NorCal AT&T Workers Go On Strike, Picket Locations Across The Bay Area

NORTH BAY, CA -- AT&T workers in 36 states and Washington, DC are on strike and picketing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, including at dozens of Bay Area locations.

AT&T workers who are members of Communications Workers of America walked off the job on Friday, May 19 in San Francisco, Vallejo, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Davis, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Corte Madera, San Rafael and elsewhere in protest of what their union calls AT&T’s "failure to present serious proposals that invest in good jobs with a future."

The three-day strike this weekend includes wireline workers in California, Nevada and Connecticut; and DIRECTV technicians in California and Nevada, as well as workers in 33 other states, as well as Washington, DC.

This is the first time AT&T wireless workers have gone on strike, which could result in closed retail stores this weekend. It may be the largest strike of retail workers at a national company in U.S. history, according to the communication workers union.

AT&T workers say they're demanding that the company address wage increases that cover rising healthcare costs, job security against outsourcing, affordable healthcare, and a fair scheduling policy. They're also protesting what the union calls "pervasive outsourcing of jobs to low-wage contractors, which eliminates good jobs and hurts customer service."

Since 2011, the CWA says, AT&T has eliminated 12,000 call center jobs in the U.S., closing and downsizing call centers across the country, and contracted with third party vendors operating in foreign countries with lower wages and weaker labor protections.

In late March, AT&T wireline workers in California and Nevada, who have been working without a contract for over a year, went on strike to protest the company’s changing of working conditions in violation of federal law. The strike ended when the workers won an agreement with the company that it will no longer require employees to do work outside of their expertise and classification.

The above photos were taken at worker pickets in Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Rohnert Park.

All images via Al Francis of napasonomaphotos.com