(Reuters) – Telecom operator AT&T has presented the Communications Workers of America’s bargaining committee with its final offer, the union said on Thursday, adding that the proposal did not meet its expectations.
The CWA union said the proposal was made on Wednesday and it made a counter offer later in the day.
The union said that this was the first time the company has presented a “complete economic package.”
More than 17,000 employees at the company including technicians and customer service representatives, and others who install, maintain, and support AT&T’s residential and business wireline telecommunications network went on strike last month to protest unfair labor practices.
“We have made a strong final offer to the CWA District 3 in the Southeast. We believe that this offer, if accepted, would provide our employees with competitive market-based pay that exceeds projected inflation,” AT&T Chief Operating Officer Jeff McElfresh told Reuters in a statement.
The company is also offering to increase its financial contributions to employee healthcare and wellness by up to 25% per year, McElfresh added.
The union informed AT&T and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service on Monday that it would no longer be a part of the mediation process, calling it another “delaying tactic.”
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)