Anyone on this thread know of any contractors doing our work?
Per union contract they cannot do any copper or fiber splicing while craft is still employed!
If you know of this going on please advise!
22 replies (most recent on top)
I’m in wireline too and have seen it personally over the years them trying to use contractors in the SE. We caught them and they had their hands slapped but not fired. It may not be happening in your area yet but eventually they will try it so, be vigilant!
There are contracts for a reason. If the company is in breach then there should be consequences.
In wireline this does not happen. 1st through 3rd level managers would all be terminated immediately for exposing the company to massive litigation risk. Can't speak for other parts of the business. If union people could be replaced without huge consequences, they would already be gone.
There was a group grievance filed and met on, in the Atlanta local 3204 by wireless technicians in reference to contractors doing their work. The matter involved all wireless technician nationwide.
Cwa is a joke
Ha ha, you’re funny! they can’t even manage RTO properly.
T is encouraging new companies to build out their own fiber network. Once it’s completed, T will buy that company and all of their fiber, bypassing any union obligation.
Not getting out of the union, are there lazy and union officials that take advantage of their position? Of course same as any org. Get your fellow members to vote them out, time to get active. Fill out bargaining suggestion forms and get your fellow coworkers to sign too.
We are going backward on a lot of fronts, all labor is weary with take backs and low wages, not keeping up with inflation. The next contract is our time to draw a line and ask for fair compensation and labor rules. Labor across the country is rising up to the elite greed and them not sharing the wealth.
The union su-ks the only people that benefit from it are the officers salaries. Time for everyone to get out of the union so they can start earning our member dues first before we consider rejoining. It's amazing how many years current and retired/surplused members have paid dues to get nothing in return. Dues go to additional salaries for local cwa officers, meals and flights and hotels. Save your money. Get out of the union.
Layoffs have and will happen If there are non union workers doing the same work, doesn’t mean it is right or correct. There is a detailed job description for every title and if the company is using non union/management for that work then someone needs to file a grievance for breach of contract. It never hurts to file, the union official may tell you it’s un actionable but when you actually file, they have to act upon your grievance or they can be sued for “acting in bad faith” , not representing or misleading you. I’d advise to get the Union State Rep and District Levels involved, you can ask you local steward or president for their reach and name.
You can get the job descriptions off the company site or ask the union. The only way to protect your job is for you and fellow members to stand up, the union is its members, not CWA. If there isn’t any job protections in your contract, which I find it hard to believe, then you need to bargain for it in your next contract.
If CWA officials won’t do their job then the members can vote to remove them and have a new Union represent them, there is a process for that to happen which involves getting enough signatures of fellow members, but it can happen. Good luck!
Some info for you.
My group is a non-management group ( read that Union - CWA District 6 ) and we have had contractors working alongside us ( higher paid than we are ) doing the very same job we are doing for probably 1-2 years now. ( We are all Comm Tech / Network Center Tech titles btw )
I always thought the Company could not use Contract Labor to do Union work but, apparently, I was wrong because they're here. Both the Union and Labor are fully onboard with it and there is ZERO we can do about it. Thus, add yet another reason that I loathe our Union.
My guess is, it's a test to see if they can eventually replace us with Contract Labor but, since this Company hasn't provided any training since we were SBC ( ~2005 ) that will be rather difficult to pull off without creating mass chaos in the process.
Someone needs to file a grievances for a breach of the contract. Any union member can file, if they won’t take it up, file a Dept. of Labor complaint or get a labor lawyer. Some UWA officials thought they were above the law/contract too but now they are fired and worse for their shenanigans.
If you have “dummies” leading your Union, there are upcoming elections. Vote them out! It’s inexcusable to use temp as a long term solution. The Union has to agree to what is happening because after a while they are supposed to be made permanent, according to the contract and not have consecutive contracts renewed, especially in the same area. If they need to be renewed then they need to be made permanent, simple as that.
It’s not fair or contractual to the employee or their fellow workers.
I agree with your post. In San Diego we had terms exceed 10 years of continuous service until they were released. The union here is lead by dummies, this is why the problem is growing.
