AT&T hopes to gain concessions from unions

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By PETER SVENSSON

NEW YORK (AP) - AT&T Inc. (ATT), the largest employer of union labor in the country, is renegotiating contracts that cover 112,500 workers and looks set to take advantage of the recession to reduce its health care costs.

Five regional union contracts expire on April 4. A sixth that expires a few months later is being negotiated at the same time.

The last time this batch of contracts was up for negotiation, five years ago, there was a four-day strike that was seen as a minor victory for the Communications Workers of America. But this time, the economic meltdown has shifted the balance of power decidedly toward the employer.

"This is not the time to get involved in a strike. It's incredibly bad timing," said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20090313/D96TD3J80.html

[upi402]

1. Fantasy Headline: Unions Seek Concessions from AT&T Execs

These news headlines tell the story of their corporate masters. Never does a headline read that the workers' demands are the weighty demands and the CEO's position is the one left out.

[pfitz59]

2. The Unions need to tie wages to Executive compensation!

as a percentage of all bonuses and payouts. Why should CEO's "earn" 1000 times the minimum employee wage! Its a crime! Unions have a bargaininging position, its called Bad Publicity!

[MilesColtrane]

3. Fuck AT&T with a chain saw.

My phone has been out since 10AM Thursday.
I've been told they can't dispatch a repair guy until "sometime, Saturday afternoon".

Now shopping for phone/internet alternatives.

I'm just ashamed that I haven't gotten rid of them earlier.

[Mithreal]

4. The Democratic Party is signaling union busting is on the table

I predict we are going to hear a lot more of these stories.

The Employee Free Choice Act cannot be passed soon enough. Have we all called DC or local offices to let our representatives know we want stronger unions and the Employee Free Choice Act now? Is there a convincing excuse why this legislation is being delayed?

[Sherman A1]

5. And here we go....

I think this is exactly the time to go out if needed and to point out the hypocrisy of the situation if no deal can be reached. This is a time for Unions to stand up for their people and not let more things happen as I just saw with Anderson News where the drivers got to be Union after they were bought out by Cowley Distributors with no pension and $2.00 per hour less in wages. Oh, and the health care ain't so good either.

[tritsofme]

6. My sister in law is in the management side of this one.

She says they are prepared to work 12 hour days, 6 days a week in the event of a strike, and that management suspended all raises and bonuses for the year.

She also tells me that her union employees do not pay a single cent for their health benefits, no premiums, no co-pays, no deductibles.

That's just not realistic in today's world.

[zogofzorkon]

7. not realistic

When management makes multiple times what the people that do the work do and then bitch about what the workers receive I call that not realistic. Let them work 12 hrs a day 6 days a week at minimum wage and pay 50% + of the cost and $35 co pays and $3000 a year deductibles. Give them 1, 2, 10 years of that crap while their eyeglasses fall apart and their children only see a doctor once a year. Let them pay for rent, food and transportation on wages of the 1950's and see what's realistic. Its always not enough for them and too much for those that do the work with these clowns, that's today's world same as yesterday's world.

[Betty88]

8. I don't know what part of ATT she is in but....

We do pay co-pays and deductibles (the deductibles are not that bad right now but it is our fear that they will be next year) and our prescription plan has gotten more expensive and restrictive year after year.

[fasttense]

9. And because one group might actually get a fair deal in employment,

We have to quickly take it away from them and lower their pay and benefits to match the rest of the dunder heads willing to work for slave wages. What a concept.

Hey, let's also lower all the executives' pay and bonuses to match the lowest in the country too. You know I heard the Oracle of Omaha has been getting the exact same dollar amount in pay for the last 20 years. All executive pay should match his because in today's economy, multi-million dollar pay and bonuses for executives are just not realistic.

[tritsofme]

11. My SIL is middle management

She has managed to hang on to a job for 35 years in that company.

Her bonus doesn't buy a yacht, it pays her son's college tuition.

And the union workers she manages have all have a minimum of 20 years service, so they are hardly making slave wages, more like $60k+.

The contract AT&T has with these people sounds like an anachronism, however I am certain there are two sides to every story, I would be interested in hearing the other one.

[zogofzorkon]

12. The average cost of tuition at a private college is 24K

this is greater than 1/3 of the workers before tax comp. If someone can pay 24k + from their bonus they got a set for complaining about covering the health care of the workers that are actually producing the profits. Try living on 60k in the metro area w/ a kid in college, no really try it and make sure not to take the health care because its not realistic. These sorry parasites think they deserve it all while crying that everyone else is asking too much.

Heres the 2008 exec comp, http://www.companypay.com/executive/compensation/at-t-inc.asp?yr=2008 . Take a look at the salaries and the total comp. If you made 10% of that you could throw away the bonus and still be over 500k a year. Not taking a pay hike, forgoing bonuses, oh you noble sacrificing posturing thieves.

[tritsofme]

14. The kid goes to a state school in Illinois

And another will be starting college in a few years.

I didn't mean to imply her bonus covered all of the college expenses, it is just a part of their revenue stream that isn't going to be there this year.

Like I said, like most people in management positions she is part of middle management, not some executive.

And these people are struggling in this economy too, believe it or not.

[zogofzorkon]

15. I believe they are struggling

and I believe your SIL should realize that she should support the workers and not upper management. After 30 years she knows they'll never let her into their club and probably suspects they feel the same about middle management's worth as she apparently feels about labor, not worthy of its hire.

[midnight]

10. Tell your sister in law that it is not realistic for her to believe she

will not have to do the work of CEO and not be rewarded. Time for sister to join a union.

[mitchtv]

13. as ATT retiree, I call bullsh

When I worked we paid part and always paid co payments , still do, More every year. Your sister is either incredibly naive or just a liar

[Gman]

16. They do that every time the contract expires

get management trained and give them assignments if there's a strike. Just standard procedure and does not mean there will be a strike.

I've been saying for 20 years that the company does to management what it cannot do to the union. There was a time before that when management was given whatever the union achieved for non-management. In the days before a contract would expire, management would tell us they would work real slow if there was a strike to help us however they could because they would get whatever we got. Those days are over now. ATT screwed management several years ago now by jacking up health insurance. THey've made decent bonuses all but impossible to achieve and now done away with bonuses, they have limited raises and expect you to work 12 hours a day minimum. And stock options? HA! Well, options are part of management compensation... :puke: SBC and now ATT stock has been stuck at $25 for 15 years but options get issued when the stock price briefly peaks at 45 or so for some unknown reason around. My advice to any of my old employees has been and always will be to never ever take management. IT's one of the stupidest things you could do in your entire ATT career.

[mitchtv]

17. another thing they do at expiration is lie

particularly about employee compensation they never tell you how much an operator or a staff clerk gets, only what a Comm Tec or a cable splicer makes. That always includes total compensation (benefit pkg etc) average including overtime worked. Believe me operators and clerks make no where near $60K/yr. The MSM eats this up and dutifully passes it around. Also much of the OT is forced