NBBP Opening Statement

CWA / AT&T Mobility NBBP Bargaining 2016

CWA Opening Statement

February 24, 2016

CWA is proud to represent the workers at AT&T Mobility.  We have four Mobility members on our committee; one from each of the Orange, Black, Purple and Green contracts. Holly Sorey, Luis Benitez, Kelvin Banks and John Richie are all too familiar with the struggle to pay for the cost of their employer healthcare.  Our members are hard working professionals and they are the force behind AT&T’s success.  The cost of healthcare in the United States is a factor in the cost of doing business.  Increasingly these costs are taking a bigger piece of the budget for our members. One of the Union’s goals in this bargaining is to leave with a process for unwinding this National agreement and bargaining healthcare benefits along with wages and other compensation the next time around for each agreement. This is a much fairer model. 

We need healthcare that is more affordable.  We need to care for the new hires; who are not immediately eligible for a company subsidy and as a result either opt out of the healthcare, or choose between paying rent and paying for the health insurance.  I get upset at the calls I get like the one from a Local Steward, who called me because she thought the new employee in her store must be being over-charged for her health insurance.  She was stunned and so was I to have to tell her that the amount was correct.

We need fairness for our members in Puerto Rico.  Our members in Puerto Rico are paying a higher overall cost share and do not have the same level of coverage other employees have.  We are seeking to improve the Mobility Healthcare in Puerto Rico.

We have not seen the usage data yet; but we are anxious to begin the process and explore ways to give our members more options at a fair cost relative to what they earn.

The CWA 2016 Mobility NBBP Bargaining Committee