AT&T reaches tentative contract with 18,500 wireline employees - Dayton Business Journal:

hydiuco.blogspot.com
The region includes Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. Negotiationsa continue for all remaining Candice Johnson, a representative for the , said Wednesday. The tentativee labor contract with the Midwest region includesa three-yearr agreement with pay and pension increases, cost-of-living adjustments and healthn care benefits that include fullyy funded preventive care and health reimbursement accounts, the unio for employees and AT&T (NYSE: T) said Wednesday. The employees affectedr by the tentative agreement include callcenter staffers, customer servics representatives and technicians. The employees were representec bythe CWA.
Johnson said employees in the union still have to ratifythe agreement. The vote takesw place Aug. 7. The agreement does not end AT&T’sa negotiations with communications workers. Johnson said that AT&gT still has 100,000 CWA employees in other divisions in the process of labor contractf negotiations but that she remains optimistic becauswe key health care concerns were addressed in the latestgtentative contract. “What was difficul is we are in a struggling she said. “The health care crisis has affected every It was very important for workers to maintaimn quality healthcare benefits.
” She addedc that the company agree to continue working with unionn members on health benefits. Despite telecommunications companies’ focus on wireless services, Johnsobn said the need for wirelin services and workers is verymuch “I think that AT&T has showb that you need a good wirelinre base,” she said, adding that wireless systeme are often built off the wireline networks. “Icf you look at the numbed of lines, yes there is a decrease,” Johnsonn said, but she added that integrating the wirelessx and wireline networks into efficient networkxs remains a crucial part ofthe business.