53 am
I just love how the union says they didn’t strike yet to show customers their loyalty, YEAH RIGHT!
They have not striked because they know they would be fools to do so.
Everyone is blowing smoke up everyones arse!
Some of us are not that stupid to believe such nonsense.
April 7th, 2009 at 7:42 am
to business sales rep…..”To the contractors are disposable”, you don’t clean up after us we have to come in there and do the work because you guys don’t know how to so for you to put the contractors down that is wrong we are there because you guys don’t know how to do it or are there for the money (LAZY)………………
April 7th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I was opposed to strike until I saw the Union & AT&T proposals from an independent source. As a Svc Rep AT&T wants a 60/40 split on wage. 60% salary 40% commission if we make the nearly impossible sales quota that in 10 years has always increased, making it nearly unattainable. With the wage cut and health insurance they want to shift to the employees, I would make less than $11,000 per year. With numerous health issues from military Svc i’d be financially & phsically incapacitated. I am disabled and I chose to work so I can contribute to society & not burden it.
In 1914, the government seized control of AT&T for “national security”.
1918 Russia seized control of allcommerce and banks.
2008/2009 US government fires executives from the “Big 3” auto makers & some banks.
1941-1944, the communication unions sign an agreement w/ President Roosevelt not to strike bcz of “national security.
1944, bcz of the union’s agreement, AT&T cut wages back to what they were in 1938. AT&T deliberately exploited it’s workers with no regards to their financial hardship.
1946 the Communication Union nationalized & striked. At&t was forced by the government to reinstate “proper wages” & benefits.
1984/1985 US Government breaks AT&T & Bell
1998 SW Bell now included Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Nevada,& California & sales quotas raise by the month/year
2000 SW Bell changes name to SBC & works to get long distance priveledges back.
2006/2007 SBC buys AT&T & puts Bell & AT&T back together. This was done by employees who work hard & sell lines, long distance, uverse, centrex, DSL, wireless/cell Svc, wireline features(I.e. Caller ID), T1’s, voice over IP. These sales and referrals are required of all wireline Svc reps.
2008 AT&T boasts “a record profit of $29.1 billion during the worst economic depression in 75years”. This was done by reps, techs, & operators – union employees.
2009 AT&T annual stockholder ballott item 3 is asking employees to vote yes got AT&T executives & board members who gross on an average of $385,000.00 to 3-4 million annually.
Would they accept a 40% wage cut like they propose for Svc reps?
When natural disasters strike, is it the technicians who risk their lives to restore Svc or the reps who handle the calls & orders? No it is not.
Final thought: Benjamin Franklin- “those who give a little liberty for a little security deserve neither liberty nor security.”
AT&T vs CWA $$$ Wage War$$$ peace will cost piece by piece
April 7th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
to fellow installer you do not know what you are talking about. contractors are disposable b/c they already got rid of the ones in one city i work in b/c they smoked every job. the only reason some are coming back is because of a possible strike. face the facts that if we didnt know what we were doing then it would only be contractors doing the work but we take more pride in what we do. every cust that has had to deal with a contractor has had nothing but bad things to say. yall are the reason we have bad efficiency b/c of the reinstalls we have to come behind yall and do. ya and im sure the reason att has contractors is bc we do not know how to do our job (sarcasm). thats one of the more ignorant thing i have heard.
April 7th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Yeah man we are here for the money, because we make SOOO much started at 11 something an hour haha… yes Im just a lazy guy here to bank off of my 11 dollars an hour job. Genius..
April 7th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
I’m posting a correction. I
When natural disasters hit, is it the executives that put their lives on the line or take the calls to calm, re-assure, assist, & keep our customers’ lifeline open? NO! It is the technicians who risk their lives & the service reps & operators who take the calls. It is NOT the executives in the expensive suits, six digit salaries, & private officesl!!! It is the CWA employees who keep our customers happy, while personally attending the customers needs.
April 7th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
To fellow installer…. Yes contractors are disposable and yes we do clean up after you all.
No one is more experienced than our CWA Men and Women who take their jobs very seriously.
We take pride in the work we do. We are very passionate in our Union. We also take care of our Brothers and Sisters. We stand up for what we believe in and our voice will always be heard louder than yours. CWA
Solidarity !!!
