On Tuesday, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced it has reached an early agreement with CenturyLink
The CWA CenturyLink bargaining team agreed to a three-year contract extension for over 8,000 CenturyLink workers in 13 states. The proposed agreement provides wage increases of 3% in the first year, then 2.5% in the second and third years. The extension preserves job security provisions and pension benefits and reduces health care costs for workers and retirees, according to the CWA.
The new agreement extended the contract through April 1, 2023. The details are being provided to CWA District 7 members, and a ratification vote will be scheduled.
This proposed agreement covers Legacy Qwest CenturyLink members in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa. CenturyLink workers in Montana are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
“We are very pleased with the extension that our bargaining team has negotiated during early bargaining,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Brenda Roberts, in a statement. “We were prepared to walk away and come back next spring if we couldn’t achieve our goals. Thanks to our skilled negotiators and the unity among our members we were able to keep our job security provisions intact and provide affordable health care and improved wages through this agreement.”
RELATED: AT&T reaches tentative labor deals with Communications Workers of America
Last month AT&T announced it had brokered several tentative labor deals with the CWA, which represents a large chunk of the company's technicians and installers.
Earlier this month, CWA members in the Midwest and at AT&T’s national Legacy T unit ratified four-year agreements covering 14,000 workers. The new agreements provide wage increases of 10.5% over the life of the contracts, cap health care costs and preserve jobs, according to the CWA.
AT&T’s contract covering 22,000 workers in the Southeast region represented by the CWA expired on Aug. 11, increasing the possibility of a strike, which union members have authorized by a 95% vote.