IBEW and CWA Face Off Against Qwest as they Represent Workers

Friday, August 12, 2005 - 12:00 AM

Union: Little progress in Qwest talks
Sandy Shore THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DENVER -- Negotiations between Qwest Communications and its largest union appeared headed down to the wire Thursday as union officials said the two sides have been unable to agree on issues such as health care, wages and a mandatory overtime policy.

Teams for Qwest Communications International Inc. and the Communications Workers of America continued their discussions with the contract set to expire at midnight Saturday. The company and the union have made standard contingency preparations in the event of a walkout that would involve nearly 25,000 workers in 13 mostly Western states ranging from customer service representatives to technicians. Qwest is negotiating separately with a union representing about 350 workers in Montana

Union members were readying materials to make picket signs and working on picket-line schedules. Qwest managers would take over for workers in the event of a strike.

CWA District 7 Vice President Annie Hill said the company is asking that its mandatory overtime policy be increased from eight hours a week to 16 hours a week, has made no wage offer and wants workers to pay a health insurance policy premium for the first time.Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs said the company and the union are bargaining in good faith but declined comment on specifics.

Tim Lovaasen, president of CWA Local 7200 in Minneapolis, said he believes the talks will stretch into Saturday."I think most of the people are hopeful that we'll have a fair settlement but a lot of them are pretty much ticked off at some of the things they see the company has brought to the table," he said. One is a proposed increase in mandatory overtime, one of the issues that was a factor in the union's 15-day strike against then-U S West in 1998. Union officials said they know overtime is needed in times of emergencies or weather-related problems but they want to keep it at a reasonable level."By working people more and more overtime, people start to get tired," Lovaasen said.Brent Pilloud, a 27-year Qwest employee in Denver, cited health care as a top priority, noting that negotiations affect not only current employees but also retirees.Although employees have a co-payment for doctor and hospital visits and prescription drugs, they are not required to pay a monthly premium. In the past, the union said it has accepted lower wage hikes in lieu of being charged premiums.

"This is probably the make or break time for our health care," Pilloud said.

Based in Denver, Qwest is the primary local telephone provider in 14 states ranging from Minnesota to Washington. The negotiations come as Qwest is facing increased competition from cable companies and Internet telephone services and is working to reduce overall debt of about $17 billion. Earlier this year, Qwest lost a $9.85 billion bid for MCI Inc. to Verizon Communications Inc.

In 2003, the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers representing Montana employees approved a contract with two bonuses instead of a salary hike in part because of the company's problems at the time -- $20 billion in debt, stagnant revenue and government probes of financial statements.

The last time CWA struck was in 1998, a year before U S West Inc. was acquired by Qwest in a $38 billion merger.

On the Net:
Qwest Communications International Inc.: www.qwest.com
Communications Workers of America: www.cwa-union.org
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D6.