More Than 35,000 AT&T Workers Threaten Weekend Strike (fortune.com)

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More Than 35,000 AT&T Workers Threaten Weekend Strike (fortune.com)

Posted by msmash on Thursday May 18, 2017 @05:20AM from the need-an-answer dept.

More than 35,000 AT&T workers plan to go on strike on Friday if they don't reach an agreement with the company for new contracts. From a report: The Communications Workers of America union said about 17,000 workers in AT&T's traditional wireline telephone and Internet business in Nevada and California who have been working without a contract for over a year would walk off the job on Friday afternoon for a three day strike if no deal is reached. On Tuesday, the union made a similar threat for 21,000 workers in AT&T's wireless business spread across 36 states and Washington, D.C. Workers are fed up with delays in the negotiations, Dennis Trainor, vice president of CWA District 1, said. "Now, AT&T is facing the possibility of closed stores for the first time ever," Trainor said. "Our demands are clear and have been for months: fair contract or strike. It's now in AT&T's hands to stand with workers or at 3pm Eastern Time on Friday workers will be off the job and onto picket lines across the country."

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Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 05:26 · Score: -1

It worked for Reagan. Many say that broke the back of union power in America for good. I don't understand why they ever had any power to start with. If they don't show up to work, fire them. Period.
1. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 05:35 · Score: 2
  
  Let's see how you react if you get the same hourly rate after over a decade.
  Hell maybe you're just a little overpaid bitch who never truly worked in his life and you have the audacity of looking down on people who earn less than you even though they work more.
2. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by jimmifett · 2017-05-18 05:49 · Score: 0
  
  I'd up my skillset and look for work elsewhere. They are not forced to work for at&t. There are a bunch of non at&t telcos across the US.
  If you're only solution is to stop working to force higher pay, have a plan for when you get replaced.
  Myself, I will never work for a union shop. I'm not going to throw away money at dues that do not represent my interests or convictions.
3. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 05:52 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe you haven't noticed but we have this recession on. Now if you don't want your hourly wage then that's fine. You're fired and you won't find another job. Have fun earning ZERO. I hear you can build a tent in a shantytown or something. That's what happens to you uppity little bitches who think you're worth something.
4. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by skipkent · 2017-05-18 05:53 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Let's see how you react if you get the same hourly rate after over a decade.
  Hell maybe you're just a little overpaid bitch who never truly worked in his life and you have the audacity of looking down on people who earn less than you even though they work more.
  The rates probably average out after a while. Out of high school I got a job at a Teamster company, and the only job there was to load and unload trailers. I was making $23 dollars an hour and had all medical/dental/pension, etc paid for... All for a job that literally pretty much any able bodied person could do. Sure it was great for me, but when you looked at similar companies almost all had either gone out of business or were bought out because of the unions unwillingness to negotiate.
  The companies would open their books and hold meetings, the union knew the situation and could do the calculations themselves, but they wouldn't budge, so instead of wages normalizing tens or even hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs. Then the out of work folks wouldn't take normal jobs due to them being compensated so richly for such non skilled labor, if wages had normalized then they would have been acclimated to accept similar wages, or would still be working as the company most likely would still be in business.
5. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  I'd up my skillset and look for work elsewhere.
  
  Skillz don't matter, idiot! There isn't any work for strikers, quitters, uppity assholes, or you! You're finished, fuckface! Your skillz aren't worth shit!
6. Re: Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:02 · Score: 0
  
  What recession, dickweed? I'm guessing this is some "alt fact" bullshit you sucked outta some other stupid fuck's asshole?
  I need to block this website on my /etc/hosts. Too many people like you who have no concept of economics talking about it like they got a Phd.
  Kill yourself, snowflake. Just kill yourself.
7. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:06 · Score: 0
  
  for everyone company that a union bankrupts there are 5 profitable companies that layoff employee's that are "no longer needed" are replace them with foreign workers. i say get the pay while you can.
8. Re: Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:09 · Score: 1
  
  It still a recession cause I ain't got my coal job and Trump promised Make America Great Again and I ain't got my coal job yet so we in a recession still.
  Coal!
9. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by hey! · 2017-05-18 06:16 · Score: 1
  
