Union says AT&T reneged on deal made before Time Warner merger

Bloomberg

A union at AT&T Inc is accusing the company of reneging on a labour agreement that helped gain the support of worker groups for last year’s $85 billion takeover of Time Warner.
As part of a deal renewed in 2017, the Communications Workers of America pledged to support expansion efforts by AT&T and the company agreed to terms for allowing employees from acquired firms to join the union, according to a federal lawsuit filed in Washington. But since the Time Warner merger, the two sides are disputing which new workers are covered by the agreement.
Of about 22,000 US employees who previously worked at Time Warner, AT&T claimed the agreement applies to at most 82, a union official wrote in a letter attached to a June court filing. CWA, which already represents about 90,000 AT&T employees, has asked a judge to order arbitration. In May, the company asked that the case be dismissed, saying the company has “the right to determine” which employees are covered by unionisation provisions.
“CWA will support expansion efforts by AT&T as long as those efforts are not in conflict with our members’ interests,” union spokeswoman Beth Allen said. In response to the suit, AT&T said the facts don’t support the case.
“We’re proud to be one of the largest employers of full-time union labour, and the only major US wireless company with a unionised workforce,” the carrier said. “We’ve long respected employees’ rights to organise or to choose whether to be represented by a union. The facts don’t support this lawsuit — we comply with the terms of our agreements and the lawsuit should
be dismissed.”
The Time Warner acquisition was completed in June 2018, after a US appeals court rejected claims by the Justice Department that the combination would mean higher prices. Some lawmakers also said it would hurt competition and innovation. But the deal got vocal support from unions.
In 2017, CWA President Chris Shelton said the AT&T expansion was about “maintaining and creating good US jobs and developing new and innovative ways to deliver technology and content.” CWA is in contract talks with AT&T and has denounced the company for cutting jobs while reaping a windfall from the corporate tax cut backed by President Donald Trump.