April 7th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Company sure has money to fly retired managers all over the United States and pay their per diem, car rental, hotels, daily allowance ON THE TOP of the temp SALARY. My former manager was flown to MN from WI and she had enough money to put BRAND NEW windows in her entire house with what at&t is paying her to work during the strike. But they do not have money? How about $140K+ per to relocate at&t current CEO to his new residence? At this point I really hope we strike – I am tired of being told that I am insignifican and replaceable by my bosses. CAN’T wait to see someone else attempting to run my domain. There are diffent jobs with various skill levels – how many managers can operate a simple volt meter, or a T1 test set? Any of them know how to troubleshoot a multi-leg special circuit? As I said – at&t will be hurting and they know it- in the event we go on strike. and with Uverse (TV) now – wait until customer looses their Oprah episode coverage – many of them know how to even fiber a VRAD circuit, especially in the offices with multiple fiber frames? Again, I am NOT worried, because I know what my work load it. Also, I am NOT the one who will be sitting at home during the strike waiting for Local Police Department to show up and order me to restore ‘essential services’ – that is why we have SMART replacements in place, right? Again, Wireline is the foundation of the entire company – at&t can try all they want to downplay it, but truth is – without wirelene professionals, such as myself, NONE of that telephone, cellphone, internet and etc stuff will work. enough said! CWA – UNITE!
April 8th, 2009 at 10:31 am
To Topcraft in Midwest….
PLLEEAASSE….i can do your job and more….have done it before and can do it again…..CWA…boo, hiss, boo! he he
April 8th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Ok “me” looks like the company has one person so far.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Listening to all of you debate back and forth is making me sick to my stomach. To hear the stupidity of some people. I guess that’s biblical. You will always have lost people in the world. We parish due to lack of knowledge. And the attitudes of the people who feel they never got health care from their emoloyers or if they had to pay WE must be in the same bag as them… That is such a looser’s mentality. My prayers go out for you. Our parents fought with uniouns to get us to this point for people like you to tear it down. In an ecomony of rising cost & a profitable company, how could you justify a persons income being cut nearly in half & health care premiums being taken from checks of existing employees? That is absurd. Do your honor family? The difference is those that paid it excepted that when hired(thats your business)… that means their mortgages & bills where built around it. You can’t miss what you never had. But, let’s not talk from jelous, envious hart’s people. Use your commom sence! We are talking about the people who help build this company over the years. (A profitable company not GM!) Wich set themselves up for failure due to what they were pushing out! This is clearly nothing but Corporate Greed and something needs to be done about this & to the poor measly mngrs that’s downing the people that they couldn’t have a position without… Shame on You… I hope your around after this contract & after their coporate reorganizing schemes! If not … I hope it doesn’t hurt your families much…. If so ,please use the economy excuse that all the corporations are using to cut back & shift pay & positions. Because they wont care about you either once this is all over. Remember your not Ed or Stephen! People need to realize that there is 1 person that’s bigger than all of this & that’s GOD! No one else should be making comments about union workers settling for less…. That’s not the american way nor AT&T’s way.. We don’t settle we go after what we deserve because we are the best out there? Or do this company still feel this way about their services, employees, etc… ???? Union employees…. Stand up… That’s what it took to get what you got & that is what it will take to keep it!!!!! I’m sure The other telecomunication companies will love to have you!!!!
April 9th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Man things haven’t changed. I was in this industry many moons ago and it doesn’t surprise me that both sides are still as immature as they were when I left.
I played both sides of this game when I worked for this company as it morphed into what it is today – AT&T. I was exempt at one point and non-exempt as well and both sides always feel that they are A.) more important than the other, and B.) being cheated worse than the other.
I don’t disagree with some of you who loathe the higher brass who seem to never get affected by things like this. But if you had to make decisions that affected the lives of hundreds or thousands of workers I would think a few of you wouldn’t be standing in line for that job. I know I wouldn’t. But does that make it OK for them to fly around on your dime and never have to pay for health insurance or anything else out of their pockets? No.
I’m chiming in because my Exempt spouse could be leaving my family for god knows how long because of this strike. Personally I feel it’s a bunch of horseS$#@! We had to give up our benefits that we grew used to for over twenty years and I have to ask why is this not par for the course for ALL employees. Face it people, no company no matter how large is paying for health insurance any more. Corporate greed? Yes. but in other ways. Not when it comes to insurance.
I’ve been a firefighter for ten years now and I even have to kick something in for my health care. Go ahead and fight the good fight, I wish all of you luck, I wouldn’t get too upset if you don’t get what you want. And do me one favor. If this does go to strike, try and make it quick so I can have my family’s life back.
April 9th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
School is back in session:
Mid 19th Century the Industrial Revolution modernizes business & society
Late 19th Century Industrial Corporations reap millions in profits and employ children, women, & men in substandard pay ( a few cents per day), 16 hour days 7 days a week, and extremely hazardous conditions.
Early 20th Century working conditions have not improved and Labor Unions are formed to help workers improve wages, hours, conditions, & put children in school (& out of the factories & mines). Thought – would you let your 10 year old go in a coal mine or dangerous factory? They did before the Unions petitioned the government to enact child labor laws to get them out of mines & factories & in school where they belong.
“When Capitalism reaches the Apex of its’ development it will ascend to Communism” – Karl Marx. “Communist Manifesto”
1918 – Russian Bolsheviks seize all private commerce, land, and banks and form the 1st Communist/Socialist State
1933 – National Socialist Party (Nazi) seize control of all German Industry & government. Adolph Hitler is made Fuhrer (Dictator).
