AT&T union talks to continue, strike avoided
AT&T have failed to reach an agreement with the Communication Workers of America, but have stated that negotiations will continue. The CWA is negotiating four different contracts with the company, which affects as many as 40,000 jobs, roughly 16% of AT&T’s total workforce.
AT&T said they’ve failed to agree on a new deal prior to the expiry of the East, Legacy T, Midwest and West contracts. Union members had authorized CWA on March 31to call strikes if their demands were not met, but the parties have stated that talks will go on. However, the threat is very much there, as the CWA had led a two week strike for 35,000 employees at Verizon as recently as last summer.