AT&T and Communications Workers of America union extend contract talks
Contract talks between the Communications Workers of America union were extended a week past the original contract deadline for more than 22,000 workers in nine Southeastern states, including Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.
The contracts do not cover AT&T Mobility workers.
“Extending the current contract in the Southeast allows CWA members to work without interruption and with their bargained for protections in place while negotiations continue,” said Richard Honeycutt, vice president of Communications Workers of America District 3. “AT&T received over $21 billion in tax cuts and then proceeded to cut jobs and upend workers’ lives. We remain focused on reaching an agreement with AT&T that raises wages, creates jobs and puts a priority on using our experienced workforce to build next-generation fiber networks to serve rural and urban communities.”
AT&T said it was cut 27,828 jobs in the past couple of years, including 4,500 jobs in the second quarter of 2019.
Members of Communications Workers of America working at AT&T Southeast voted July 19 to authorize a strike against the utility that could have begun Sunday. Negotiations commenced June 24.
U.S. Treasury Department labels China a currency manipulator
The U.S. Treasury Department labeled China a currency manipulator Monday after Beijing pushed down the value of its yuan in a dramatic escalation of the trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies.
The decision, which came hours after President Donald Trump accused China of unfairly devaluing its currency, marks a reversal for Treasury: In May, it had declined to sanction China for manipulating its currency.
The U.S. had not put China on the currency blacklist since 1994.
The designation could pave the way for more U.S. sanctions against China.
Earlier Monday, China had allowed its currency to weaken to an 11-year low, a move that gives its exporters a price edge in world markets and eases some of the damage from U.S. tariffs on Chinese products.
In a statement, Treasury said it would work with the International Monetary Fund “to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions.”
Ex-United Auto Workers official heads for prison
A former United Auto Workers vice president has been sentenced to 15 months in prison in a scheme that funneled cash from a job training center in Detroit toward personal uses.
Norwood Jewell appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit. He is the highest ranking labor official charged and the eighth person sentenced in the ongoing investigation into illegal payoffs to UAW officials.
The center was financed by Fiat Chrysler. Former Fiat Chrysler executive Al Iacobelli is serving a 5-year prison sentence .
The 61-year-old Jewell pleaded guilty in April. His plea agreement listed $60,000 in meals and golf paid with training center credit cards. Credit cards also were used for more than $40,000 in purchases for Jewell and others.
Fed adds faster payments system
The Federal Reserve said Monday that it will create a real-time payments system, with the goal of making paychecks and money transfers available for use more quickly.
The move is aimed at narrowing the amount of time between when money is deposited or transferred into an account and when it is available for use. That gap can span several hours or several days, putting individuals – particularly low-income Americans – at a disadvantage.
Community groups, smaller banks and advocates for low-wage earners have been calling for the Fed to limit the delay and to create a public sector option for real-time payments. But some in the banking industry, particularly large banks, have pushed back against the effort over concerns that the Fed’s involvement will compete with their products and potentially crowd out private-sector efforts.