1936 – Hitler & the Nazi Party seize all Jewish property & asserts & begin mass deportation and executions in “work” (concentration) camps.
1939 – Hitler orders the “Blitzkrieg” annexation of European Nations & Colonies. Italian Dictator Mussilini, & Japan’s Hirohito join Hitler’s Axis Alliance.
All Axis powers seize control of banks & industry like the Bolsheviks did in 1918 & the American Government did with AT&T in WW I.
WW II the communications unions made an agreement not to strike because of “national security” so AT&T exploited this patriotic gesture by decreasing wages below what the were in 1938. Many union workers felt that it was a Socialist/Communist tactic by AT&T.
April 9th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
continued… From 1900 to 1945 many AmericanCorporare Executives were active members of the U.S. Socialist Party.
Early 20th Century most corporations, mines, & railroad employees homes are owned by the corporations they worked for, this, the term “company store”.
Unions are formed to protect workers rights because if workers went on strike they were evicted from their homes. The strikers, families, & unions live in “tent cities”. The companies hire private security from “The Pinkerton Agency” to restore workers and enforce “lockouts”. On many occasions the “Pinkertons” gun down striking employees without penalty of prosecution.
Finally, the U.S. Government intervenes. 40 hour work week, 8 hour days, overtime pay, child labor laws, vacations,minimum wage laws, healthcare, and retirement packages are allotted by federal law. These rights that everyone now takes for granted were paid for by the blood, sweat, and tears of the early union workers who worked, fought, and died for.
April 10th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Well said Historian……Alot of people dont remember or do not have the knowledge of what it is all about. Happy Easter…….
April 11th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
(standing ovation for historian)
April 13th, 2009 at 5:56 am
thank you “business sales rep” & “prem tech”.
“Those who ignore the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them” – Von Clausawitz.
Back to the “pinkertons”…
When I first entered college I asked my former grandfather-in-law about the mines, unions, & strikes from the 1920’s- 1950’s. I thought I’d get a five minute talk. It lasted all day & my attention was glued to this great man in the wheelchair in front of me. He told me he started work in the mines at 12 years old in 1921!! How many of you would send your 12 year old to the mines or factories? Their home, local store, & school were all owned by the mines “company store”. Because he had a “C” average, the school & company kicked him out of school & put him to work next to his father & 13 year old brother.
Soon John L. Lewis stepped in to unionize & help the miners. During this time miners all over the country stopped digging, scabs were brought in ( w/o the right skills) to try and replace them. Whole towns were locked out of their homes, stores, & schools. They formed tent cities across America that later became small towns & cities. The company & the Pinkertons organized against the workers, unions, & John L. Lewis.
The Unions, workers, & wives & daughters stand together in protest. On many occasions gunfire erupts & men, women, & children are killed by the company executives & hired guns they work for. This continues into the Great Depression of the 1920’s & 1930’s. With “National Security” on the line because coal, steel, railroads, and communications come to a halt while the World & U.S. Gear up for WW II.
After thousands of workers & families die from gunshot wounds, disease (no healthcare), hunger (( company controlled the food & stores), & exposure to heat & cold (living in tents), President Roosevelt intervenes, aprrovrs unionization, passed legislature in his “New Deal” to create jobs & benefits (not cut them), establish a national minimum wage, child labor laws, & force the corporations to union workers & their families in the civil war waged between workers &. Corporations to compensate them for the loss of life, wage, and property.
Corporate Greed is coming full circle as history always does. Like the Great Depression of the 20th Century, the World & U.S. are inthe worst depression in 70-80 years. A multi-billion dollar corporation, Boasting billions on profit despite the depressed economy, is using it as a weapon & excuse to cut jobs, wage, benefits, & dissolve the Unions & workers who stand in their way.
If we yield, history will repeat itself as we lose our homes & vehicles due to defaulted loans, and increaed illness due to the loss of benefits & rising health care costs. If I lose my insurance or my deductibles are increased (despite popular belief CWA members have annual health care deductibles on each family members we have to reach before we only make co-pays), my medications will be unaffordable. I’m a disabled worker who chooses to work for my benefits & salary rather than take Social Security Disability that gas been offered to me. Why? Because I want to help myself, family, & society by not living off of the taxpayers.
AT&T Executives make 6 digit salaries & have expense accounts so they gave no out of pocket expenses for travel or to relocate. They pay millions annually to sponsor the PGA tour that are Executives attend without personal costs. They have box seats at every sports & concert arena for the executives without personal cost. How do I know? I won a contest at work, and got to sit in the AT&T box seats for one pro football game.
