AT&T Mobility, CWA strike tentative labor deal

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and the Communications Workers of America said they reached a tentative labor agreement covering thousands of workers in five states.

The CWA said that the deal covers District 6, which represents 9,300 workers across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Additionally, the union said that the deal includes the return of a minimum of 2,000 jobs over the four-year duration of the agreement. AT&T, which has around 256,000 employees in total, is still trying to negotiate deals with 40,000 of its wireline workers.

AT&T declined to comment on the status or terms of the agreement covering workers on the company's wireless business, according to Reuters. Workers still need to ratify the agreement. According to the CWA , the tentative agreement calls for annual wage increases of two percent, 2.5 percent, 2.25 percent and 2.5 percent respectively over the life of the contract, as well as no regressive change to existing pension plans.

The CWA was an outspoken supporter of AT&T's failed $39 billion bid to acquire T-Mobile USA, and argued strenuously that the deal would create tens of thousands of new jobs. Ultimately, an FCC analysis of the deal concluded that the acquisition would result in fewer jobs, countering claims AT&T had made throughout its campaign to get the deal approved by regulators.

For more:
- see this release
- see this Reuters article

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