AT$T, Verizon May Follow GM With Union Health Funds
"Prospects that AT&T and Verizon might follow GM and Exelon may get a boost from the negotiations between GM and the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communication Workers of America.The industrial bargaining unit of the CWA is seeking a new agreement for 2,300 active workers and 21,000 retirees and surviving spouses at GM's Moraine, Ohio, sport-utility vehicle plant that may include a union-run fund, local President Jim Clark, 52, said in an interview. The current agreement expires today.
The union will consider a fund for the plant if GM provides sufficient funding, he said. That may set a precedent for telecommunications companies, too. ``Anything we do in the labor area has an impact on all unions, not just the CWA,' he said.
The Washington-based telecommunications union also represents workers at AT&T, Verizon and Qwest Communication International Inc. in Denver, the second-, fourth- and 13th- largest companies ranked by retiree obligations in the S&P 500. The union will negotiate with Ve
