PacBell Workers Authorize Strike if No Pact by Aug. 5

The 50,000 members of the Communications Workers of America who work for Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell have authorized a strike if a new contract is not reached by Aug. 5, CWA officials said Friday.

“We’re having a difficult time bargaining for any gains,” said Marie Malliett, president of CWA Local 9410 in San Francisco. The union’s contracts with the two subsidiaries of San Francisco-based Pacific Telesis Group expire Aug. 5. The CWA represents about 90% of Pacific Bell’s non-management personnel, which include telephone operators, service representatives and some outdoor repair workers.

A strike-authorization vote, which gives the union’s national president the authority to order a walkout, is not uncommon as a bargaining deadline approaches. So far this year, the CWA has taken such strike votes in the closing days of successful negotiations with American Telephone & Telegraph’s long-distance subsidiary and GTE California, the state’s second-largest local phone company after Pacific Bell.

According to Pacific Bell spokesman Steve Maita, the utility’s 15,000 non-union and management employees could maintain normal telephone service during a strike. Maita otherwise declined to comment on contract talks. Nevada Bell also expects to continue full service.