Last week we saw the Communications Workers of America issuing picket signs to union members, leading up to a vote that authorized a strike in case an agreement could not be met before the contract’s expiration. Today the CWA has announced that the contract covering its 20,000-member strong worker union has expired. CWA’s move to extend negotiations by 30 days has been shot down by AT&T, paving the way to a full-on strike on AT&T Mobility.
The CWA says that the union and AT&T Mobility negotiators had failed to reach an agreement as of Feb. 8th and that a strike has been authorized. All that remains is for the CWA’s executive board to sign off on the strike and the president to set a strike date before we see AT&T Mobility workers walking the picket-line.
It should be interesting to see how the CWA’s strategy pays off. The already-cold economic climate in the US has killed off thousands of jobs in a wide range of industries. With thousands and thousands of workers looking for jobs, can the CWA’s strike on AT&T Mobility put enough pressure on the wireless carrier to negotiate with the worker union?
[Update]
Corrected: AT&T refused CWA’s extension request.
[Via: MobileBurn]