CenturyLink, CWA to resume new contract negotiations

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union will begin negotiating a new deal after the 12,000 workers in the District 7 area voted against a proposed contract.

After months of negotiations, CWA members voted 54 percent to 46 percent on Monday to not approve the tentative 5-year agreement they established in late-July.

As part of the proposed contract, the telco said it would provide lump sum increases and pay raises. In addition, it said it would implement limitations on its ability to outsource its call center work outside of its wireline footprint and would bring back jobs that were outsourced or off shored.

Citing an update made by bargaining committee chairman Reed Roberts, The Denver Post reports that CWA president Larry Cohen called CenturyLink CEO Glen Post to discuss "where we go from here."

CWA representatives and members of CenturyLink's management will resume talks on Wednesday through Oct. 11 in hopes of reaching a resolution.  

Roberts said that "should progress be made in those talks, the two parties' full committees would be brought in to formalize a new agreement."

The union covers 12,000 workers in 13 states, including nearly 2,000 in Colorado that worked for CenturyLink's predecessor company Qwest. These workers include a mix of call-center operators, network technicians and other front-line employees.

CWA's previous contracts with CenturyLink, which expired on Oct. 6, 2012, had been extended on a day-to-day basis while negotiations continued. They have been extended again through Oct. 11.

For more:
- The Denver Post has this article

Special Report: The battle for union contracts: AT&T, Hawaiian Telcom, others hash out wireline benefits

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