IBEW, CWA Reach Last-Minute Agreement with Qwest Communications
August 19, 2008
 Nearly 200 IBEW members in Montana reached a tentative agreement with Qwest Communications International, Inc., August 18, averting a possible strike at one the largest telecommunication companies in the United States.
“Anytime you can prevent a strike, it’s a good thing,” said Helena Local 206 Business Manager Barbara Stenquist. Local 206 represents Qwest employees throughout the state.
Representatives for more than 20,000 Communication Workers of America members at the telecom reached a similar agreement the same day.
The deal came after a nearly nonstop 24 hour bargaining session between the two unions and the company that followed the expiration of the previous contract on August 17.
The tentative three-year agreement provides for a 9 percent wage increase over the life of the contract and introduces small health care premiums to combat rising medical inflation. “Health care costs are so out of control and considering that many companies make their employees pay between $300 and $400 a month for their premiums, we think it’s a fair settlement to a tough situation,” Stenquist said.
The new agreement will retroactively begin from the moment of the expiration of the previous contract.
Both unions bargain separately, but the CWA’s contract, which covers Qwest workers in 13 states in the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest, sets the standard for wages and benefits companywide. “We have a me-too agreement so whatever the CWA gets, Qwest extends similar terms to us,” Stenquist said.
One of Local 206’s top bargaining priorities was getting a reduction in forced overtime. The company can currently assign workers to on-call or “pager” duty. Its use has increased in the last three years as the company has not recruited enough new workers to keep up with its current attrition rate. Local 206 has seen a reduction in their bargaining unit by more than 100 members since the last contract was ratified in 2005.
“It’s about trying to get our members’ life back,” Stenquist said.
The new agreement will increase the percentage of incidental employees – workers who are on-call full time – from 20 to 30 percent of the workforce, taking some pressure off of full-time and part-time workers. “Instead of being on call every other weekend, it might only be once a month.”
Because of the large jurisdictional area covered by the contract, Local 206 hopes to have the contract ratified by October. “We travel to every unit throughout the state, so the ratification process can take more than month to complete,” Stenquist said.
Look for updates at Local 206’s Web site. ( http://www.ibew206.com/ )
Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user Eric F Savage.
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