I close todays post by challenging anyone to study the historical facts I have posted & factually refute them. History can’t be erased, but it can be repeated if society does not learn from the lessons,mistakes, & triumphs of our past – Historian
April 13th, 2009 at 6:34 am
“Because he had a “C” average, the school & company kicked him out of school & put him to work next to his father & 13 year old brother.”
And that very teacher who flunked the kid out was none other than Randall Stephenson!
Oh what? It wasnt. I guess your whole post was nothing but irrelevant toothless ramblings then.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Ok Good Ol Boy – If it is toothless ramblings, go back and study the labor unions, industrial revolution, child labor laws & give me hard historical facts to back an obvious uneducated and thoughtless retort that holds no data to back it. If you can prove me & history wrong with solid facts, names, dates, & legislature, I’ll post a retraction.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Historian- a lot of times people like arguments to be on topic. As far as anyone can tell, your history of the mineworkers has no relevance- none of the people in the current AT&T/CWA dispute were involved in your retelling of “Great Labor Fables” .
Do you want us to ascribe the virtues and vices of the people and company involved in that situation to every person and company in perpetuity?
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/24/us/nonunion-man-slain-in-strike.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/M/Mines%20and%20Mining
“A nonunion worker at a coal mine was shot to death on Thursday as he rode past a line of strikers. The man, Eddie York, 35, of Dingess, was shot outside a mine owned by Arch of West Virginia near Slab Fork Hollow in southwestern West Virginia, officials said.”
April 14th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Good Ol Boy. You still did not present any facts, dates, or events. You only wrote unsubstantiated conjecture. None of the American’s in the US fought in the American Revolution, yet you take for granted the inaliananle rights they earned for us by winning sovereignty from England, establishing the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Do you enjoy the basic rights of “free speech”, as well as “the right to Life,Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness”? You do or we wouldn’t be having this one sided debate? Every American owes their basic rights to the Veterans of the American Revolution, just as we owe continued freedom to every veteran who ever served in the US Military 1775-Present. If you’re a Veteran, you would undersand this basic point.
Just as the coal miners, who joined forces with the AFL-CIO to nationalize & bring basic workers rights through “the right to protest” and “address Congress for a redress of grievances “. The nationalization of the miners, with the help of the AFL-CIO established basic workers rights that every American enjoys, just like the basic human rights established by our forefathers and maintained by generations of military service men and women. Same principle; different method. Same result. Now, let me break it down to you in elementary 5th grade level. I’ll even use crayons if it will help you grasp the point, unless the colors distract you.
It took another 20 years for the National Federation of Telephone workers (NFTW) to nationalize. In 1946, Congress found AT&T/Bell guilty of not allowing the NFTW to independently unionize outside of the company and the corporate influence, intimidation,& corroption. So, Congress passed the Wagoner Act to amend the US Constitution to allow the NFTW the same freedoms established by the miners. The AFL-CIO (who helped the miners) gave support to the NFTW to help nationalize the NFTW.
AT&T/Bell tried to undermine these efforts and were found guilty by a Senate Committee in the early 1950’s of “gross violation of the Wagoner Act” by not allowing the NFTW & AFL-CIO to negotiate a single contract with anyone of power within AT&T/Bell. AT&t/Bell were using a divide & conquer strategy of meaningless independent contracts. So, with the help of Congress, the AFL-CIO, & the basic rights of the Wagoner Act (created on the foundation of the miners strikes), CWA was formed.
Once CWA & AFL-CIO were able to negotiate a national contract, fair and equal wage was allotted across the board for white, male emplyees from the early 1950’s & 1960’s. Yes, there are still a few management & union employees left from that era in the company. In 1972, AT&T/Bell was found in gross violation of anti-discrimination rights. Women were paid less than men, few blacks were in craft jobs, & even fewer Hispanics were on the payroll. The Ethnic minorities made less than women & people with disabilties were even fewer. AT&T/Bell was ordered by Congress to pay $30 million in past reporations to women & minorities, and another $50 million in wage adjustments. There are even more managers & union employees from this era left on the payroll.
1974, the US Government passed legislature to protect Vietnam Veterans and era Veterans. Again, AT&T/Bell, like many other corporations discriminated against hiring and employing Vietnam & Era Veterans. There are still many of these veterans still in AT&T in management & the Union.
Rights for Individuals with Disabilities were still discriminated against until the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. AT&T still discriminates against disabled employees which I’ve witnessed first hand. To get an accommodation (even though it costs AT&T nothing) still has miles of red tape. Something as simple as a handicap parking spot & handicap bathrooms didn’t appear in our building until the last 2 years. To get an accommodation, which are guaranteed in all public facilities and the workplace by the 1990 ADA still has to be approved by an AT&T disability coordinator. The law states that “the burden of proof is on the employer to prove the employee does not need the accommodation”. However, AT&T’s policy is the other way around.