  It worked for him, speaking in a strictly political sense. It actually cost the taxpayers many, many times more what PATCO was asking for.
  Ironically PATCO endorsed Reagan in the 1980 election. PATCO was made up mostly of conservative military veterans, so Reagan's team approached them with a deal: Reagan would support their negotiating position if they'd switch their endorsement from the Democrats to him. Once he was safely elected Reagan reneged on the deal, then fired them when they went on strike.
  It was a risky move, but the sheer drama of the move thrilled Reagan's non-union supporters. From a financial viewpoint, it cost billions to replace the fired controllers, not to mention the impact on the rest of the economy of the disruption involved.
  As for the powerful blow this dealt for the unions, and if you want to see the impact of that, look at the median household income growth since 1980, which is practically nil when adjusted for inflation.
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
10. Re: Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:23 · Score: 0
  
  Found the luddite. Modern coal coalers know that ONLY coal can coal coal, not luddite solar.
  COAL!
11. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:29 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Nice to see that you're "Practically Perfect in Every Way" and have no needs in life whatsoever.
  This isn't about wage; they're trying to (further) cut health benefits to workers who have faithfully
  served and who have retired. An agreement is an agreement, to provide those benefits for the
  remainder of their life - that was / is the deal. Yeah, Reagan wasn't a good person. I can pretty
  much guarantee, in writing, that Reagan benefited from the Actor's Union when he was an actor.
  People don't understand how important unions were and should be in the U.S. Child labor laws,
  decent working conditions, decent salary would probably NOT exist if it weren't for unions. Wanna
  see the free market in a non-union shop? Goto WalMart. Biggest example of corporate welfare bar none.
  CAP === ' transmit'
12. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:31 · Score: 0
  
  I don't see unions destroying companies. I do see companies like a certain auto maker tossing their non-union workers, so they can build plants across the border or overseas.
  I guess people don't really care that the unions brought us weekends, vacations, 40 (in theory) hour work week, hazard pay, and may other things we keep for granted.
13. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:44 · Score: 0
  
  Please mod this up.
14. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by skipkent · 2017-05-18 07:00 · Score: 2
  
  http://www.history.com/this-da... - This was all pre-union, Ford wasn't unionized until the 1940s.
  Other perk included housing and free copies of The Dearborn Independent
15. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 07:02 · Score: 0
  
  For the post-industrial, post-skills, post-knowledge social economy where you're either a perfect cultural fit or you're as good as dead.
16. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by plague911 · 2017-05-18 07:44 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  For whatever reason many, such as yourself, particularly "conservatives" fail to realized that both unions and companies engage in "collective bargaining." A company is a collection of people providing capital, a union is a collection of people providing labor. Strikes, work halts, layoffs, furloughs etc are all the same arm of different groups (using your market influence). Collective groups exercising their power to get better terms.
  If you don't think union's represent the interest's of a labor provider you are ignorant of both the statistical evidence https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2... (there are a multitude of papers detailing the correlation between union power and increased wages) and basic economics http://www.investopedia.com/te...
17. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by jimmifett · 2017-05-18 07:58 · Score: 1
  
  I've seen family member after family member screwed over by unions. They simply do not care about anything other than greater dues and the methods to increase those dues.
  Fortunately, I live in a lovely right to work state where a union can't prevent me from working somewhere if I refuse to join them. I personally have zero pity for any union shop that closes, only for the non union personnel also now out of work because of the union's greed.
18. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by plague911 · 2017-05-18 08:18 · Score: 1
  
  Because your anecdotal story has any weight in the face of the statistical evidence quoted directly above.
19. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by jimmifett · 2017-05-18 08:26 · Score: 1
  
  I'll take experiences of individuals I know over statistics that can be manipulated to shape a desired conclusion any day.
  Unions served their purpose decades before I was born, now they are a deer tick poisoning the host it feeds from, while giving nothing positive.
20. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by bluelip · 2017-05-18 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  Only the unskilled and weak want unions. If you're better than at least half of your coworkers, unions are only dragging you down. Unions caused the mass offshoring of manufacturing.
  Drop unions, fire the dead-weight, then surge ahead in performance.
  If you don't like what you're getting paid or your work conditions, change jobs.
  
  --
  
  Yep, I never spell check.
  More incorrect spellings can be found he
21. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by MightyMartian · 2017-05-18 08:35 · Score: 2
  
  Translation: I ignore facts I don't like in favor and try to pretend anecdotal claims are equal or better.
  
