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Telecommunications equipment industry

Lucent Workers Go on Strike as Contract Negotiations Continue

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Tensions rose early Monday morning as 44,000 Lucent Technology Inc. workers, represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America, went on strike. The strike deadline was initially set for midnight on Sunday, but negotiations continued into the early morning hours. The unions' contracts expired at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, and the workers were notified not to appear for work as scheduled, with pickets expected to start at 6 a.m.

Key Takeaways:

  • The strike involves 44,000 Lucent Technology Inc. workers, with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) being the two unions involved.
  • Contract negotiations between the unions and Lucent officials began on April 21, but intensified last week when workers authorized their union leaders to strike if the contract expired without an agreement.
  • The main issues in the contract negotiations are wages, pensions, and health-care benefits, with specific concerns over health-care benefits, transfer rights, and work subcontracting.
  • Lucent workers in Lehigh and Northampton counties are represented by the IBEW, with two locals involved: Local 1560, representing clerical workers, and Local 1522, representing production workers.
  • The CWA represents the majority of Lucent's unionized workers, approximately 25,000 of the 44,000 total.

Statistics:

  • 44,000: Total number of Lucent workers on strike.
  • 2,000: Number of IBEW workers in Lehigh and Northampton counties.
  • 1,300: Number of IBEW workers in Berks County.
  • 4,700: Number of Lucent employees in facilities in Allentown, Salisbury Township, and Upper Macungie Township.
  • 2,100: Number of Lucent employees in the Reading-area plant.
  • 5: Number of times Lucent's stock value has increased since its spinoff from AT&T.
  • $126: Lucent's stock traded value last month.
  • $2.34: 43 percent increase in Lucent's profits in fiscal 1997.

Sources:

  • The Morning Call
  • Wire reports

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