News

AT&T Legacy T Bargaining Report #11

19 Mar, 2015

Today the Union firmly rejected the Company proposal to freeze all of our pensions and give new hires 401K plans only - no defined pension plan at all.

As we said in our opening statement: “We believe that the workers who built this Company deserve to be secure in their retirement. That means fair pensions they can absolutely count on and are not subject to the whims of the market.”

We told them we will not accept the Company’s proposals to freeze any of our pension plans. All of our members need to keep growing their pensions to keep up with the rising cost of living and, even more so, with the rising cost of health benefits. Our members under the two CBA plans need to improve their plans even more since their payout is about 50% less than the few of us left with the old banded pension plan.

We also believe AT&T’s new hires also deserve a defined pension benefit, not just a 401K - that is not a guaranteed retirement benefit. During the 2008 recession many members’ 401K Plans lost half their value. The Company said in their opening statement that Wells Fargo did a study saying young people prefer 401K plans. Of course Wells Fargo would say that - they make millions managing peoples’ 401K plans. That’s like using a study from tobacco giant Phillip Morris to prove that cigarettes are good for your health. We presented studies that show the opposite. People are much more likely to stay at a company that has a defined pension plan.

At every turn the Company wants to make new hires third class citizens - no pensions, no retiree health and higher benefit costs. This not only hurts them but hurts the Union because those members will have cause to wonder if we are fighting as hard for them. We will fight for them and hopefully we will bargain a Contract that benefits every current and future member and retiree.

You should be hearing from your Local soon about your strike vote. We need a strong yes vote.

Your bargaining team,

Bill Bates

Laura Unger

Lois Grimes-Patow

Isa Shabazz

Martha Flagge

Mary Ellen Mazzeo

LaNell Piercy

Roy Hegenbart

Cindy Neumeyer