AT&T Workers Plan Strike In Seattle This Weekend

Note: this story was written and reported by Eric Kiefer (Patch Staff)

SEATTLE, WA - AT&T wireless workers will be striking in downtown Seattle this weekend over a contract dispute with the corporation, according to the union representing the workers. The strike is scheduled to take place outside the retail store downtown at 1501 4th Ave. That store is located across from Westlake Park in the downtown shopping core.

The Seattle strike is part of nationwide effort to draw attention to the contract dispute. The strike began at 3 p.m. Friday and will last through Sunday.

On Friday afternoon, more than 40,000 AT&T workers in Washington, D.C., and 36 states announced the strike plans 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.

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

Rallies in support of the strike are slated to take place in cities nationwide, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Picket locations 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.”

CWA representatives said 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.

However, the communications giant said 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 Friday afternoon.

Richter said 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 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, 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 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.”

Image via Unity At AT&T Mobility, Facebook