EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – AT&T workers in Evansville took to the picket line this afternoon. They say they are picketing for better health insurance and better pay.
Those with the Communication Workers of America Union, that’s the union that represents these workers, say their contract expired on February 13th.
They say AT&T has been dragging their feet, wanting to shift all healthcare costs onto its employees and not wanting to give ample raises to meet the rate of inflation.
They say they’ve been doing informational pickets since January when negotiations began.
“We bring in a majority of their sales and other service, us and the call centers and the retail stores. Why they don’t want to come to the table and bargain I’m not sure,” says Lindsey Wilkerson, division 1 representative. “We deserve fair pay, livable wages, not living paycheck to paycheck and that’s where we’re at right now is paycheck to paycheck so we can barely make it.“
Those with CWA says they haven’t gone on strike yet, but they’re using it as a bargaining tool and might have to go on strike in the future.
AT&T’s full statement says:
“We value our union-represented employees and are committed to reaching a fair agreement with the CWA that recognizes our employees’ role in delivering outstanding customer service and supporting the AT&T Guarantee, while staying competitive in the markets we serve. As the largest union employer in our industry, only AT&T goes above and beyond to support our more than 55,000 union-represented employees with competitive pay and great benefits for their family’s total wellbeing.”