Bargaining Report 74 Legacy T Tentative Agreement Reached July 21, 2012

Your Legacy T Bargaining Team was back at the table with the company again this morning and a Tentative Agreement was achieved at about 11:30.

Our Team feels it was able to make some real improvements for our members and held back most of the Company’s plans to take away hard-fought gains we had won over the years. We will be holding contract explanation with the Local Presidents on Friday, and ballots and full details of the tentative agreement with be provided for every member.

The T&T office and the full bargaining team join in sadness over the tragic death of District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen. He was working with our team just hours before his death, pushing with us to get the best possible contract for our members. He was a tireless fighter for justice for his whole life and he will be greatly missed.

We are committed to continue to work with Districts 1, 9 and 3 to ensure that every CWA member gets a fair agreement.

The following was released by the CWA Communications Department:

CWA District 4 and T/T Sector Reach Tentative Contracts with AT&T Midwest and Legacy,

Across CWA, Support Continues for District 9 and District 1/Local 1298 Negotiations

The Communications Workers of America District 4 and CWA’s Telecommunications and Technologies Sector have reached tentative agreements in separate negotiations with AT&T Midwest and AT&T Legacy.

CWA members and leaders across all districts are continuing to support bargaining that is continuing in District 9, with AT&T West, and with Local 1298, with AT&T East. The contract covering CWA members in District 3 with AT&T Southeast expires Aug. 4.

In District 4, which covers about 15,000 CWA members at AT&T operations in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, the bargaining team reached a tentative settlement that provides for wage increases, improvements in employment security and improvements in work and job issues limits on forced overtime and changes to unfair attendance policies. More details will be made available to members shortly.

CWA T/T Vice President Ralph Maly noted that Seth Rosen, CWA’s vice president for District 4, would have said that “we achieved our goal of a net gain when considering pay, health care and employment security.”

Tragically, Rosen died on Friday, July 20, in a drowning accident in North Carolina. The bargaining committee was determined to reach a fair tentative agreement to honor Rosen and his lifetime of work on behalf of CWA members.

CWA members at AT&T Legacy, about 5,500 workers at locations nationwide, also will see real improvements in jobs, job security and pensions, in addition to wage gains, under a separate tentative agreement finalized on Saturday, July 21, said T/T Vice President Ralph Maly. Details will be made available to members shortly.

All the CWA districts and sectors have worked together and supported each other in the fight for good health care, retirement security, good wages and everything that makes up the American Dream.

Separate negotiations are continuing with AT&T West, where 18,000 CWA members throughout California and Nevada are mobilizing and supporting bargaining, and with AT&T East in Connecticut, where 4,000 members of CWA Local 1298, members of District 1, are standing together for a fair contract. The 24,000 District 3 members throughout the Southeast are keeping up their mobilization efforts as the clock ticks down to the Aug. 4 contract expiration.