After 30 days, members of the Communications Workers of America reached a tentative agreement with AT&T Southeast on Sunday.
According to a release, the strike was the longest in the telecommunication region's history. Members returned to work Monday after accepting the contract, which covers 17,000 workers including technicians, customer service representatives and others who install, maintain and support AT&T’s residential and business network in Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.
CWA members strike outside the AT&T building in Nashville
Tennessee AT&T workers were part of the strike and had been picketing outside of the 333 Commerce St. building — formerly the AT&T Building, and commonly known as the Batman Building — in downtown Nashville since the strike began.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons and Rep. Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) brought lunch to the union members at the picket line on Friday. Clemmons' grandfather was a CWA member and joined strikes in 1955 and 1971.
The newly reached five-year agreement includes wage increases of 19.33 percent with an additional 3 percent increase for wire technicians and utility operations. Health care costs were also a key part of the deal and will remain the same for the first year, decrease in years two and three, and increase monthly over the final two years of the agreement.
Hundreds of local workers join 17,000 striking across the Southeast for a new contract
"Our bargaining team has worked tirelessly to negotiate a contract that provides significant wage increases that reflect the hard work and dedication of our union members and a medical plan that ensures that our members and their families have affordable, comprehensive healthcare services," CWA District 3 vice president Richard Honeycutt says in the statement. "For every member who has walked a picket line, spoken out for the contract they deserved, or joined their coworkers for a union action, you built this."
The CWA also reached a tentative agreement with AT&T West after members previously rejected an agreement on Sept. 6. The agreement is for four years and covers 8,500 workers in California and Nevada.
Union members will hold ratification votes in their respective regions before the contracts are officially adopted.
This article was first published via our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
