6 a.m. – A midnight Saturday deadline came and went as negotiators for Qwest and its union talked nearlyy until dawn today to try to prevent a strike by the phone company’s 25,000 union workers. But then the discussion stopped – at least for a while.
After nearly 20 hours of non-stop negotiating, Duncan Harrington, president of the Communications Workers of America Local 7777, read a statement: “At 4:15 a.m., talks broke down. The contract has expired. At this time, everyone should continue to work until further notice.”
But Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs responded, “We continue to negotiate.” He indicated at 5 a.m. that he wasn’t sure when or whether talks would resume because “I wasn’t in the room,” but a union spokesman said he expected the negotiations to start again later today.
As the midnight Saturday strike deadline came and went, negotiators for both sides expressed optimism.
“Significant progress is being made. We’ll trust the bargaining team is doing the right thing,” Harrington said then. And Toevs indicated that “we expect to reach an agreement.”
Negotiators made progress on overtime issues Saturday but remained deadlocked on wages and health care.
The Denver-based phone provider backed away from its demand to double mandatory overtime for Qwest workers from eight to 16 hours per week. Phone workers went on a two- week strike in 1998 to win the eight- hour weekly cap, and forced overtime remains a flash point with workers.
Qwest also proposed the first wage increase since talks started June 22, but the increase was offset by proposed higher health-care costs for workers and many retirees.
Both sides have said they want to avoid a work stoppage but have continued to make strike preparations.
Members of the Communications Workers of America, which represents workers in 13 of the 14 states where Qwest provides local phone service, voted to authorize a strike in early August. The CWA executive board turned up the heat Saturday by authorizing CWA president Morton Bahr to call a strike anytime.
Qwest has sent strike assignments to its 15,000 managers and nonunion employees. If a strike happens, many will drive or fly to far-flung destinations in Qwest’s 14-state region to work in call centers or drive repair trucks. They have been told to prepare to work 12-hour days, seven days a week.
More than 100 CWA members gathered at a barbecue at the union hall in Englewood on Saturday night, awaiting updates from union negotiators. A giant sound system played music ranging from salsa to the Rolling Stones song “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”
If there is a walkout, it is unlikely to affect Qwest’s highly automated network, though customers may be frustrated with repair and service delays and long hold times for customer-service representatives.
Qwest can ill afford such customer discontent. The smallest of the regional Bell operating companies is laden with $14.7 billion in net debt and a money-losing fiber-optic network. It continues to lose 5 percent of its phone lines each year to fierce competition from wireless, cable and Internet phone providers.
“A strike would be mutually assured destruction for both sides,” independent analyst Tom Friedberg said Saturday afternoon.
Analyst Donna Jaegers estimates that Qwest would save $23 million during a two-week strike. The company would spend roughly $25 million in manager bonuses and extra travel expenses but would save $48 million in worker wages.
Qwest was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy in 2003, when workers agreed to a wage freeze and increases in health- care co-payments. Now, Qwest also is asking workers to shoulder up to 30 percent of their health premiums within three years. That could cost workers up to $300 a month in premium payments, said union officials.
Jean Raiola earns $39,000 a year in Qwest’s Denver-based accounts-payable department. She says increased co-payments and coverage changes have caused her to rack up $6,000 to $9,000 in unreimbursed medical charges since 2003.
If forced to pay premiums, “I would probably have to find a second job,” she said.
Wall Street analysts will carefully watch the outcome of a potential strike.
Qwest chief executive Richard Notebaert has earned respect in the financial community by aggressively cutting costs and offsetting phone losses by selling consumer bundles that include DSL, Sprint cellphone service and DirecTV.
Qwest has slashed its workforce from 67,000 in December 2001 to just over 40,000.
Without an increase in mandatory overtime, Notebaert may have to hire more workers, which could cause jitters on Wall Street.
Staff writer Ross Wehner can be reached at 303-820-1503 or rwehner@denverpost.com.
