AT&T Confirms New Tentative Agreement with Communications Workers of America District 9

AT&T T today announced that AT&T West has reached a new tentative agreement with the Communications Workers of America District 9 in wireline contract negotiations. The four-year agreement covers more than 17,000 wireline employees in California and Nevada, and will be submitted to the CWA's membership for a ratification vote in the coming days. The agreement would be effective as of April 8, 2012, and expire April 9, 2016.  The agreement includes general wage increases in each year of the contract – 2.25 percent effective Oct. 1, 2012, 2.75 percent in 2013, 3 percent in 2014, and 2.5 percent in 2015. It includes a 1 percent pension band increase in each year of the contract for most employees, and expansion to additional employees of a provision that provides qualified surplus employees a guaranteed job opportunity with AT&T. It maintains one of the most robust health care plans in the nation, with increases in employee contributions. AT&T wireline employees represented by the CWA earlier ratified, on Aug. 17, three-year contracts for the Midwest region and AT&T Corp. (CWA Telecommunications and Technology Office); on Dec. 7 a three-year contract for the Southeast region; and on Feb. 27 a four-year contract in the Southwest. These ratified agreements collectively cover about 60,000 CWA-represented AT&T wireline employees. In addition, AT&T Midwest and AT&T National on March 26 reached a tentative four-year agreement with IBEW System Council T-3 covering nearly 6,500 wireline employees primarily in Illinois and northwestern Indiana.