Bargaining between Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 9 and AT&T West, formally started today.  CWA Bargaining Committee Chair Tom Runnion started the session with opening remarks, which set the tone for this round of bargaining .  Company Chairperson Doug Flores made opening remarks   for the Company outlining the perceived challenges for the Company in the areas of health care costs,  the need for flexibility and the financial challenges the Company faces due to the economy and competition.

CWA OPENING STATEMENT

Today CWA and AT&T come together to begin negotiations at a time when our Countries economy is shaky but the Companies profits are up. AT&T is a Fortune 10 corporation with the means to provide decent wages and benefits to our members. AT&T is a $150 Billion corporation that made $12.9 billion in profits last year. The Company has an expectation of double digit growth in revenues for the next year. Our Country in this economic time needs profitable companies such as AT&T to do the right things. We need these companies to grow not to scale back. President Barack Obama just signed the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”. The act provides for 7.2 Billion to increase the deployment and adoption of High Speed Internet access. We need AT&T to build out that infrastructure that will bring high speed internet access to all Americans and those jobs to be, Union jobs, in California and Nevada. This is not a time for healthy profitable companies to back away from growth or to try to diminish workers pay and benefits. It is a time for AT&T to join with CWA for Health Care reform not to shift the cost to our members or retirees. It is a time to remember past commitments and not turn away from them. CWA will not let AT&T forget it was the retirees that helped build this Company and AT&T made commitments to them. CWA members are the ones that make this Company profitable and expect a fair share of that profit. We come here to bargain a Fair and Just contract that meets both parties’ needs and that our members would be proud to ratify.

WE WANT TO THANK ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN TODAYS MOBILIZATION ACTIVITIES IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!

IN UNITY,

Tom Runnion

William B. Harvey

Lupe Mercado

Bill Demers

Pam Suniga

Art Gonzalez