AT&T employees return to work
Published 7:00 am Thursday, August 29, 2019
Local AT&T workers returned to work Wednesday after engaging in a strike that began Friday night.
Over 20,000 workers in CWA District 3 were on strike across nine southern states, including at least 1,200 workers in Mississippi, according to previous coverage. The union called a strike because AT&T did not have anyone at the bargaining table with the authority to make decisions in contract negotiations, according to previous coverage.
The employees, who work on the utility side of the company, were scheduled to all be back at work by noon Wednesday, said CWA Local 3519 President Glenn Posey.
The union’s bargaining team and AT&T came to an agreement early Wednesday morning and are still discussing fine details, Posey said.
Union members will see the agreement and be able to vote on it by Monday at the latest, Posey said.
“I feel like it was a very successful coordinated effort by the entire district and with the community’s support,” Posey said. “We thank them for supporting us.”
By press time, AT&T spokesperson Jim Kimberly could only confirm that the Southeastern wireline employees on strike were returning to work Wednesday.