AT&T SW Bargaining Report #8

The CWA Bargaining Committee met with the Company on February 9, 2017.  The Company presented a complete package proposal to the Union.  The Union Bargaining Committee spent Friday, February 10, 2017 and the entire weekend meeting with the Company, as well as analyzing the package to fully understand the totality of the Company proposal.  To characterize the Company’s proposal as retrogressive would be sugar coating the description.  Listed below are the “lowlights” of the Company’s package proposal.

• A 1.5% wage increase to base wages in each year of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
• Deletion of Article V – Cost of Living Allowance
• The elimination of the Night Differential
• The elimination of Article IV, Section 6, paragraph b. pay treatment for Cable Splicing Technicians
• The Union will no longer be notified of major incentive plans that will be implemented
• Employees may be excluded from any Incentive Plans for any reason
• The elimination of Overtime at Two Times the Basic Hourly Rate
• The elimination of Severance Payments for any reason
• All employees will have only five paid illness days
• A day of waiting for all employees before being eligible for a paid illness day
• All employees hired after April 8, 2017 shall not be eligible for any paid illness days
• Leverage Service Representative change – 50% wage rate in base pay, 50% in the target incentive
• Leverage Service Representative – target incentive shall be capped at 250%
• The elimination of the Leverage Service Representative Sales Committee
• Refusal of a lateral transfer from a Service Representative to a Leveraged Service Representative position in a surplus condition shall now be considered a job declination
• The elimination of displacement rights for a Service Representative
• The elimination of pay protection for Customer Services Technicians who were forced into the Premise Technician title because of a surplus condition
• The Day after Thanksgiving shall be removed as a Holiday and replaced with a Floating Holiday
• Only one week of vacation may be carried over into the following year
• Transitional Leave of Absence language in the surplus process – from no earlier than 28 days to no earlier than day 14
• Temporary Employees – change maximum length of employment from 18 months to 36 months
• Reduce the time an employee may file a grievance from 45 days to 30 days
• Reduce the number of employees that might be paid for attending a grievance meeting from three to two
• Effective January 1, 2018, Current Employees who participate in the Southwest Program of the AT&T Pension Benefit Plan will not be eligible for future pension band increases
• Effective January 1, 2018, the lump sum optional form of payment of the AT&T Pension Benefit plan will only be available for the benefit accrued prior to January 1, 2018
• Effective January 1, 2018, for those employees eligible for the Bargained Cash Balance Program #2 of the AT&T Pension Benefit Plan, (BCB2), will only be available for benefit accruals prior to January 1, 2018
• Effective January 1, 2018, all 2017 New Hires shall not be eligible to participate in any AT&T sponsored pension plan or policy

                                                           Benefits  

• Employee Contributions for the Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Care Plus, and Life Insurance shall be at the following percentages:

(2018 – 29%)(2019 – 30%)(2020 – 32%)(2021 – 32%)

• Replacement of the AT&T Medical and Group Life Insurance Plan – Custom Care with the Southwest Medical Program
• Replacement of the AT&T Dental Plan with the AT&T Dental Program
• Replacement of the AT&T Vision Plan with the AT&T Vision Program
• Replacement of the AT&T Medical and Group Life Insurance Plan – Group Life Insurance with the AT&T Group Life Insurance Program for Active Employees
• Replacement of the AT&T Disability Income Program for Southwest Bargained Employees (52 week plan) with the AT&T Disability Income Program (26 week plan)
• Replacement of the AT&T Employee Assistance Plan (AT&T Employee Assistance Program*) with the AT&T Employee Assistance Program
•  Amend - that the Company may unilaterally modify or discontinue  Insurance Plans and the AT&T Voluntary Benefits Platform without further discussions with the Union
• Eliminate the Benefit Committee

• The follow Memorandums of Agreement shall be deleted:

CWA Internal Appeal Process

Extended Employment Opportunity Period

Facilities Locate Work

Hometown Job Security Commitment

Surplus Leaves of Absence

Informal Surplus

Modified Procedures for Expedited Arbitration

National Transfer Plan

Presidential Council

Regarding Neutrality and Card Check Recognition

Recovery of Wage or Benefit Overpayments

• The following Task Forces shall be deleted:

Communications Consultant Joint Leadership Forum

Global Positioning System

Revenue Management Representative Working Group

Service Representative Review Committee

Two Hour Notification

The CWA Bargaining Committee has not completed analyzing the Company’s proposals for Appendix J employees.The Committee will send out a bargaining report later today with those Company demands.After reading this report Members are now aware of the fight we are in at the negotiating table with the Company.Your Committee will not give up until we have a good contract for all of our Members.We need your support, step up the Mobilization activities.