AT&T outlines last, best and final offer to Communication Workers of America District 6/Southwest Region

After months of negotiations, AT&T* has provided a last, best and final offer for contracts covering Core wireline employees in the Southwest Region (Communications Workers of America District 6). The district comprises the states of Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Texas.

Bargaining continues in all other regions – West (CWA District 9), East (CWA District 1), Midwest (CWA District 4) and Legacy AT&T Corp. (CWA ComTech).

Virtually all employees covered by the last, best and final offer in the Southwest will see a positive financial impact under the offer. A calculator is available on www.att.com/corebargaining which will show the estimated, cumulative value of wage increases combined with wage progression for each individual, as well as estimate the effect of health care changes.

Even in this part of its business, which is experiencing substantial customer and revenue erosion, AT&T is continuing its commitment to preserve all the elements of its compensation packages – wages, pension and health care – and doing so at a time when many other companies are making substantial cutbacks in these areas.

The proposal would preserve wages and benefits that are among the best in the U.S., including:

* Maintaining one of the most robust health care plans in the nation, with lower costs than most other AT&T employees, including managers and union-represented employees covered by other CWA contracts.
* Increasing wages for all years of the agreement, at a time when many U.S. employers are seeking wage concessions or freezing wages.
* Including yearly pension increases, and a continuation of a 401(k) plan with a generous company match, even as many companies are decreasing or eliminating these benefits.
* Continuing to protect employment security through a job offer guarantee – a rare benefit even in good economic times.

Bargaining teams for the union and the company have worked hard on behalf of these employees, and AT&T is hopeful that the offer will be taken to employees for a vote.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.