WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Throughout the Southeast, members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) are on strike.
According to CWA, the Union has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against AT&T for not bargaining in good faith, engaging in surface bargaining, and not sending representatives to the bargaining table with the authority to make decisions.
Also, charges address the company’s refusal to bargain over mandatory subjects of bargaining and reneging on agreements made in bargaining.
“Our union entered into negotiations in a good faith effort to reach a fair contract, but we have been met at the table by company representatives who were unable to explain their own bargaining proposals and did not seem to have the actual bargaining authority required by the legal obligation to bargain in good faith,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. He continued with “Our members want to be on the job, providing the quality service that our customers deserve. It’s time for AT&T to start negotiating in good faith so that we can move forward towards a fair contract.”
Local Winston-Salem union workers among the thousands joining in with the nationwide strike. We spoke with Chris Bonnema, Local area 3616 President about the union's concerns.
"Our only demands for the company AT&T to bring people to the table that can bargaining decisions. We're currently working without a contract right now and the company isn't serious about getting the contract to move along or signing a new contract, so we are just trying to get the company to bring people that can make those decisions so we can get a contract," said Bonnema.
Bonnema told our crews back in 2019, the union went on strike with AT&T for unfair labor practices. He says the union is hoping to have their demands met.
The current strike will involve over 17,000 technicians, customer service representatives, and others who install, maintain, and support AT&T’s residential and business wireline telecommunications network in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
AT&T released this statement:
CWA’s claims of unfair labor practices are not grounded in fact. We have been engaged in substantive bargaining since day 1 and are eager to reach an agreement that benefits our hard-working employees. As evidence, we have reached 3 agreements this year covering more than 13,000 employees, including our most recent tentative agreement with District 9 (west). We remain committed to working with District 3 (southeast) in the same manner.
We’re disappointed that union leaders would call for a strike at this point in the negotiations, rather than directing their energies toward constructive discussions at the bargaining table. This action needlessly jeopardizes the wages and well-being of our employees.
We have various business continuity measures in place to avoid disruptions to operations and will continue to provide our customers with the great service they expect.