  --
  The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
22. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 08:40 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I don't understand why they ever had any power to start with. If they don't show up to work, fire them. Period.
  They have power because they are the actuators of the enterprise.
  Take any business, now forbid them from hiring any person to perform any task whatsoever.
  Now you understand why they wield power.
  The business owner sells a widget for $1000, he gives $200 of that to his employees, leaving $800.
  He pays $275 of that $800 to the government in taxes and pockets $525 for himself.
  The employees see they are getting $200, and divided between the 100 of them, that's $2/each.
  The employees see they are doing 99.9% of the total work for 25.8% of the total pay.
  Now you understand why they want to use their power to improve their position.
  Mass firing your employees in the Internet age is a recipe for creating the worst competitor you'll ever face.
  The people you fire have BOTH a common enemy (you), and a common goal (getting paid more for doing what they did).
  Instead of organizing to ask you for better wages, they'll organize to start their own company.
  You'll have an idle capital investment, sabotage from disgruntled workers, the fun of trying to hire lots of people below market rates, and plenty of downtime and waste due to new and inexperienced workers.
23. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Kernel+Kurtz · 2017-05-18 10:44 · Score: 1
  
  Fortunately, I live in a lovely right to work state
  Indeed. I can see no reason why you should make any more than a Chinese or Indian worker doing exactly the same job.
24. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by plague911 · 2017-05-18 11:24 · Score: 1
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
  
  The problem with arguing based on anecdotal evidence is that anecdotal evidence is not necessarily typical; only statistical evidence can determine how typical something is. Misuse of anecdotal evidence is an informal fallacy.
  So....... you openly admit you disregard logical thinking. I hope you admit this admit this fault and voluntarily recuse yourself for doing things that require logic. Like voting :/
25. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Sir+Lurkalot · 2017-05-18 11:47 · Score: 1
  
  A.C. = RAT
26. Re:Fire them, hire replacements. by Dog-Cow · 2017-05-18 18:23 · Score: 1
  
  Unfortunately, voting has never required logic.
27. Re: Fire them, hire replacements. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 23:53 · Score: 0
  
  Insite from the inside; most retail sales employees have experienced a net loss in wages by about %50 over the last decade and a half. Now some of this has been due to shifts in the economy and an overall saturation of the marketplace in the wireless industry. For the most part, the sales force acknowledged that wages 15 years ago probably had to suffer some adjustments, and had probably reached a fair equilibrium about 5-7 years ago. Most of the fire/replace crowd have no idea how difficult the job actually is and therefor have no qualifications whatsoever to assess how much that work is worth. The issue has been that At&T has continued to slash wages while being one of the most profitable telco companies on the planet. This potential strike protects workers like my self who consistently rank in the top 10-20 percent of the 40k retail sales employees year over year, but has experienced a 15% decline in the last 3 years, despite union negotiationed yearly cost of living raises. Unions are a necessary evil in the current capitalist climate. Billion-dollar companies will always seek to reduce payouts and frontline employees due to Greed. Oh and by the way, it's functionally impossible to fire/hire and train replacements in any capacity that would result in the same level of production. You can do that at a low skill job like McD but that loss of personnel capital would crush At&t fast. It's far cheaper to just pay fair wages than to attempt something so stupid.
Frist! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 05:30 · Score: -1

frist!!
They should just fire the lazy people... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 05:30 · Score: -1

If you refuse to work, you shouldn't get paid. Instead these people whine.
1. Re:They should just fire the lazy people... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:00 · Score: 0
  
  BASIC INCOME NOW!
2. Re:They should just fire the lazy people... by DontBeAMoran · 2017-05-18 06:30 · Score: 1
  
  SERENITY NOW!
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
3. Re:They should just fire the lazy people... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:45 · Score: 0
  
  Funny, I have my copy of Serenity right here, but I don't seem to have my Basic Income.
4. Re:They should just fire the lazy people... by DontBeAMoran · 2017-05-18 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  You should be seeking your copy of Seinfeld instead.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
hit the weekend 2 hours early? by xxxJonBoyxxx · 2017-05-18 05:31 · Score: 2

>> walk off the job on Friday afternoon for a three day strike

How is this different than hitting the weekend 2 hours early? Is it that managers (non-union) have to fill in shifts over the weekend somewhere or what?

