East Coast Phone Workers Walk Off Jobs in Dispute

Tens of thousands of telephone workers went on strike early today in a walkout that could leave millions of callers from Maine to Virginia on hold.

Negotiators representing 73,000 workers failed to reach an agreement before a midnight deadline, and employees prepared to picket at Bell Atlantic Corp. offices up and down the East Coast, union officials said.

Bell South, however, reached a tentative settlement with its union employees, saving callers in the southeastern United States from possible service disruptions, said Candice Johnson, spokeswoman for the Communications Workers of America.

*

Customers could experience delays using directory assistance or making collect calls. Customer service, including installation, repairs and billing, is also likely to be affected.

“We now bring the fight to the street, and that’s probably where we win all our battles anyway,” said Anne Holland, secretary at CWA Local 1106 in New York.

In New England, about 13,200 Bell Atlantic workers who are members of the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers agreed to continue working temporarily under their current contract.

But another 2,800 New England workers who are members of the Communications Workers of America may strike, union officials said.

Eddie Starr, a shop steward for the IBEW in Boston, said his union had worked out most of its issues with the telephone giant.

But he said the union, which has vowed to honor CWA picket lines, would not sign a new contract until the company came to terms with the CWA.

Workers began gathering outside Bell Atlantic offices in many of the affected states, and organized picketing was expected to begin later today, Holland said. Union employees scheduled to work overnight shifts did not report to work at midnight Saturday, she added.

*

The hiring of nonunion workers for some jobs and forced overtime have been stumbling blocks for management and union workers trying to negotiate a new three-year contract, Johnson said.

“The issue for us is job security for our members,” said Bob Master, a CWA spokesman in New York.

“Bell Atlantic is a profitable company in a growing, wealthy telecommunications industry, but it wants to take our jobs and turn them over to its low-wage nonunion subsidiaries.”

Bell Atlantic provides telecommunications, wireless communications, cable and digital TV as well as Internet and data services to more than 27 million customers in 13 states and Washington.

Bell South provides the same services to about 30 million customers in nine states.