AT&T and CWA are having a MAJOR conflict on health care costs

For anyone who is not aware... the CWA (Communication Workers of America union) is currently in contract negotiations with AT&T.

The BIGGEST issue this contract is health care. The CWA has had to make the majority of the focus on health care. Not wages, safe working environment, work conditions, etc. It had to chiefly be about health care.

Why? AT&T wants employee to pay substantially more for it. Not only next year, but more and more over a 3 year period.

As a new AT&T employee I can only wonder how much progress could have been made on improving wages and work conditions if everyone involved didn't have to worry about damn health care costs because the health care industry wants to raise the costs again.

Two districts have already come to agreement with the company. Guess what? We are paying more for our health care despite months of fighting it... and because so much effort was used just to fight for health care not much else got improved in these contracts. FOR PROFIT HEALTH CARE WINS AGAIN. It makes me wonder how great this country could be if employers didn't have to be involved in the health care business.

.. will make even huger amounts of money while
the peons suffer.

in their Golden Parachute when they leave or retire. It always works out that way.

The more misery they inflict, the more thay are rewarded.

far off at all on pay & benefits. It's been about health insurance since last Sept., never mind the contract expiration in April. We read in the Ameritech contract that the employee's cost is going up tremendously. We're keeping our fingers crossed down here. Go to Union Meetings. You'll get a lot of info there. DH went last night and we took literature from the OFA Listening Meeting that we attended. You'll get to meet some friendly faces at the meetings.

A quote from one of the latest bargaining reports from District 3

"Many questions were asked and answered giving rise to a lengthy discussion only showing, once again, how far apart the parties remain."

He was more than OK with the contract.

That is district 6. Funny how can he be happy with the contract when district 6 doesn't have one yet?