AT&T; and Long-Distance Workers Reach Accord; Other Talks Stalled

Negotiators for 76,000 long-distance telephone workers and AT&T; agreed Wednesday on a new contract, but disagreements over provisions covering 47,000 other employees continued to stall settlement of a nationwide strike, officials said.

Officials for American Telephone & Telegraph Co. and the Communications Workers of America said negotiators shook hands shortly after midnight on a new contract covering union members, including 36,000 operators employed by the company’s Communications Division that provides long-distance telephone service.

Herb Linnen, a spokesman for AT&T;, said bargaining also is “essentially completed” on settlements covering about 32,000 union members who work in four other AT&T; divisions.

Details Not Available

Details of the agreements were not immediately available.

Linnen and union officials said that negotiators were still apart Wednesday on contract provisions covering about 35,000 union members employed by the company’s Information Systems, or computer division, and another 12,000 who perform AT&T-contracted; work for the government.

About 155,000 members of the union struck AT&T; on June 1. The union rejected a package changing work rules, pay bonuses and job classifications in exchange for an 8% wage increase over three years.

Negotiators for the two sides reached agreement June 17 on a national contract, but that was subject to settlement by bargainers on local differences at each of the six division tables.