The Communications Workers of America announced Monday it was withdrawing from mediation procedures with AT&T, accusing the company of stalling contract negotiations.
The CWA called AT&T’s use of the mediation process disingenuous and said the company was interested only in stalling negotiations.
“We appreciate the mediator’s efforts. Our message to AT&T is: No more excuses,” CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt said in a statement. “It’s time to get serious about bargaining so we can get back to work serving our customers.”
The CWA and AT&T have been in talks since early June, but union leadership has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the company’s bargaining tactics. In August, the CWA announced a strike against the communications giant, with thousands of union members walking off the job in nine states.
The CWA represents the thousands of technicians who maintain and install AT&T’s business and residential telecommunications network.
The CWA’s decision to walk away from mediation proceedings could prolong negotiations and the strike. According to the union, AT&T has resorted to using “undertrained” technicians during the strike, which has led to massive outages for AT&T customers.
AT&T has urged the CWA to continue negotiating and maintained that it’s not trying to stall negotiations.
“Our goal is to reach fair and competitive agreements that recognize the hard work our employees do to serve our customers, with market-based pay and benefits tied to cost of living and projected inflation data. This is true for all employees, management and nonmanagement alike,” the company said in a statement.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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