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Strategies & Market Trends : Graham and Doddsville -- Value Investing In The New Era -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (310)	5/12/1998 10:52:00 AM
From: porcupine --''''>	Respond to of 1722

AT&T, unions reach tentative four-year pact WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. and two unions representing about 50,000 employees said they had reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract. In a joint statement, the long-distance phone company, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said wages and pensions would improve along with the introduction of a performance-based incentive plan for union members. "Certainly this agreement achieves our key goals," CWA chief negotiator Jim Irvine told a news conference Monday. "The settlement includes wage increases that recognize the contributions that our members have made to AT&T's success." AT&T and the two unions said it was the earliest contract settlement and the longest new contract term they had ever negotiated. "This means stability for AT&T, for the union, for our customers and for our employees," Mary Anne Walk, AT&T vice president of labor relations, said. "It's been an intense and productive five weeks but it has come to a successful close." Wages would increase every six months under the tentative contract, rising 2.88 percent in the first year and 3.75 percent, 3.78 percent and 3.85 percent in subsequent years. Because the pact comes nearly three weeks before the expiration of the current contract, it triggers an early agreement bonus of $500 for each union-represented worker. There is an additional $500 per worker if the contract is ratified by union members on or before July 11. In a provision that may make it easier for groups of non-union AT&T workers to be represented by the unions, the company agreed to recognize a majority of workers signing union cards rather than go through a formal federally-supervised election. The tentative pact also increases pensions and allows union members to take much of the cash with them if they leave the company, the three parties said. "This contract does a lot of things for all of us associated with AT&T," CWA President Morton Bahr said. "For our members the agreement means a fair share in AT&T's success." In other features of the contract, performance awards available to managers are extended to union members. Workers meeting targets would receive an $850 annual bonus, which could rise or fall in line with performance. However, the minimum bonus would be $400. "Our goal was to reach a fair and timely agreement that was good for the company and the people of AT&T," Walk said in a statement. Irvine said bargaining had been hard at times, but with the goal of making AT&T highly competitive. "This settlement insures that AT&T will retain and continue to attract the most skilled and productive workers in the business," he said in a statement.