DALLAS — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
A four-week strike of AT&T employees in the Southeast has come to an end.
The Dallas-based telecommunications company announced Sept. 15 it reached tentative agreements with unions representing AT&T Southeast and AT&T West workers and the end of a strike in the Southeast region.
Wages and healthcare costs were key issues in the negotiation. The new five-year agreement includes wide-ranging wage increases of almost 20% and an additional 3% increase for wire technicians and utility operations. Healthcare premiums will hold steady in the first year and will decrease in the second and third years, with monthly increases in the final two years.
The new AT&T Southeast contract covers workers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, who had been on strike.
The Southeast strike came to an end Sept. 16. The tentative agreements with the Communications Workers of America union must still vote to ratify the deals, which is expected in the coming weeks.
The strike in the Southeast lasted 30 days, which was the longest telecommunications strike in the region’s history, according to CWA. Union members in nine states had called on the company to negotiate better terms for the contract. The contract between AT&T and CWA ended Aug. 3 and the strike began Aug. 16.
Jeff McElfresh, chief operating officer at AT&T, said the company's goal was "to reach fair agreements that recognize the hard work our employees do to serve our customers with competitive market-based pay and benefits that are among the best in the nation — and that’s exactly what was accomplished."
He added that the agreements "support our competitive position in the broadband industry where we can grow and win against our mostly non-union competitors."
The tentative five-year agreement with CWA District 3 in the Southeast covers about 15,000 employees. The tentative four-year agreement with CWA District 9 in the West covers about 8,400 employees.
AT&T (NYSE: T) has now reached 17 agreements with unions since the beginning of 2022, including two contracts ratified earlier this year, according to the company.
"I believe in the power of unity, and the unity our members and retirees have shown during these contract negotiations has been outstanding and gave our bargaining teams the backing they needed to deliver strong contracts," CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. said in a statement.
The labor negotiations serve as a reminder of AT&T's immense size and reach. It employed 149,900 in January, stretching across the country.
Union negotiations are somewhat rare in Texas, a right-to-work state. Molson Coors experienced a strike at its Fort Worth brewery earlier this year before reaching a new labor contract with Teamsters.
