AT&T SW Contract Highlights

At approximately 10pm on 4/9/2025, your CWA elected Bargaining Team reached a Tentative Agreement with AT&T Southwest for 4 years (subject to ratification) through April 14, 2029. Here are the highlights of the agreement:

Wages  

• 5% pay increase to base wages for all Titles on May 11, 2025 
• 3.25% pay increase to base wages for all Titles on May 10, 2026
• 3% pay increase to base wages for all Titles on May 9, 2027
• 3.25% pay increase to base wages for all Titles on May 7, 2028
• $1000 ratification bonus (subject to ratification) paid within 30 days of ratification.
• Eliminated wage steps 1-4 for Premise Techs & Group 1 Craft. This guarantees no employee is hired at less than $15 per hour. 

Healthcare 

• Kept Healthcare Option 1 Select & Broad below 29% cost share
• Added two new tiers besides Individual & Family (Individual + Spouse & Individual + Dependents)
• Kept optional Option 2 Select & Broad with lower monthly premiums and higher deductibles 
• Option 2 - Added $1000 Healthcare Savings Account match for Individual & $2000 Healthcare Savings Account match for all other tiers for those who elect for Option 2 
• Eliminated higher monthly premiums for new hires (everyone is the same)
• Added employee eligibility on day 1 for benefits (was previously 6 months)
• Added new eligibility for all dependents till age 26 on Dental, Vision, and life insurance
• Added participation into the Company’s Wellbeing Plan in which you can earn up to an additional $750 for individual or $1500 for individual plus spouse/legally recognized partner. (more details to come in explanation meeting but one example is you get $200 just for doing an annual physical) 
• Protected any employee who retires within the duration of the new collective bargaining agreement will pay the same premiums as an active employee thru 2029.

Pension & Savings Benefit Plans

• 1% Pension Band Increase (for those eligible) in 2026
• 1% Pension Band Increase (for those eligible) in 2027
• 1% Pension Band Increase (for those eligible) in 2028
• 1% Pension Band Increase (for those eligible) in 2029
• Effective January 1, 2026 all employees in the AT&T Savings & Security Plan (approx 5000) will be moved to the AT&T Retirement Savings Plan. This provides optional increased contribution matches for even more money into the savings plan (more details to come at explanation meeting).
• Continuation of Cash Balance #2 for those not on traditional pension

Job Security

• Added MOA that expands Article XXV - Contract Work (Departmental Agreement) to include “Traditional Fiber Work” for the buildout, installation, and maintenance of fiber services.

Contract Improvements

• Added MOA that makes 19 current Temporary Full Time (TFT’s) Cable Splicers permanent & in addition creates 19 New Full Time Group 1 Craft Job Requisitions (38 permanent jobs created). Also if future TFT positions are created, they will be open job reqs before hiring off the street. 
• Added new language if employee suffers a miscarriage will be excused with pay up to 3 days for the employee plus spouse/or legally recognized partner
• Improvement on funeral time where it can be used 1 day past the day of the funeral 
• Removed $3000 cap on incentive plans for business units to provide opportunities for more money into employees pockets 
• Improved Per Diem in Core Contract by $3 
• Added Martin Luther King Day officially to the contract in all titles 
• Added language to improve scheduling carryover vacation and movement of such
• Renewed annual Success Sharing Plan
• Added 3% to both Voluntary & Involuntary severance payments (Voluntary had not been increased in at least the past 30 years) 
• Added MOA for Union Stewards & Staff to have worked hours count towards FMLA eligibility if they become ill 
• Added MOA for Union time to be paid for one Officer or their designee for representation and Company meetings no matter what AT&T Contract they are employed in 
• Appendix J
  • Appendix J employees receive a 3% pay increase to all wage tables upon ratification prior to General Wage Increases
  • Added Guarantee of 40 hour work week (was previously 32)
  • Added 2 additional weeks of severance pay (previously capped at 6 weeks)
  • Added language to cap mandatory OT at 12 hours (was previously 14)
  • Added language introducing Double Time OT at 54 hours
  • Added 10% Night Differential for all regular hours worked after 6pm to 6am
  • Added language calculating Holidays (worked and excused), Sunday hours worked, and absence for Union Business (paid & unpaid) towards Overtime eligibility
  • Changed time and title in all titles in Appendix J to 24 months (was previously 36 months)
  • Raised relief differential to $10 (was previously $8)
  • Raised per diem to $40 (was previously $37)
  • Continued MOA that allowed Prem Techs to be upgraded to do CST work and pay protected and treated as if they were a CST (if we didn’t have MOA Company could upgrade anyways at only a 20% bump in pay) 

In closing, we are happy to announce we fought off many demands to change eligibility for Sick Time, Differential Pay, and Removal of Disability Plan for employees hired before 2017 (this would have cut disability from 52 weeks to 26) just to name some of the attacks on our contract.

Your elected Bargaining Team drew a line in the sand on day 1 and made it real clear we aren’t here to make our members lives harder with less contractual protections. Your Mobilization as the members in the field and always having our backs made us achieve great success at the bargaining table with NO TAKE BACKS!

We will be doing an online full contract explanation meeting on Monday April 21, 2025 at 7pm (more details to come next week). The ratification vote will take place electronically from April 21 till May 5, 2025. If your Local does not have your email address, please make sure you get with them as soon as possible so you can get a ballot. And if you are a non-member reading this summary, what are you waiting for?  SIGN UP! We are Stronger together, we are United, we are CWA!

In Solidarity,

AT&T/CWA Bargaining Team

/ss
opeiu#13