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May 6, 2010 To: All AT&T Local Presidents Subject: Misleading Reports on Employer-Sponsored Benefits Dear Colleagues: Recent reports in the business press about AT&T and Verizon considering dropping employer-sponsored benefits are misleading. A recent article in Fortune suggests that AT&T and Verizon, among other employers thought about dropping benefits and instead paying a penalty that would be required under the new health care reform law. The first thing to keep in mind is that our negotiated benefits are protected by the collective bargaining agreement and the company cannot unilaterally change the benefits. CWA has not and will not agree to the company dismantling the employee health benefits package we have built over decades. Upon reading, you will see that the article does not base its conclusions on any direct interview or testimony by company representatives. Instead, it is based on documents provided to the Energy and Commerce Committee when it was planning a hearing on the impact of health care reform on large businesses. Both AT&T and Verizon, along with other companies, had been asked to testify and submit documents. The documents included PowerPoints and other presentations by consultants and others analyzing the impact of the new health care reform law on the particular employers. A Republican Energy and Commerce Committee staffer posted the documents to their website without permission and without explanation from the companies. However, the Minority Staff did post their own interpretation of the documents which were included in a memo dated April 27, 2010. So, it appears that the background documents and a memo drafted by Republicans were the basis of the article. We have requested that AT&T issue a clear statement of their continued commitment both to quality benefit plans and collective bargaining. We hope that they make a statement soon in order to clarify this partisan attempt at misinformation. In Unity, Annie Hill
Executive Vice President c: Vice Presidents
Bill Bates
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