By Emil McLeod
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) are continuing their strike against the communications monopoly AT&T across nine states in the U.S. South: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee despite withdrawing from negotiations on September 2nd.
On September 2nd the CWA informed AT&T of their withdrawal from the mediation process, citing AT&T’s continued bad faith bargaining as the reason for their withdrawal. CWA had previously cited the lack of a federal mediator in negotiations as a reason for the strike. AT&T has since agreed to enter mediation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), but according to the CWA, the proposed offer that was presented by AT&T contained unsatisfactory proposals on wages and healthcare and represented another delaying tactic.
The strike is entering its fourth consecutive week where as many as 17,000 workers have participated. The majority of those on strike are technicians, customer service representatives, and wire installation workers. This strike is taking place in the South, the area of the United States that has the lowest rates of unionization nationally, as well as some of the lowest wages in the country. Recently, however, Volkswagen auto workers in Tennessee won a union by voting to join the United Auto Workers (UAW), and EV battery workers in the same state also voted to join the UAW, helping to begin to break the anti-union seal in the South.
The strike began on August 16th in response to AT&T’s continuing tactics of delaying the contract bargaining process, which began in June. The CWA has noted that these delays constitute an unfair labor practice (ULP), stating in a public press release that “…AT&T has refused to bargain over mandatory subjects and has failed to send a representative with authority to make decisions.” A ULP is defined as any action that violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), hampering the ability of workers to engage in concerted action and to bargain with their employer. The workers are demanding an increase in wages that keeps pace with the cost of living and inflation, the maintenance of healthcare benefit packages, and an end to forced overtime without notification for second-tier employees. These all fall under the category of “mandatory subjects”, as they relate directly to wages, hours, and working conditions according to the NLRA.
According to reports detailing AT&T’s 2023 earnings, they received over $24 billion in profits with millions more in subsidies granted to them by the federal government last year to build high-speed internet connections for businesses and households. Despite these high profits and subsidies, workers on strike say that the low wages and overwork are taking a physical toll on them, and impacting their ability to provide for, and spend time with, their families.
AT&T is also using unqualified sub-contractors and managers as scabs to maintain their lines and perform new installations while the workers are on strike. The CWA said, “Our members have seen them at work in their communities and documented unsafe practices, including failure to wear proper safety equipment, failure to secure ladders and other equipment, putting the worker and nearby vehicles and pedestrians at risk, and failure to mark work areas with safety cones.”
The Biden administration has previously used the tactic of federal mediation in contract disputes to crush the collective actions of workers and to back the capitalists with the force of the State. For example, in 2022 when the railroad workers rejected the deal proposed to them by the mediation board, Biden then used his presidential powers, along with Congressional authority, to break the strike and ram through an employer-friendly contract.
