So can someone explain this to me please. I’m a senior rep for Collections that was on the old Southwest contract and our union without even notifying us or giving us any heads up put us on the Mobility Purple contract. It’s been about a year already, but our same union is fighting for reps in the exact same building to stay on the Southwest contract. The Purple contract is horrible, they took away our pension and can easily change our job title without any warning. How can our union go behind our back but at the same time say we are family and need to show support for people in a contract that they took away from us? Make it make sense please
12 replies (most recent on top)
When contract was switched to mobility purple, your pension on the old SW Core contract was frozen. It's still there. Was this a bad deal? Yeah it su-ked for the Leverage Service Reps, but.... everyone did get the MOA and protected pay. Pension frozen. Check out the surplus going on now in D3 for SE and in California. They are 2 districts that told the company no to going to Mobility. SE had a strike and Cali worked for a long time without a contract. They both finally got ratified contracts on core wireline. But guess what? Now 309 reps in SE are getting surplused on that Core Wireline contract and also happening in California too.
Boo Freaking Hoo! You should have taken the payout like the rest of those other useless paycheck collectors did. Nobody is forcing you to stay here.
Get out of the union they do nothing but take your money. The days are gone where unions fought for you now they just bend over and take what the company gives and then say you should be grateful. The future of at&t is overseas call centers and outsourced contracted techs. You will all be let go sooner than later. Be prepared.
STOP! Please Stop! Everyone had some time to ask questions and most did. The Union went over EVERYTHING important. You didn't just walk in one day and you were all of a sudden in the Purple contract, you were given time to think about this move and all it entailed. Here's what the Company didn't say but wants to say... We wanted to get rid of you entirely. Your Union was able to negotiate you keeping a job, keeping your pay, maintaining your pension and moving to a title has some security because it is layoff free. Your job is to now get out of your comfort zone and do the work that is now expected because other employees who stay in an irrelevant job will and have been let go. I was a leverage rep for years and I am thankful the Union save our jobs and our pay. Don't you all see the other employees getting surplussed?? Please stop complaining about something that happened last year and please stop talking about being a victim.
No one took away your pension. That would be theft.
If you HAD a pension, you still have a pension.
“Here you guys go crying again. We explained this to y’all already. We were looking out for the best interest of our members. If we didn’t make this change, then a surplus and relocation of work was a high possibility. We were able to save jobs and allow reps who were retirement eligible get a pretty nice payout. You guys would be on your last unemployment check if it wasn’t for us. You should be thanking us and not bashing us smh“
STFU…the point is you agreed to switch contracts without any input by the people it effected.
Here you guys go crying again. We explained this to y’all already. We were looking out for the best interest of our members. If we didn’t make this change, then a surplus and relocation of work was a high possibility. We were able to save jobs and allow reps who were retirement eligible get a pretty nice payout. You guys would be on your last unemployment check if it wasn’t for us. You should be thanking us and not bashing us smh
The Mobility contracts are much more in favor of the Company than any of the CWA/IBEW contracts. I used to support call centers and when I saw what was happening I could not believe the union workers let it happen.
File a charge against the District union for Failure to Represent. Create a timeline and argument as to why the union has breached their duty.
My grandfather was a union steward in another industry. He died hating unions. I asked him why and he told me stories like your.
He also told me stories of being pressured to strike when he didn't want to. Or he'd pay dues to a union, then it would disband and that money he and his coworkers had paid into it was gone. And along comes a new union and wash, rinse, and repeat.
There’s no way the union or company just took your pension.
If you were vest and had a pension, they can’t just move you to another contract and say, sorry no more pension. Didn’t happen.
In general, if an employee has a vested pension, the corporation cannot retroactively take it away. Pension benefits that have already been earned and vested are typically protected under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and contract law. However, there are some key considerations:
- Contract and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) – If the employee is part of a union, pension terms are usually set through a collective bargaining agreement. While future pension benefits might be renegotiated, vested benefits that have already been earned are legally protected.
- Plan Freezing or Termination – A company can freeze a pension plan, meaning employees stop accruing new benefits. They can also terminate the plan, but they must ensure that all vested benefits are paid out, usually by purchasing annuities or rolling them into another plan.
- Bankruptcy and Pension Insurance – If a company goes bankrupt, pension obligations may be affected. However, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) may step in to cover some or all benefits, though sometimes at reduced amounts.
- Contract Changes for Future Benefits – While a company cannot take away benefits that have already vested, they can negotiate changes that affect future accruals or shift employees to a different retirement plan (e.g., switching from a pension to a 401(k)).
If a company is attempting to alter or eliminate a vested pension, it could face legal challenges from unions, employees, or government regulators. If you suspect a violation, consulting with a labor attorney or your union representative is advisable.
Earth City rep here. Same thing happened to us. We were on the old Southwest contract and without any hint of what was going on, we walk in one day and were told that we were switching contracts. It frustrates me so much because we pay union dues and they do something like this behind our backs. What upsets me more, is we have a group chat and the same union stewards are telling us that we need to show solidarity for our co workers that are fighting to stay on the same contract that they changed us from. How does that make any sense?