AT&T Already Has BluePrint for Keeping Quality Workforce in United States

WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from
the Communications Workers of America in response to recent comments by AT&T
chief executive officer Randall Stephenson:

We're glad to hear that AT&T and its chief executive officer Randall
Stephenson are concerned about hiring quality employees and maintaining
quality jobs. We also know that AT&T already has a model to produce that
quality workforce - the union-negotiated quality wages, benefits and
retirement security that have created one of the most productive workforces in
the world, along with real skills training to meet the challenges of
constantly changing technology.

Working men and women know that a quality job means a decent standard of
living, thriving communities and the opportunities that families hope to
provide their children. That's good not only for families and communities, but
for employers too. And AT&T knows that.

At AT&T and companies like it, CWA contracts have resulted in high
productivity and customer value. They have created professional customer
service, a real competitive edge in today's global economy. Instead of pursing
a "race to the bottom" strategy, AT&T, working with CWA, has made a real
investment in a quality workforce. And by bringing jobs back to the U.S., AT&T
has acknowledged the value of that workforce and that investment.

We are confident that by taking the "high road" approach to a quality
workforce, AT&T will attract more than enough qualified employees to bring
back jobs from around the world.

We hope that AT&T will work with us to raise employee wages and benefits as we
negotiate future contracts. That, along with union-negotiated education and
training programs, whether for Cisco certifications or technical training, are
what ensures that employers like AT&T can hire the workers it needs.

Finally, it is critical that AT&T keep its important commitment to bring the
remainder of the 5,000 jobs back to the United States. Our nation's current
trade deficit of $750 billion simply is unsustainable, and the fastest growing
segment of that deficit is due to service jobs being moved offshore. We hope
that more companies realize that it takes a quality workforce to provide
quality service and we expect to see even more jobs returning to the U.S.

SOURCE Communications Workers of America

Jeff Miller, jmiller@cwa-union.org, or Candice Johnson,
cjohnson@cwa-union.org, both of CWA Communications, +1-202-434-1168