>> AT&T is facing the possibility of closed stores

What stores? Are there still really"retail phone" stores operating somewhere in the USA?
1. Re:hit the weekend 2 hours early? by DontBeAMoran · 2017-05-18 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  What do you mean "two hours early"? Do these people only work from 13:00 to 15:00 on friday?
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
2. Re:hit the weekend 2 hours early? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 05:55 · Score: 0
  
  From TFA:
  
  It's now in AT&T's hands to stand with workers or at 3pm Eastern Time on Friday workers will be off the job and onto picket lines across the country.
3. Re:hit the weekend 2 hours early? by DontBeAMoran · 2017-05-18 06:02 · Score: 1
  
  We're supposed to read TFA now? Since when?!
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
4. Re:hit the weekend 2 hours early? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:10 · Score: 0
  
  It depends on whether you want people to realize that your username is a futile attempt to warn yourself on how to behave.
5. Re:hit the weekend 2 hours early? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 07:17 · Score: 0
  
  What kinda faggot are you? AT&T b&m are everywhere ... douche-bag scab !
6. Re:hit the weekend 2 hours early? by DontBeAMoran · 2017-05-18 08:46 · Score: 1
  
  If you think my username is a futile attempt to warn myself on how to behave, you are sadly mistaken.
  
  --
  #DeleteFacebook
Nice by nospam007 · 2017-05-18 05:40 · Score: 1

For once they will have a reason for not picking up the phone for hours.
Good. by hackel · 2017-05-18 05:47 · Score: 0

AT&T is a pretty terrible corporation. I say let them die, it is long overdue. At least these workers have a union at all! Comcast and Verizon need to come next.
1. Re:Good. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:05 · Score: 0
  
  You do realize that if this kills AT&T, these people will all be unemployed, yes?
2. Re:Good. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:11 · Score: 0
  
  My two local McDonalds are both hiring. If I extrapolate, there are enough jobs for all of them!
3. Re:Good. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:26 · Score: 0
  
  McDonalds are both hiring
  but when AT&T workers are fired, the demand for McD's might go down and bit and they won't be hiring as many people.
4. Re:Good. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 07:06 · Score: 1
  
  Kiosks will replace McD workers but who will replace the McD customers who can't afford to eat.
5. Re: Good. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 12:27 · Score: 0
  
  Agree. I actually had taken them to small claims court for screwing me out of my bonus at Christmas. That is corporate greed rearing its ugly head. Without unions they will fire you for having cancer because at will State means that can fire someone for any reason. And if you are on disability for any reason they hire a 3rd party company to harass. Has anyone heard of their strong arm Sedgwick denying their employees disability benefits. Go look it up.
Closed stores??! by PeeAitchPee · 2017-05-18 05:48 · Score: 3, Informative

Do you mean it? Every time I've ever had to go into a cell phone store it's been filled with slack-jawed morons wasting oxygen playing with their phones. So yeah, I think civilization might survive.
1. Re:Closed stores??! by gfxguy · 2017-05-18 06:34 · Score: 2
  
  I actually had a worker at one of these phone stores actually stop to read facebook or twitter post (I honestly don't know what social media she was using). She actually stopped helping us to watch a f#@king video. This was after we told her we were in a hurry to get to work (it was first thing and they don't open until 10am). That was on top of a lot of other BS at the store. Yes, I think you are 100% correct in your assessment of these "employees."
  
  --
  Stupid sexy Flanders.
2. Re:Closed stores??! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 07:56 · Score: 0
  
  I like how your one angry story about one employee extends to the entire store, or the entirety of all stores.
  I feel you're being quite simpleminded.
3. Re:Closed stores??! by gfxguy · 2017-05-18 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  Duh?
  It does extend to the whole store... there were at least two other employees working at the same time that seemed just as bad with the people they were "helping." But I guess that someone who works in one of those stores would feel compelled to reply with an insult... I guess it doesn't matter that such stories of these employees are ubiquitous; it must just be me.
  
  --
  Stupid sexy Flanders.
4. Re:Closed stores??! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 15:03 · Score: 0
  
  Actually it is you. You post anecdote after anecdote of shitty service, shitty products, and whatever shitty thing TFA is talking about. You ALWAYS have a "story". This leaves 2 really plausible options: You are lying and just making them up to support your "points", OR you are an asshole and piss everyone around you off at all times. I actually don't want to limit myself here. It could be both.
And nothing of value was lost... by ugen · 2017-05-18 06:04 · Score: 1

EOM
They'll stop knocking on my door? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:40 · Score: 0

Good.
FAILZORS! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-05-18 06:59 · Score: -1

Software laW7ers fastest-growing GAY
Good thing I have Verizon by Lucas123 · 2017-05-18 07:12 · Score: 1

though whenever I attempt to get customer service, it feels like their workers are on strike.