So, there is a direct link from the coal miners foundation of basic workers rights, mutual affiliation with the AFL-CIO, and later CWA. Without the precedent the miners set and paid for there would be no workers rights that all workers share from Buger King & Good Ol Boy Bait Shop to AT&T. Just like we wouldn’t have the Constitution, Bill of Rights, & Free Speech without the Revolutionary War veterans, all veterans, and current military. Same principal and example as unions & workers rights. We are all tied to the struggles our foefathers, fathers, mothers, brothers, & sisters have fought for. It is our responsibility to make sure their sacrifices are not in vain, & we maintain the freedom & rights that they laid the foundation that we stand upon today, so our children& grandchildren can have the same inalienable rights and workers rights.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:48 am
“Good Ol Boy. You still did not present any facts, dates, or events. You only wrote unsubstantiated conjecture.”
I gave you the fact of the Eddie York being assassinated by union strike captain Jerry Dale Lowe. The UVM was eventually forced into a settlement with his widow because of their reign of terror.
Kind of similar to the CWA fulfilling the pledge on their web site of doing “WHATEVER IT TAKES” terroristically cutting several fiber lines in Bay area cutting off fire, police and medical response to residents in the area.
Here is a correction for you: Congress doesnt ‘find’ anyone guilty (expect in the limited case where they act as a panel as in an impeachment trial). Determination of guilty is done in a court of law or in an adjudication panel.
“So, there is a direct link from the coal miners foundation of basic workers rights, mutual affiliation with the AFL-CIO, and later CWA. Without the precedent the miners set and paid for there would be no workers rights that all workers share from Buger King & Good Ol Boy Bait Shop to AT&T.”
Absurd and ridiculous. My pay is much better than union members and I have never been at a company with a union since I worked as a dish washer in college and the Porters’ unions tried to take $.10 and hour out of my $3.10 wage. How do you explain non-Union Yahoo (to take one non-union company out of 1000’s) offering free vending machines, massages and oil changes?
http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/companyprofiles/a/Yahoo.htm
Or employee stock grants or 401K matches, or performance bonuses? None of these things came from unions but benefit employees greatly.
Your assumption that no one has anything except for a union is fatally flawed.
1. its easy to see that people have better benefits at companies that have no history of unionization
2. union employees actually have it worse, since they have no way of being rewarded in for their contribution except when every ones contract is renegotiated. A couple of years ago I walked into my second lines office said “these are my contributions in the last year” and I walked out and an hour later I was making $17,000/yr more and had a stock grant. Can a union guy do that? Can they get promoted based on their accomplishments ahead of people who have been around longer? If not- its the employees who is suffering because of the union.
“Just like we wouldn’t have the Constitution, Bill of Rights, & Free Speech without the Revolutionary War veterans, all veterans, and current military. Same principal and example as unions & workers rights. We are all tied to the struggles our foefathers, fathers, mothers, brothers, & sisters have fought for. It is our responsibility to make sure their sacrifices are not in vain, & we maintain the freedom & rights that they laid the foundation that we stand upon today, so our children& grandchildren can have the same inalienable rights and workers rights.”
This is the part where you get totally non-cogent. You are comparing the constitution with a private agreement between two parties.
Without the UMW Wanda York would still have her husband.
If it wasnt for Leo Gerard Bethlehem Steel might still exist.
Without the Bell Telephone Company no one would ever have home phone service.
Therefor everything the company, or any of its successors, or any company that has the same name is, in perpetuity, good.
And since the union plotted murder, everything that union, or any associated union ever does or proposes in perpetuity, is bad.
And if you disagree with that you are dishonoring the memory of Eddie York.
Thats the logic you are proposing.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Golly Wally! Did you solve this by yourself, or did you use your Jr. Dick Tracy pocketknife with crime whistle & magnifying glass? I’m sure your Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring helped too. Be sure to drink your Ovletene. I’m sure John Stanky will personally give you the &250,00.00 reward for solving the “Terroristic Cable cut”. Make sure to call California Crime Stoppers to report your brilliant sleuth work. While you’re at it, call Homeland Security to report CWA as part of the Axis of Evil. Maybe President Obama will give you the Presidential Medal of Freedom for exposing the CWA Cell…
First, no one on CWA that I know would deliberately cut a cable and cause damage to our national security or telecommunication infrastructure. We do not condone nor take part in any terrorist activity, vandalism, destruction or violence against anyone. When the Oklahoma Citu Bombing & Sept. 11th happened,we (CWA employees & managers) worked together to keep the lines and telecommunications infrastructure up and safe. While many businesses closed and people fled the cities in fear, we ALL voluntarily stayed at our desks and by our equiptment, knowing that our central offices,Pedastals, & call centers could be targeted. When the 1995 OKC Bombing happened, our building was caught in the blast radius too. I had a friend in the building, & the employees not injured stayed to keep the equiptment & lines up. CWA & SBC/AT&T stood together to help As a Veteran and CWA employee, your unintelligent and vile accusations are a slap in the face to me,fellow Veterans, serviceman, CWA employees, & AT&T personnell.
