06/05/2026
Following is a letter sent by President Simons to at&t AVP of HR and AVP of Technology:
Good Afternoon,
I am Jim Simons, President CWA Local 4009 located in Southfield, Michigan.
I am reaching out to you all for clarification and guidance surrounding the State of Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act.
The Michigan Earned Sick Time Act was set to take effect upon the ratification of new CBA on April 12th, 2026. CWA reached out to the company well in advance of this date to ask that procedural guidelines be provided to all our members once the policy has taken effect. CWA Local presidents across the state have reached out to management in their respective areas many many times over the last year for clarification on process and procedure. The response was always "HR SAID THEY WILL GET IT OUT WHEN THEY NEED TO GET IT OUT AND NOT BEFORE". During bargaining AT&T Labor Relations assured the CWA team that they will honor and follow the law. Yet, here we are, nearly two months after the date set forth by the Act and still no guidance from HR has been provided. Management from the various Business Units are calling Local Presidents to ask if our members (your employees) are entitled to take this time and how it should be coded. The law is clear that our members are entitled to take that protected time as of April 12th yet the lack of guidance to local management creates an barrier to that access.
The company has had over a year to build the portal that will allow proper coding. The contract was ratified in late March, there were NO CHANGES from the previous CBA TO THE SICK TIME, VACATION OR PDO ARTICLES. I am disappointed, appalled and beyond frustration. This is completely unacceptable. It is not my job as a Local President to educate or search out HR policy on behalf of a Business Unit’s management team. It is the responsibility of the company, HR specifically to communicate their own guidelines to managers and our members. I demand that until a clear policy on use of the Michigan Earned Sick is made available that no member shall be charged with an unexcused absence if they have communicated to management that they intend to utilize the time afforded by The Act.
I am filing a complaint today with the state of Michigan against AT&T for failure to notify CWA members of their rights as required by law. I will encourage every CWA Local president and each of the 700 CWA members in Local 4009 to do the same. I will no longer waste the Local's resources to find answers that should be provided by HR. Every communication regarding the application of the Michigan Earned Sick Time Act with a member, manager, attendance or payroll person will be charged to and paid for by the company.
1-The Local is demanding the immediate release of the guidelines to each Local,
to all members, business units, attendance and payroll personnel.
2-The local demands the ETA of the portal going live and the precise reason is not active as of today.
3- Provide a reason for the company's refusal to release the guidelines up to this point.
ADDITIONAL ISSUES
The Midwest contract was ratified three weeks before expiration and went into effect on April 12th. As of today, provisions still have not been updated in INFOR as a result of changes made in the new CBA.
1-Increase in meal allowances for both Core and Appendix F
2-New Differential Language in Appendix F
3-New double time language in Appendix F
4-Paid Holidays counting as time worked towards overtime in Appendix F and any other changes not implemented.
Please provide a list of all updates as a result of the new CBA made in INFOR.
Please provide a date when all updates will be completed
How can we be assured that our members will receive any retro pay that is owed as a result in the delay.
Our members should not have to perform calculus to realize their checks are wrong because the system has not been updated. Every CWA Local president has gone through the proper channels to identify the above issues and seek remedies without any result. There has been no accountability or even a sense of urgency from AT&T to resolve the issues. “We we are working on it” is not an acceptable response. CWA members deserve better; they deserve respect, answers and resolution. They are held accountable every day while performing their responsibilities and we expect nothing less from the company.
Jim Simons
President CWA LOCAL 4009
Southfield, MI 48075
586-216-5719