The UAW is pushing back on this exact example of a two tiered or temp employee vs. permanent. The companies have been taking advantage of labor for years while enriching themselves. The unions compromised during tougher times to keep the company’s from bankruptcy but now it’s way past time to be compensated and do the ethically and morally correct thing. Do away with the temp employee as a perm contractual work around without any long term benefits. Mid to lower management needs same kind of treatment, their work is being offshored and contracted out too. It will ki-l the middle class, those who make the economy work and the nation Great.
Same goes for AT&T, labor shouldn’t be punished for leadership failures, they sure haven’t taken any reductions or had policy changes in their contracts. In fact they have only became more wealthy, no morales, ethics or consequences in the new Robber Barons era.
AT&T is still making money in spite of them, though at a rapidly diminishing ROI. Retirement compensation for any labor employee after 1998 is pitiful and disgraceful, it’s worse for any new perm hire after 2009. Healthcare is basically only catastrophic insurance, premiums, deductibles, out of pocket are terrible from 2008 and onward. Inflation has taken wages backwards and small raises aren’t keeping up at all.
Well they do outsource and offshore tons of work. Specifically in development. Not to mention they rebadge ATT employees to those other companies. Imagine your badge says ATT and you are FTE for 20 years and then be told you now work for Tech Mahindra or hit the road with no severance, then they transfer your knowledge and you’re let go.
As for your jobs, yeah, wouldn’t put it past them. They’ve done some nasty stuff to the office workers.
The Union is not coming to the rescue. They have allowed the problem to grow. Local unions in California, specifically Sacramento and San Diego, allow the company to have a ton of term employees. Term employees are contractors that pay dues, this is the only difference. The company is always decades ahead of the union.
The company is in a state of consolidation. Yes, reductions in technicians will start in 2024, the exemption will likely be PremTechs since they and contractors will assume more work.
The new and very small, inexperienced Gigapower/Blackrock company is only for non-traditional areas. The company would be breaking contractual agreements to use them, just like any other contractor unless, it’s the Master contractor or their subs doing unskilled labor. It puts public safety and the company at risk to use unskilled labor on skilled work.
Your statement is untrue, I’ve seen the company use non AT&T contractors recently and they were doing contractual work. Union was called, Area manager had to pay penalty and remove the non union contractor off the job. His and the Directors excuse was, techs refused to do the work, which was a lie because the techs called it in once they saw a contractor doing their work. Techs can be disciplined for failure to follow so, his argument didn’t hold water because no one was asked, union called or disciplined prior to him using the contractor.
Zero chance this is happening under the AT&T brand. They will shift all the construction work to the Gigapower Blackrock shell company before they will try any of that.
Company can use unskilled labor for flagging, line assist, trenching in interduct or cable, digging pits, setting poles and anchors. There is BSW (buried service wire group) for placing any service drops. Anything involving aerial work, splicing, wire/fiber work or maintenance is contractual work. SE contract has article 14 for that specifies it, not sure of other districts contracts.
For what it's worth, I saw a work truck in Atlanta this morning with a magnet on the side with the company's name and "ATT contractor" below it.
Had a trenching machine on a trailer so maybe they just bury cable post install.
Don’t forget the ET’s in the Central Offices and Centers. They turn up new equipment, decommission old equipment, maintenance on a wide variety of equipment from 50+ years, new orders, disconnects, software cross connect provisioning, troubleshoot facilities/equipment issues, assist on outages, routines, maintain inventory in PIM, oversee all building and grounds maintenance, put in tickets for CRE issues, etc….
Shouldn’t be happening right now, new work/projects has been slowed due to budget cuts or constraints. Company is still using temps in some locations, CWA needs to stop allowing temp contracts/renewals and push for permanent hires. Fiber buildout/maintenance isn’t just a project or short term work, it’s the past, present and future for the company. Wireless also needs wireline facilities, a wireless call hits a cell tower then is transported over copper/fiber facilities, through a switch then out more copper/fiber facilities to a cell tower to the recipient. Similar for wireless data.
The corp elite continue to enrich themselves at the expense of workers wages, benefits, promotions and stability. It’s becoming more prevalent in construction to use temps, there is a need for perm OPT’s, Splicers, DT’s, Installers and Repairers over the next 20 plus years to build out, maintain and install the fiber facilities. Fiber coverage is barely over 30% and the company is taking advantage of using temp employees to make it gig or at will type of work, no stability and lower wages/benefits. It also prevents Wire/Prem Techs opportunities to promote into the Core.