AT&T Legacy T Bargaining Report #8 ~ March 16, 2015
AT&T Legacy T Bargaining Report #8 ~ March 16, 2015
Today at the table the company again refused to provide the Union with any of the data we requested concerning retiree medical benefits. We have said over and over again that this is an issue that must be discussed at this bargaining. The Company again and again has stated that bargaining for retirees is a “permissive subject” and they “have no interest or desire” to bargain with us over benefits for current retirees.
AT&T retirees all over the country have signed thousands of petitions and held rallies at AT&T Headquarters in Dallas and in other cities demanding that AT&T fulfill the promise it made to them years ago to provide fair and affordable medical benefits. Though the law does not require AT&T to bargain over current retirees there is nothing preventing them from doing so. We will continue to push the issue every day.
The company has not yet responded to our counter-proposal on active health benefits. Theirs shifts cost to us. Ours says the way to save is through wellness programs and other approaches that use our benefits more effectively and efficiently. Thursday is Health Care Action Day and every local should be planning some activity around it.
Your bargaining team,
Bill Bates
Mary Ellen Mazzeo
Laura Unger
LaNell Piercy
Lois Grimes-Patow
Roy Hegenbart
Isa Shabazz
Cindy Neumeyer
Martha Flagge
