Bernie on the AT&T Picket Line
Strikes are on the rise in the United States, not just in education but also in the private sector, as we saw in this week’s AT&T strike in the South. We can’t understand the rise in labor militancy without understanding the role Bernie Sanders has played in stoking that militancy.
Union members with the Communications Workers of America picket near the entrance to an AT&T facility against the company, alleging that AT&T management engaged in unfair labor practices during contract negotiations, on August 26, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
Over 20,000 AT&T workers in nine southern states walked off the job on August 24, leading to a four-day strike that ended Wednesday with the announcement of a new contract. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) alleged that the telecom company was not engaging in negotiations in good faith, specifically that AT&T had sent representatives to the bargaining table that, bizarrely, did not actually have the authority to negotiate with workers. The union was also fighting previous AT&T offers with inadequate pay and benefits for workers.
CWA’s strike forced AT&T to bargain more seriously for a contract acceptable to the union; the walkout was a useful tool, speeding up a process that had been unreasonably delayed by the company in several regions in the past few years. CWA filed an “unfair labor practice” complaint with the NLRB after AT&T sent negotiators to the bargaining table without the power to agree to a new contract. The union asked that AT&T bargain in good faith for a contract that would include “quality healthcare coverage, wage increases, job security, and investment in local communities.”
The specifics of the contract deal have not been announced yet, meaning that the full results of the strike are still unknown. But the impact of the AT&T strike goes beyond the current contract negotiations in the southeast.
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