I have been a loyal union member for 32 & 1/2 years. I was here during the “good ol days”, and I am still here in the not so “good ol days.”
AT&T has always used scare tactics and half truths to try to influence union members, as well as the general public, into believing the union is an evil entity out to destroy everything that makes America great. Don’t fall for this misconception. It seems to me that big business and corrupt CEO’s are doing more to destroy this once great country than anyone else. Of course, you say, “he is leaving out the corrupt politicians.” Even though probably 90% of them are worthless, that topic is for another day.

The big fight in this contract negotiation is over wages and benefits. And once again healthcare is at the forefront.
It has been stated by one of AT&T’s executive officers “Union-represented Core wire line employees ( that’s us ) pay similar amounts for their health care as union workers at the Big 3 automakers pay, and its clear what those sorts of unsustainable costs have done to America’s auto industry.”

This statement makes no sense at all. AT&T made RECORD BREAKING PROFITS last year, 12.9 BILLION $$! Everyone surely remembers last year. Your 401 went in the toilet along with your other investments. Whew! And the Big 3? Well, they received bailouts by the govt. CAUSE THEY ARE GOING BANKRUPT!

It was also stated that AT&T has lost 20% of consumer access lines in the past 3 years. They make it sound like we are about to go out of business because of it. It’s true that we are losing some, however we are more than making up for it thru the sell of U-verse, DSL, and wireless. Plus, with U-verse and DSL you still have to have copper to the house. And believe me, we do.
All thru the year, AT&T tells us employees what a great job we are doing, heck they even buy us lunch once in a while. But, when the contract comes up, we are suddenly something they need to scrape of their boots.

Remember that 12.9 BILLION $$ RECORD BREAKING PROFIT we talked about earlier? That is after the company paid our wages & benefits, including healthcare. Oh, and that also includes AT&T paying approximately $ 100 million to move their Corporate Offices from San Antonio to Dallas. Word has it that AT&T still has an office building in San Antonio they are paying $100,000 to $200,000 a month for because they can’t find anyone to lease it.
And lastly, our CEO Randall Stephenson said he was going to do the right thing and turn down a bonus for 08. Good job you say? Well, a day or two later, he received thousands of shares of AT&T stock at NO COST! Then turned around and sold them at market value for a very nice profit. Sounds like a very nice bonus to me! Plus our former CEO takes home over a million a year for retirement and free healthcare. And God knows what else.

So you see, things aren’t always as they seem. AT&T continues to make tons of money in spite of itself, while trying to shaft the very people who made that profit for the company.

The fact is the company is owned by the share holders and is supposed to be run for the benefit of the share holders- it is not the personal piggy bank of the union. Last year AT&T paid 9.5B in dividends to shareholders. Thats the way it is- you either are a growth stock or you give a return to people who own the company in the form of dividends. If the share holders wanted they could liquidate the company next week, paid off the creditors and chop up the cash.

Frankly the union should be dancing in the street over the performance of the executive team- $33M is cheap considering how much business they have brought in to save the plunging top line of the unionionzed business segment. If it wasnt for the additional business segments growing revenue you’d be in *exactly * the case of the autos.

” A company that doesn’t invest current profits in futuire growth (R & D, infrastructure, etc.) won’t have a contract to offer you for very much longer. $12B probably isn’t a drop in the bucket to get from here to there”

According to AT&T Inc.’s 2008 annual report, the 12,867,000,000 ($12.8 Billion) profit is AFTER paying out a $20.3 Billion dollar construction and capital investment (which it SHOULD do to grow the company and maintain its technological edge).

Profit= Income-Expenes.

However, Stephenson did get a raise of 22 percent in salary last year to about $1.4 million. The largest single aspect of his compensation were options and stock incentives worth about $13.2 million. Also included in the total payout: $142,000 in relocation expenses, $83,000 for personal use of AT&T’s corporate jet, and $14,000 in financial counseling

The Federal Aviation Administration’s Web site lists at least 15 planes registered to AT&T and affiliated firms.

DON’T TELL ME THE COMPANY CANNOT AFFORD MY HEALTHCARE!!!!

AT&T Inc. is stuck with Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson’s San Antonio home after relocating him to Dallas, as the recession stifles demand for million-dollar dwellings.
AT&T bought Stephenson’s home for $1.7 million according to a regulatory filing detailing compensation yesterday. The phone company announced plans to shift corporate offices in June. AT&T has yet to sell the home, along with that of General Counsel Wayne Watts.

AT&T paid $3.05 million for wireless president de la Vega’s home and sold it for $2.9 million, according to the filing. Executive Vice President Cicconi was paid $807,317 for his home, which was sold for $740,000.