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The Ink Isn't Even Dry Yet |
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Monday, 13 February 2006 |
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When two party's agree on an issue and a contract is signed off on, it is expected that the provisions in the contract will be abided to. We have all signed contracts in our personal lives, whether it was for a lease for an apartment, a mortgage for a house, or purchased a product with a warranty. These contracts work because the people that sign them have honor and intend to live up to the agreement.
In AT&T Network Operations, there is to be a sub-contracting committee that is to do
quarterly reviews of contracted work at AT&T. The first meeting was to be no later than
January 30th and was to determine if a position is contracted out and the work is determined to be full time, the position will be brought back into the bargaining unit within AT&T.
Well, the ink isn't even dry on our contract and AT&T is trying to hire full time contractors in Florida. AT&T management sent an e-mail to our Florida NTS members soliciting job applications for a contractor called SDT. In this e-mail sent to our members, it states that this is an inside position, Monday to Friday and the hours are 8 to 5. This job would include taking care of two buildings including the metro, intercity, and international networks. They will also be expected to travel out to local huts and to accept after hour call outs when necessary. This is definitely a full time position that include the same duties as an inside plant NTS tech.
The audacity of the company to solicit our members for contract replacements and to do
this while we have hundreds of our members across the country on recall. To further
compound this violation, we have also verified that AT&T is looking to hire part time
contractors to circumvent the full time contractor provision, so they can continue to manipulate the agreements included in our contract.
In Northwest Florida, there are five (5) full time 40 hour plus contractors doing the exact same work as an NTS tech is responsible for. They are also located in South Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. I'm sure other Locals across the country are experiencing the same situation. This is not going to be tolerated, especially now that we have an agreement designed to prevent this.
We have notified the National and our bargaining team who will be pursuing this issue with the company, but if you want to participate in notifying the company of your dissatisfaction with their lack of ehtics and principles, contact AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre who is ultimately responsible for the administration of our contract. I'm sure he will appreciate us bringing this type of contract violation to his attention. This will give him an opportunity to address this issue for the benefit of all current and laid off employees and demonstrate to the entire workforce that AT&T will commit to honoring our contract that they signed off on. |
