AT&T Mobility Opening Statement

Our goals in this round of negotiations include improvements in working conditions, wages, benefits, and job security.  AT&T is one of the most successful companies in the industry with billions of dollars in profits, 15.3 billion in profits from Mobility alone.  AT&T has made this kind of profit in large, because the Company has chosen a strategy that depends upon products and technologies, which can best be brought together in bundled offerings, relying on Union members to carry out the plan. 

Our members have carried out this plan successfully and that is why the Company has been so successful financially.  A quality workforce that has helped deliver these types of profits should be rewarded with quality wages, benefits, pension, fair work rules, and employment security.  Our members deserve a fair agreement and the Company can afford it and still remain profitable and competitive in the communications industry.

As you know, I have personally been involved in helping AT&T secure millions of dollars in contracts throughout my career.  My involvement and partnership in the legislative and regulatory arena, along with External Affairs mangers has proven to be very successful.  In fact, AT&T Mobility has become one of the largest and most successful telecommunications companies in District 6 and we have helped spread the AT&T footprint throughout AT&T of the Southwest. For example, in a recent Consumer Digest magazine the cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston were all recognized as major markets that have the AT&T Mobility footprint. 

We recognize that if the Company, the workers and the Union are to succeed in this competitive market, it takes a true partnership.  Therefore, it is CWA's belief that our partnership in the regulatory/legislative arena, the hard work of our members in the workplace that has contributed to the financial success of AT&T, has built and laid the ground work for successful negotiations.  Therefore, we will not accept and will be extremely disappointed if the management bargaining team tries to poor mouth the CWA Bargaining team during this round of negotiations.

In the spirit of full disclosure you should also know for the first time ever in preparation for this round of negotiations, that we have mailed letters and held town hall calls with all of our Mobility members in District 6 for the past month and they along with other CWA members across the country stand ready to support our bargaining committee by any means necessary to get a fair and equitable contract.  CWA members deserve a fair and equitable agreement; AT&T can afford it and still remain profitable and competitive in the telecommunications industry.  Our expectations are to have a tentative agreement by the expiration date of the current contract.

In closing, I understand fully that bargaining is give and take; however, based on the financial success of the Company, I want to make this perfectly clear, we will not reach an agreement any time soon, if management's plan is to seek numerous givebacks from our bargaining committee.  We also understand that negotiations can become tense and adversarial in nature.  However, we will negotiate professionally and we expect the same from the management bargaining committee, if we keep that in mind I am confident we will reach an agreement that is a fair and equitable to both CWA and AT&T.