About 17,000 union workers at AT&T locations around the Southeast went on strike Friday afternoon, according to their union, which charged the company with unfair labor practices in a filing with federal authorities.
The workers, including about 2,500 in metro Atlanta, have been working without a contract since a previous, five-year-agreement expired Aug. 3 while company negotiators met with bargaining teams from the Communications Workers of America.
“Maybe they didn’t think our members were serious about striking, but we’ve been preparing for months,” said Ed Barlow, president of CWA Local 3204 in Atlanta. “Across the state of Georgia, we have hundreds of work locations for AT&T employees and we plan to have pickets at every last one of them.”
An AT&T spokesman said the company was “disappointed that union leaders would call for a strike at this point in the negotiations.”
The workers involved include technicians, who install and provide service to AT&T’s wireline telecommunications, including internet and phones for business and homes. Also part of the walkout are call center workers, including customer service representatives.
The region includes Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Union leaders have accused the company of not bargaining in good faith by not respecting agreements already reached and by often refusing to address anything but surface issues, that is, “not getting down to the nitty-gritty,” Barlow said.
Before the recent contract was signed, the AT&T workers represented by CWA in the Southeast went on strike for five days, Barlow said. “There were unfair labor practices, too, very similar reasons.”
The CWA has filed an unfair labor practice charge against AT&T with the National Labor Relations Board, but the walkout could be ended quickly at the bargaining table, he said. “It’s hard to say how long we will be out. Could be a couple days, weeks or months.”
In response, the AT&T spokesman cited the company’s successful negotiations with CWA unions in Nevada and California as evidence that it is willing to bargain in good faith.
“CWA’s claims of unfair labor practices are not grounded in fact,” he said. “This action needlessly jeopardizes the wages and well-being of our employees.”
The company has put “various business continuity measures” in place that will keep the strike from disrupting operations, the spokesman said.
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