A year-and-a-half-long fight between AT&T and the Communications Workers of America union in Connecticut appears to be over. The two sides have come to a tentative agreement after tense talks that seemed to go on forever.
The deal-maker might have been AT&T’s willingness to include job-protection language in the contract that wasn’t part of previous offers. Specifically, the agreement requires the carrier to keep at least 84 percent of union jobs in Connecticut.
"We hung tough, the membership hung tough, we had the support of national, and AT&T knew it and finally realized that 'we're not going to get these guys to move,'" Local 1298 President Bill Henderson said. "It's not everything we wanted, but it's big for us and we can build on it in the future."
The deal, which is actually two separate contracts – one for 3,400 core employees and another for almost 200 Yellow-Pages workers – also gives employees pay increases in each contract year.
AT&T released a statement, saying, "Even in tough economic times and in the midst of major changes in the marketplace and our industry, the three-year agreement continues to offer wages and benefits that are among the best in the country."
The contract is expected to be ratified after a vote of the whole union on Sept. 7. It was a long time coming; AT&T was able to come to terms with union members in most other regions of the country by the end of last year.
