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SNET, union reach accord
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September 15, 1998: 9:55 a.m. ET
Telco workers to vote on contract Thursday; details aren't disclosed
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - In what could end the nearly month-long strike against Connecticut's largest phone company, Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. said Tuesday it reached a tentative agreement with union leaders.
SNET said it reached the agreement with the Communications Workers of America, which represents some 6,300 striking workers, after more than 11 hours of negotiations.
The new contract, if ratified, will be effective from Sept. 18, 1998, to April 1, 2001. Details of the contract won't be released until union members vote on it Thursday.
"The agreement is a good compromise that is extremely fair," SNET Chairman and CEO Dan Miglio said. "It addresses the union's major issues and it satisfies the company's financial and operational needs."
The workers have been on strike since Aug. 23. If the contract is approved, employees will return to work Friday.
At issue in the strike are wages and health-care cost shifting.
Union members say they oppose the "disparity and inequity in pay and benefits" for all workers, including operators, technicians, customer service representatives and engineers.
In August, New Haven, Conn.-based SNET filed a five-count charge with the National Labor Relations Board charging the CWA with unfair labor practices.
SNET accused the union of rejecting a tentative labor agreement they signed Aug. 7, of refusing to submit the agreement to members for ratification, and of failing to send negotiators with sufficient authority to the bargaining table.
Moreover, the company said, the CWA issued new bargaining demands after issues had been settled and engaged in bad faith bargaining with "no intention of entering into a final and binding agreement."
The CWA also represents the workers who struck Bell Atlantic (BEL) and US West (USW). Both of those strikes have been resolved.
Shares of SNET (SNG) closed up 1-1/16 Monday at 70-7/16 on the New York Stock Exchange. 
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