17,000 AT&T Workers Strike Across Southeastern US

More than 17,000 AT&T workers across nine southeastern states walked off their jobs on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. The workers, represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA), filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against AT&T management’s bad faith bargaining during stalled contract negotiations. The APWU stands in solidarity with the brave union members in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee standing strong through their union and going on strike. 

CWA District 3 representatives have been in negotiations with AT&T since June, but management has refused to send representatives to the table with the authority to sign off on many of the mandatory subjects and backed out of agreements made throughout the bargaining process.

Now, according to the CWA, management has resorted to using unqualified subcontractors and undertrained managers during the strike to perform work as customer service representatives and for installation and maintenance roles. “Our members have seen them at work in their communities and documented unsafe practices, including failure to wear proper safety equipment, failure to secure ladders and other equipment, putting the worker and nearby vehicles and pedestrians at risk, and failure to mark work areas with safety cones,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. “We are encouraging members of the public to use extra caution when encountering these worksites.”

“I encourage our members to sign the petition and if you are near an action, join the striking workers on the picket line at AT&T,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “Workers across all industries deserve the dignity and respect of good faith bargaining during negotiations and I hope and expect that AT&T takes the workers’ demands for a fair contract seriously.” 

The workers have set up a petition for supporters to sign at: cwa.org/attse-support.