An if it is can something be done about it?
Post from @FkAYgtP-fSkwd:
Yes , at&t is using contractors and hiding/covering it up more and more. I'm a Systems Technician in South Florida. Workload for US is very slow. Not for contractors. Techs are sitting around the office hoping for work. In the meantime , other at&t units are quietly sending the work straight to third parties. They are supposed to first send the work request to the local area managers for "first right of refusal". They simply ignore the rules /contract most of the time. There's plenty of work available. It's just not being routed to at&t technicians. Because of this, A new round of layoffs occurs the following quarter because "workload is slow' and "unproductivity is up". It's all by design. at&t is methodically surplusing techs based on lies.