Union Sets 4-Day Strike at SBC

The Communications Workers of America announced that a 4-day strike involving 100,000 union employees of SBC in 13 states will begin at 12:01 a.m. local time in each time zone on Friday, May 21. Workers will return to their jobs at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, May 25. Among key issues in the contract dispute, CWA members are seeking to strengthen their employment security, including gaining access to new jobs in growth areas of the company, and to preserve their health care benefits in the face of substantial cost-shifting demands by SBC management.



CWA also is ratcheting up other mobilization activities in the field and is being supported by the AFL-CIO and other major unions in mounting a carrier-switch campaign that potentially could shift substantial business from SBC to another union carrier, AT&T, which operates in 11 of the SBC states. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka personally is spearheading carrier- switch efforts aimed at labor organizations and the 5 million union families who are SBC customers. Customers are being asked to give CWA their "proxy" to implement a carrier switch if the union deems it necessary.



The CWA said 29,000 union jobs at SBC have been lost over the past three years. The union claims new growth jobs in Internet data services, installation of Wi-Fi hotspots, VOIP, DSL and other areas are being outsourced by SBC to countries such as India and the Philippines.



In response, SBC immediately activated strike contingency plans to minimize inconvenience for its customers. The company said the CWA "decision to strike is difficult to understand, especially since our proposal increases wages and pensions to among the highest in the industry."http://www.cwa-union.org/http://www.sbc.com