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Montgomery resident Corey McKenzie is one of about 17,000 AT&T workers that have been out of work for the past 19 days as they call on the company to come to the negotiating table.
McKenzie is the Communication Workers of America Vice President for the Local 3908 chapter that includes Montgomery and Prattville.
The 17,000 striking workers are spread over nine states in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
While strikes are often associated with unfair wages or labor practices, McKenzie said this strike is different.
“We haven’t even gotten to that point yet of particular issues,” McKenzie said. “This has nothing to do with wages or money or benefits or anything like that. The strike is simply to get them to come to the negotiation table and bargain with us. This is stemming not from negotiations over wages and benefits, but the lack of negotiating period.”
McKenzie likened the situation to dealing with a. car salesman who occasionally strikes deals with the customer only to come back from management an hour later to reneg on the deal after talking to management.
The CWA recently pulled out of federal mediation with AT&T, claiming that the company is using the mediation as a tactic to further delay an agreement.
“Our bargaining team was optimistic that AT&T’s suggestion that we enter mediation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) meant that the company was finally ready to bargain in good faith. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case. Instead, the company was using the mediation process as another delaying tactic,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. “We appreciate the mediator’s efforts. Our message to AT&T is: no more excuses. It’s time to get serious about bargaining so we can get back to work serving our customers.”
The striking workers include technicians, linemen, customer service representatives and others who maintain the company’s cellular network.
The CWA said the strike has led to widespread outages for AT&T customers and long wait times.
An AT&T spokesperson criticized the CWA for withdrawing from mediation, telling The Guardian that the company is committed to negotiating a fair deal for its workers.
“Regardless of whether a neutral third-party is present, progress will not be made without a willingness to compromise,” the spokesperson said. “As we have said from day one, we are focused on reaching a fair and competitive agreement that benefits our hard-working employees as quickly as possible and this won’t change.
“In the meantime, we will remain prepared for all contingencies to ensure our customers receive the excellent service they deserve.”
