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Technology Stocks : Lucent Technologies (LU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Andie Wei-Ku Lin who wrote (2726)	6/1/1998 4:46:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Respond to of 21876

ANDIE ---LU announced after the bell that the unions settle for a five year contract with both unions . The pay increase is 19% over the life of the contract . This does not sound too bad considering the skill levels of the employees covered BEST WISHES BILL

To: Andie Wei-Ku Lin who wrote (2726)	6/1/1998 4:57:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21876

ANDIE---MORE FOLLOW-UP---Dow Jones Newswires -- June 1, 1998 Unions, Lucent Agree On Contract After Quick Strike By Shawn Young NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Many union workers at Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) probably slept through a brief strike against the company that was called after midnight Monday and resolved about two hours later. The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers represent 44,000 workers at Lucent, roughly a third of the Murray Hill, N.J., communications equipment maker's workers. The two unions and Lucent reached a tentative agreement early Monday after striking briefly because contract negotiations had bogged down over health care and other issues. The negotiations were Lucent's first since it was spun off from AT&T Corp. (T) in 1996. A strike could have done serious damage to Lucent's soaring stock and hurt its competitive standing, experts said. A strike would have been the first major stumbling block for Lucent since its enormously successful split from its parent. Health care was one of the toughest issues, union officials said. "The key to reaching agreement was Lucent's withdrawal of its demand to shift health-care costs to retirees," said CWA Vice President James Irvine. The company also appears to have backed off on efforts to shift health-care costs to current employees. The new five-year contract guarantees that neither employees nor retirees will have to pay health-care premiums or face increases in co-payments or prescription drug costs. Lucent also removed a $1 million lifetime cap on health benefits and agreed to cover smoking-cessation programs and contraceptives. Lucent spokesman Bill Price declined to comment on the negotiations that led up to the new contract, but said both sides are pleased. "What we've got is an agreement we worked on very closely with the unions and that we're pleased with," Price said. "The contract satisfies all parties." CWA spokeswoman Candice Johnson said the agreement is fair and reflects labor's contribution to Lucent's success. The contract includes increases in wages and pensions and provisions that will help employees keep their jobs if the company subcontracts some tasks. The contract, which has yet to be ratified, calls for wage increases of nearly 19% over five years and a 20% increase in pension benefits for employees who retire after July 1, 2002. The contract also calls for stock grants and provides for payment of bonuses if the company meets performance targets. Lucent said the contract is one of the longest the unions have negotiated, which is good for the company because it helps it predict labor costs accurately as it makes long-term plans. BEST WISHES BILL