Despite billions in tax breaks and subsidies, AT&T\u2019s firing\nthousands and replacing them with a ‘messy web’ of ‘irresponsible contractors,’\nunion report says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Karl\nBode<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n October 5, 2020, 11:05am<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite billions in tax cuts and subsidies, AT&T keeps laying\noff<\/a> union workers by the thousands, replacing them with substandard\ncontract labor that poses a threat to worker and public safety, according to a\nnew report from the U.S. telecom industry\u2019s biggest union. In order to grab a $42\nbillion tax break<\/a> from the Trump administration\nin 2017, AT&T promised thousands\nof new jobs<\/a> and a massive spike in network\ninvestment. Instead, according to the Communications Workers Of America,\nAT&T trimmed its network investment by billions\nof dollars<\/a>, and fired\nmore than 41,000 employees<\/a> in the last three years alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A new Communications Workers Of America (CWA) report<\/a>\nclaims this predominantly unionized workforce was replaced by a \u201cmessy web\u201d of\nmore than 700 discount contractors who\u2019ve been repeatedly cited by local\ngovernments for shoddy work and safety violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe result is a disturbing record of accidents that cause damage\nto utilities, public property, and homes while presenting serious risks to\nworker and public safety,\u201d the CWA said. The report cites numerous examples of\nAT&T contractors and subcontractors failing to adequately bury fiber lines,\naccidentally rupturing gas lines, damaging customer property, causing internet\nand power outages, starting\nfires<\/a>, or ignoring safety protocols resulting in injury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n AT&T did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The report included a survey of 1,500 AT&T employees, 96\npercent of which say such contractors actually raise costs by requiring\nemployees fix or redo poor-quality work. 81 percent of AT&T employees\nsurveyed said that contracted labor resulted in higher overall costs for\nconsumers, and 57 percent said shoddy contracted work resulted in safety risks\nto the public. The study also quoted anonymous AT&T contractors themselves,\nwho complain the company has created a cut-throat environment where cutting\ncorners is essential to secure AT&T contracts, with safety and employee pay\nusually the first casualties. \u201cWe refuse to do work for AT&T or their\nturfing contractors,\u201d said one contractor. \u201cThey want all the money to \u2018manage\u2019\nthe projects and the people who are actually doing the install get little to\nnothing.\u201d \u201cAT&T is a bully,\u201d said another. \u201cThey used to be the best\ncompany to do work for. Gradually they became the leaders of the \u2018I\u2019ll pay you\nlater and if you don\u2019t like it we will get someone else\u2019 bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CWA\u2019s complaints aren\u2019t unique. A 2012\nreport by ProPublica<\/a> showcased how relentless\npressure to cut costs by using contract labor resulted in a notable spike in\ntower climbing fatalities as AT&T rushed to upgrade its wireless network.\nFrom 2003 to 2011, AT&T had more fatalities on its jobs than its three\nclosest competitors combined, ProPublica<\/em> found. AT&T isn\u2019t the only company that has found itself\nroutinely criticized for using lower-quality contract labor. Comcast spent\ndecades under fire for contractors accused of falling\nasleep<\/a> in people\u2019s homes, rupturing gas\nlines<\/a>, causing\nfires<\/a>, and even torturing\nkittens<\/a>. Cheap contract work not only costs telecom monopolies less\nmoney, but using a tangled web of contracted and subcontracted work\ntraditionally helps companies avoid liability for safety violations by creating\na tangled web of legal accountability. Meanwhile employees continue to pay the\nprice for AT&T\u2019s financial headaches, most of which were self-inflicted.\nAT&T spent $150 billion to acquire DirecTV (2015) and Time Warner (2018) to\ndominate TV and video advertising. Instead, the mergers saddled AT&T with a\nmountain of debt it then attempted to extract from its customers in the form of\nrepeated\nprice hikes<\/a>. In turn, AT&T TV\ncustomers have been leaving the company in record\nnumbers<\/a>. The debt also resulted in backlash\nfrom major AT&T investors<\/a> like Elliott Management Corp.,\nwhich questioned the company\u2019s relentless focus on mergers and urged the\ncompany to lay off even\nmore workers<\/a> to compensate for the massive\ndebt load. <\/p>\n\n\n\n AT&T\u2019s subsequent layoffs and cost cutting comes despite not\nonly billions in tax breaks, but billions more in regulatory favors (like killing\nnet neutrality<\/a>) and taxpayer subsidies. Last\nweek, AT&T was accused by Mississippi regulators of taking $280\nmillion in taxpayer subsidies<\/a> for a wireless network\nexpansion the state says was never completed. A ProPublica\nreport<\/a> last week noted that AT&T also increasingly uses contracted\nworkers for customer support, some of which were paid as little as $96 for\nthree weeks of work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The CWA urged AT&T to discontinue its reliance on\n\u201cirresponsible contractors,\u201d and urged the passage of the Moving\nForward Act<\/a>, which prohibits recipients of\nfederal broadband subsidies from outsourcing to evade union contracts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Report Says AT&T\u2019s Cheap Contracted Labor Puts the Public at Risk Despite billions in tax breaks and subsidies, AT&T\u2019s firing thousands and replacing them with a ‘messy web’ of ‘irresponsible contractors,’ union report says. By Karl Bode October 5, 2020, … Continue reading