New Jersey AT&T Workers Join Massive Weekend Strike; Picket Lines Planned

Almost a year after a massive, protracted strike between Verizon and thousands of its workers came to a conclusion, history is set to repeat itself… but this time with a different company and a shorter duration.

On Friday afternoon, more than 40,000 AT&T workers in Washington, D.C., and 36 states announced plans to go on strike for three days, alleging that company executives haven't presented "serious proposals” for a new contract in time for a 3 p.m. deadline.

Thousands of wire-line workers in California, Nevada and Connecticut, as well as DIRECTV technicians across California and Nevada, are expected to join about 21,000 striking mobile employees, according to the Communications Workers of America, the union representing the affected workers.

About 1,000 of these workers live and work in New Jersey, including those in retail, tech and call centers, union spokespeople stated.

CWA representatives said that they expect a strike would “potentially disrupt a large number of retail stores across the country this weekend.”

According to union representatives, protesters are planning picket lines at the following locations in New Jersey:

• May 19 (3 p.m.) - 277 Route 18 South, East Brunswick
• May 19 (3 p.m.) – 255 Highway 37 East, Toms River
• May 19 (3 p.m.) – 1645 Route 35 North, Oakhurst
• May 20 (10 a.m.) – 277 Route 18 South, East Brunswick
• May 20 (10 a.m.) - 255 Highway 37 East, Toms River
• May 20 (3 p.m.) – 1645 Route 35 North, Oakhurst
• May 21 (10 a.m.) – 277 Route 18 South, East Brunswick
• May 21 (10 a.m.) - 255 Highway 37 East, Toms River
• May 21 (3 p.m.) – 1645 Route 35 North, Oakhurst

While specific details about dates and locations were not immediately available, union spokespeople stated that additional picket lines will take place at the following New Jersey locations:

• Jersey City: 30 Mall Drive West
• Linden: 689 West Edgar Road
• Mays Landing: 650 Consumer Square
• Wayne: 1 Preakness Shopping Center
• Woodbury: 1230 Hurffville Road

Additional picket locations in other states can be seen here.

“We will no longer stand by as AT&T hems and haws at the bargaining table, keeping its own workers from achieving the American Dream they once promised,” said Dennis Trainor, vice president of CWA District 1. “Our demands are clear and have been for months: fair contract or strike.”

“Now, AT&T is facing the possibility of closed stores for the first time ever,” Trainor said. “Our demands are clear and have been for months: fair contract or strike.”

CWA representatives said that while a three-day strike may inconvenience customers in the short term, it’s necessary to call attention to the issues at stake.

“AT&T workers are committed to putting an end to unnecessary frustration and poor service because of AT&T’s lack of investment in its core business,” the CWA stated.

• See related article: AT&T Workers Vote To Authorize Strike

However, the communications giant stated that it’s been training replacement workers and is ready for any job action.

“We’re prepared, and we will continue working hard to serve our customers,” AT&T spokesperson Marty Richter told Patch on Friday afternoon.

Richter said that the company plans to “leverage every technological resource available” in the event of a work stoppage.

“Our network is among the most technologically sophisticated in the world, allowing us enormous flexibility in operations,” Richter said. “We have the ability to service customers’ calls by routing them among available call centers across our network.”

Richter added that the potential strike involves less than 14 percent of AT&T’s total employees.

‘FRUSTRATION IS HIGHER THAN EVER’

According to a CWA statement, workers are fighting for issues such as affordable benefits, fair wages and job security. Workers are also protesting AT&T’s alleged “pervasive outsourcing of jobs to low-wage contractors,” which eliminates good jobs and hurts customer service.

“Despite being the largest telecom company in the country and bringing in nearly $1 billion a month in profits, AT&T continues to overpromise and underdeliver to U.S. communities and customers by offshoring, outsourcing, and failing to invest in its core business and infrastructure,” CWA representatives stated.

Union spokespeople released the following statement about their demands on Friday afternoon:

"AT&T workers are demanding that AT&T commit to bargaining that addresses wage increases that cover rising healthcare costs, job security against outsourcing, affordable healthcare, and a fair scheduling policy. Retail workers’ take home pay has plummeted in the last year after AT&T unilaterally changed its commission plan. Workers are also protesting AT&T’s pervasive outsourcing of jobs to low-wage contractors, which eliminates good jobs and hurts customer service."

“As a father, striking is not an easy decision for me," said Mark Bautista, an AT&T wireline worker from El Sobrante, California. "But to make sure I can give my kids the future they deserve, we must take a stand against any and all attempts to skimp on good jobs and financial security."

A ‘BAFFLING’ SITUATION

According to Richter of AT&T, the company has reached 29 “fair” contract agreements since 2015 covering more than 128,000 of its employees, and corporate executives are confident they can do the same for this case.

“A strike is in no one’s best interest, and it’s baffling as to why union leadership would call one when we’re offering terms in which our employees in these contracts – some of whom average from $115,000 to $148,000 in total compensation – will be better off financially,” Richter told Patch.

Richter added that AT&T is a "union-friendly company" with more full-time, union-represented employees than any company in America.

“We’re offering generous terms in these negotiations including annual wage and pension increases, as well as comprehensive healthcare benefits, similar to what other employees across the country have ratified in other contracts,” he said. “We’re confident employees will be better off financially in their new contracts.”

• See related article: Verizon Strike 2016: Company, Unions End Epic Labor Standoff

Send feedback and news tips to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: CWA rally in Hoboken, May 19

Credit: Jenelle Blackmon