Second, I reiterate we do not condone violence. My heart goes out to Wanda York for the murder, not assassaination,of her husband Eddie York. Jerry Dale Lowe was charged with murder, not conspiracy ( which includes an act of conspiracy involving two or more people). I hope they give him the Death Penalty. An eye for an eye,Eddie & his family deserve Justice. Jerry Lowe acted of his own free will. Otherwise, other Union Leaders would’ve been charged with murder and conspiracy to committ murder.
Third, Congress and the Senate Committe on Labor Relations “found AT&tin ‘violation of’ the Wagoner Act”. If you violate a law also known as an act, you’re “guilty”. So, let me put it in correct terms and I quote, “1950, the US Senate supports CWA’s allegations that AT&T & Bell Telephone used local associations within the Company as a closely integrated corporate system completely & directly controlled by AT&T/Bell to undermine contracts and negotians by not allowing. NFTW the ability to negotiate with anyone with the authority to ratify an equal & fair contract. This resulted in the Senate Committee finding AT&T/Bell knowingly and willfully in violation of the Wagoner Act.”. The Oxford English Dictionary defined “guilty” as anyone who violates a civil law (act).”. So, to make you happy, I’ll say that “AT&T was found in violation of the Wagoner Act” instead of guilty even though they mean the same thing.
Fourth, At&T matches our 401k contributions dollar for dollar, cent by cent. AT&T also, without a union agreement needed, gives performance bonuses to service representatives & technicians who make & exceed sales quotas & referrals. We may not gave free vending machines, but we have plenty of breakfasts & lunchespersomally provided by our managers. We are also given “Service. Anniversary luncheons & rewards without a union agreement. The top performers also earn trips freely given by AT&T without a union agreement In the business sales office, AT&T promotes emplyees within to management positions who exceed their sales quoted and customer service objectives. Therefore, your unsubstantiated points are flawed.
Fifth,”Without UMW Wanda Lowe would still have her husband.”. You might as well say “if Hitler’s parents used a condom, six million Jewish families wouldn’t have lost a family member in the holocaust and millions of serviceman from multiple nations would also be alive.”. Or, if Ozzy Osbourne wouldn’t have recorded “Suicide Soltioun” that kid would still be alive or better yet he would’ve committed suicide in silence or maybe if he listened to the Bee Gees “Stating Alive” he would’ve sought psychiatric help.
Sixth, the US Constitution is the reason you are able to choose your own career. If we were still in a dictatorial monarchy or later a communist state, you wouldn’t have the freedom of choice. Comrade… The Constitution ensures that two private parties can make independent contracts in regards to occupation, life, liberty, and freewill. Without it Comrade we’d be fiefs of a fuedal lord or workers in a gulag.
Seventh and Final, AT&T/Bell employees ensure that we have the best telecommunicaton infrastructure in the world. When disaster hits, natural or terrorist, it is the employees of CWA/AT&T that put themselves in dangerous conditions to restore service and man the phone lines as operators & customer service. CEO’s & Executives do not. My manager doesn’t have the training to do my job, yet I still afford him/her the respect of rank.
Oh, yeah… That’s all wrong because your Scoobu Doo/Hardy Boys Agency have linked CWA & it’s employees to the California Cable Cut Sabotage & as a terrorist cell. While you collect your $250,000.00 reward from Mr, Stanky and your Presidential Nedal of Freedom from President Obama for adfind CWA to the “Axis of Evil” & terrorism, my co-workers and I will stick to reality.
Second, when natural disasters strik (Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, the two Oklahoma City F6 Tornados, and the LA Earthquake of the early 1990’s,
April 15th, 2009 at 3:45 am
“First, no one on CWA that I know would deliberately cut a cable and cause damage to our national security or telecommunication infrastructure.”
Then you might want to notify them to modify the “WHATEVER IT TAKES” slogan on their web site.
The union is simply the most most likely perpetrator. You are talking about multiple cuts in multiple locations in a conduit secured by man hole covers that require a special tool. It required knowledge of the pathway enough to know which were redundant legs. This was concerted action.
When you consider the tools and the knowledge you have a small set of possibilities. And the motive narrows it further.
Add in the reward- if this was pranksters or vandals there already would have been action on a reward. If it was some drunk contractors out screwing around having ‘fun’ someone would have talked.
“The Oxford English Dictionary defined “guilty” as anyone who violates a civil law (act).”. So, to make you happy, I’ll say that “AT&T was found in violation of the Wagoner Act” instead of guilty even though they mean the same thing.”
My problem is that you imply that this is some sort of finding by a legal body. The Congress is a political body. They can grandstand, do purely political actions and pass motions about anything at all (shocking, I know). Its not a legal court with rules of evidence and impartial jurors. Quite the opposite: its ‘jurors’ are lobbied, supported and endorsed by various organizations. They could just as easily “found AT&T guilty” of being moon men.
