Members of CenturyLink’s largest union on Friday approved a tentative multiyear contract four weeks after the membership had rejected an earlier version.
The Communications Workers of America District 7 represents legacy Qwest employees. It was unclear Friday what the vote tally was to approve the contract, which, according to the union, will run though 2017.
A person familiar with the vote would only describe the number of union members who voted to approve it as “substantial.”
Both sides had reached a tentative deal in July, but that contract was rejected in late September.
In a statement, the company said it was “pleased” the company, the CWA and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had ratified the contracts,
The new deal provides lump-sum payments and wage increases, as well as limits CenturyLink’s ability to contract out and move call-center work outside the company footprint.
It also includes a company commitment to return jobs that have been outsourced to offshore locations.
The pact covers 11,000 workers in 13 states, including about 2,000 in Colorado, CWA District 7 has said. CenturyLink acquired Denver-based Qwest in 2011.
Although a strike was theoretically possible, it would have been deemed an economic strike and the workers could have been replaced.
