Contract expires but no strike yet at AT&T

The midnight Saturday, April 7 deadline for contract extension talks has come and gone, but members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) have decided to remain on the job – for now.

Members of CWA West and Midwest, who combined account for almost 40,000 employees, had authorized union management to call for a strike if a deal with AT&T could not be reached by the time the previous contract had expired April 7. However, both CWA branches released statements saying that the no job action would be taken – “although that can change at any time” noted both announcements.

Job security and health care costs remain the two major sticking points in the negotiations. Meanwhile, the workers will operated under terms of the previous contract with the exception of arbitration for grievances.

In addition to the contracts with workers at AT&T West and Midwest, contracts with certain workers at AT&T East and AT&T Legacy also have expired. Negotiations with those unions also continue.