Here is the legal definition:
“finding n. the determination of a factual question vital (contributing) to a decision in a case by the trier of fact (jury or judge sitting without a jury) after a trial of a lawsuit, often referred to as findings of fact.”
Thats my objection to “found guilty by a Senate Committee “. That implies some kind of legal body and some kind of legal forum. Whatever relevance you’d like to ascrie to this event from teh 50’s, it shouldnt re given the weight of a legal finding.
“Fifth,”Without UMW Wanda Lowe would still have her husband.”. You might as well say “if Hitler’s parents used a condom, six million Jewish families wouldn’t have lost a family member in the holocaust and millions of serviceman from multiple nations would also be alive.””
Well you have picked a bad example, BUT it is nice to see you endorse the principal are not dependent on one and only one cause. Would we have home telephone service without the Bell Telephone company? Of course. Would we have child labor laws without unions? Of course.
The problem with your argumentation is that it is all over the place. A logic argument needs to proceed as follows: Fact A. Fact B. Generally Agreed Principle X says facts of the type A&B imply situation C. Therefor you convince your readers of C.
Your invocation of past grievances against an organization that doesnt exist any more and hasnt for decades doesnt tell us anything about the current contract dispute. That company does not exist. None of the executives running the current SBC entitled AT&T are the same as those from decades ago.
What can your one sided trip down memory lane tell us about the merits of the positions in the current dispute? Nothing.
If an organization is forever to have the mark of Cain because of its antecedents, then why not the Mineworkers because of their history of violence?
If all of an organization current motivations must be considered to be pure because of past accomplishment, then what of AT&T role in developing modern communication, fiber, satellite communications, Unix operating systems?
Can you make the argument that good benefits only derive from the union? No- 401K’s, incentive stock options, and performance bonuses didnt come from unions.
Can you make the case that employees in unions are better off in all cases? No: Their abilities to get raises, promotions and special assignments is limited.
Since you can’t justify any sweeping statements, why dont you focus your arguments on why its a good idea employees in a segment with revenues that decrease every year should have their cost to the company increase every year.
April 18th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I am so tired of people and AT&T itself. And to those of you that are posting comments that are against the employees and the union are either a company shrill, management, a share holder, jealous of what you don’t have or just plain stupid.
No employee who is working for AT&T would vote to cut their wages and benefits that they work so for hard for. And if you say you are a non management employee who sides with AT&T efforts to shaft the employees are either a lier or just pain stupid.
I am not saying the Union is perfect, but based on how AT&T treats our first and second line management & prem techs, it is all we have to fight off this company corp greed
For instance people and AT&T who are trying to compare what AT&T, a utility, is offering to it’s consumers which is a service driven company, to the Auto company’s,who’s products sales are bought by the consumers as capital equipment.
To buy a vehicle, the consumer must borrow a huge sum of money from a bank. Because of this, the economy has a direct effect to the ability of the consumer. Because of either being laid off or fired or lack free income due to the tightening economy , do not have the necessary money to pay off the monthly car payments each month as well as the banks either withholding loans or making it harder to get one which further slowed down or stop sales altogether for the automakers.
You also have additional expenses that you must pay for cost of ownership on a vehicle, such as insurance, registration fees, maintenance, smog checks & gas.
These additional fees are not only expensive, but are totally out of the automakers control as to their cost’s but must be factored in when buying a vehicle.
Also those costs are unpredictable because cars break down, gas & insurance can go through the roof, and the Bank may refuse to give you a loan in the first place .
The average cost of ownership to own, use & maintain the vehicle according to Triple A is anywhere from 300 to 822.00 per month depending on the vehicle. And that is not taking in account the long term loan commitment of 3 to 7 years @ at an average cost of 20K to 50k which cost 300 to 700.00 per month or more
To get phone service, all you need is some proof of income, and any income level will do. You do not need a bank to get a loan; you do not have to pay to additional fees to other companies keep the service. And the monthly cost is pretty much static from month to month. You can cancel the service at anytime.
Depending on the features, average cost ranges between 12.00 to 65.00 per month
So unlike a vehicle ownership, pretty much anyone can afford some type of phone service. And since it is a monthly static utility fee, you can control the cost, change the features and do not need a bank or any other company to get and maintain the service. Because of this, the economy has very little to no effect s on the telecom companies.
As to your other arguments, unlike Ford or any of the other auto companies, AT&T has posted increase profits each year. If a company can post a 12.9 billion dollar profit in a down recessed economy then they can afford to continue to pay decent wage and benefits to it’s employees. And they were able to post these record profits each year without having to mortgage any assets to do so. In fact AT&T has been buying up other telecom companies and assets, not selling them. They are currently on the verge to buying up Verizon wireless assets. You can’t claim your company is hurting during a recession while gobbling up other companies assets. Hell, the auto companies are barely staying alive trying to maintain what the have.
