AT&T Is Just Like the Auto Industry—Except for its $12.9 Billion Profit

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.cwa-union.org/att/mobilize/just-like-auto.html

| April 6, 2009 |

While it isn't worth responding line-by-line to the Company's self-serving "Labor Update," we do need to address one of the company's outrageous claims on health care:

"Union-represented Core wireline employees pay similar amounts for their health care as union workers at the Big 3 automakers pay—and it's clear what those sorts of unsustainable costs have done to America's auto industry."
This is the lowest kind of scare tactic: "If you don't let us slash your health care benefits, we'll end up like the auto industry!" It's incredible that AT&T management is trying to draw a parallel between a successful and expanding telecom company and the Big 3. AT&T posted profits of $12.9 billion for 2008 and is on track for solid growth this year.

We've shown the company how to save money without massive cost-shifting; yet their only objective is to make us pay more. Clearly, AT&T is looking for scapegoats, not solutions.

Read CWA's press release in response to AT&T's outrageous comparison to auto.

MORE AT&T / CWA news at link.

[TwilightZone]

1. AT&T: We're not Exxon, but we're trying!

Never mind that it's a silly comparison - AT&T takes a small subset of their employees and compares that group to one of the major labor pools of the automakers? Misguided, at best.