AT&T reaches tentative agreement with union, ending 30-day strike [Video]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of AT&T Southeast employees will return to work Monday after the company reached a tentative agreement with the Communications Workers of America, ending the longest telecommunications strike in the region’s history.

In a press release Sunday, AT&T said it reached a new union agreement with the labor union’s Southeast division.

“As we’ve said since day one, our goal has been to reach fair agreements that recognize the hard work our employees do to serve our customers with competitive market-based pay and benefits that are among the best in the nation – and that’s exactly what was accomplished,” said AT&T Chief Operating Officer Jeff McElfresh.

The new agreement covers about 15,000 employees in the Southeast who primarily work in technician, call center, machine operator and other customer service roles across nine states, according to the release. AT&T also …