I can’t see how anyone can say that AT&T has a bloated structure like CITIGROUP or any other company, that they have any of the same problems as the auto companies or that they are having any problems paying the current level of benefits that they have been paying since the last 5 year contract.
AT&T is already showing strong first quarter profits during this depressed economy and guess what, they are doing this while still paying all of the current wages and benefits and other expenses while we work with out a contract and paying for the standby worker they are planning to use as scabs if a strike happens.
As far as health care is concern, the employees do AT&T do pay for their health care benefits by way of deductibles and co-pays.
NO, AT&T is a very strong company in a vey unique situation because of the type of services they offer and the only reason they want to cut wages and benefits is because of pure greed so they can pay more to their share holders and increase the CEO’s compensation and bonuses.
I guess 33.5 million bonuses to the top 5 CEO’s isn’t enough.
Just like AT&T, Microsoft, another greedy company, who by both off shoring and the use of H1 Visa’s are hurting it’s employees and the economy as a whole by reducing the amount of good US job’s.
I ran across a article in the wall street journal. The following is a excerpt of that article
“We can’t say that this doesn’t matter because we’re only talking about 10 people, or 1000 people. It isn’t the number of people; it’s the fact that they are people, families with lives to live, bills to pay and expectations for the future. The monster here is the corporation, all corporations. Made from legal ether and now endowed with the rights and privileges of person-hood. Eternal and omnipotent, they don’t have any love except for themselves and money. They no longer have national identities now that they are “Global.” They have become the feudal lords and we are the serfs. We can’t save any of these jobs because the corporations have written the laws of the land to favor them and detract from ordinary citizens. We can’t turn to our government because in-human corporations have bought and paid for it. We can’t expect the main stream news sources to report on it because the corporations own them too.
“What hurts one, hurts us all” and we have all been hurt by corporate greed.”
I could not have said it any better. And by the way, AT&T is all going the off shore route as well.
April 28th, 2009 at 1:52 am
At&T should be ashamed at their actions. Managers working all hours of the night. Managers having to go in at midnight to “pick up keys” from employees in case there is a strike. They are expected to work (which in many cases they make much less than technicians, and they are not given comp time, or any extra money here in Ohio for all the extra hours.Yes, let’s make sure to pick up a key even though employess have expensive equipment in their trucks. Hmmmmmm, how about just changing the locks if their is a strike? At&t can afford now to pay for benefits because I’m sure they have saved millions already due to workers not taking any overtime over the past month or two. At&t has won either way. They are a terrible place to work for and I understand how they made the list of “50 of the worst companies to work for”.
Yes the economy is bad and we should be thankful to have employment. But At&T is taking advantage of the economy. And don’t worry union emplyoyees, jobs are not being outsourced in Ohio. Managers will be working 6 days a week with the same amount of pay to fill in for technicians if a strike hits. There are know “scabs” that they are training to fill in. Union employees should fight for their benefits. As I said, At&T has already gained millions just by unions having an overtime boycott. And if there is a strike think of how much they will save! Union employees and Managers deserve respect and appreciation. This companys is comparable to Wal-Mart. Treatment is very unfair.
April 29th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Blah Blah Blah, Yap Yap Yap.
Either Strike or shut the hell up!
May 10th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Yes, It is a middle of a recession for most people and companyies, bur not for AT&T. They made 12.9 Billion last year and posted first quarter profits of 3 billion for this year.
They are claiming a 27 percent loss of wire lines (regular dial tone) revenue, but are not are not subtracting form that number the lines that are switching over to Broadband, U-Verse and other data circuits that run over the same copper line. They also don’t count return customer coming back from other service providers.
We do not want to strike, it is just bad timing that our contract came up at this time.
and JOHN
AT&T was actually losing money by the employees not working overtime. They got so desperate, they threaten to suspend employees if they did not work forced overtime.
As far as Scabs are concerned, this sums it up pretty well. It is a 1904 excerpt from Jack London;
Definition of SCAB
After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad and the vampire bat, he had some awful substance left over, with which he made a SCAB
A SCAB is a two-legged animal with a cork-screw soul, a water logged brain and a combination backbone made of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles. A strikebreaker is a traitor to his God, his country, his family and his class!!!
Jack London, 1904
August 8th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
You can join the union or not, the Union fights for everyone no matter what. At&t has one of the best health care plans right now. The only problem is they want to start charging around 50-350 a month depending on family size. A lot of people working at att are living paycheck to paycheck and cant afford an extra 50 let alone 350 more a month, plus copays still remain in the 20-40 range. Thats one of the hugest issues for this upcoming strike but not the only. We find out midnight tonight.
August 4th, 2011 at 1:51 am
Yes. In training they have said the WIRELESS part of AT&T makes all the money for the company. How much?
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