Avaya Communications, formerly the Enterprise Networks Group of Lucent Technologies, announced their new agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Communication Workers of America (CWA) on October 16th, 2000. The agreement will provide the company with a “supplemental workforce” -- recent retirees who will continue to work as on-call support service technicians.
Eligible union members who retire with full pension benefits can continue to work for the company on an on-call basis for thirteen to thirty-nine weeks of the year. Bonuses will be given to workers who are available for work ninety per cent of the time requested. Avaya’s has 10,500 employees in its United States Services organization. One thousand five hundred employees eligible for retirement have chosen this option.
The agreement, which is separate from the national collective bargaining agreements between the unions and Avaya, will be up in October 2001. From that time it will be renewed on an annual basis until it can be bargained nationally when the current national agreements expire in 2003.
Avaya has streamlined their U.S. field services operations, cutting back their workforce through retirements, but at the same time maintaining a core group of highly skilled service technicians who design, install and maintain communications systems and software for over 400,000 of Avaya’s customers. The agreement means that these core skilled workers will not be lost when they retire. As well the likelihood of their going to work for companies competing in the same market place is reduced.
This is a viable solution for both the company’s and the union’s concern about the subcontracting of work in an industry that is inherently cyclical.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), acting on a complaint by the IBEW, recently charged Lucent Technologies of unlawfully concealing their plan to dramatically change their manufacturing system by using subcontractors. The IBEW requested that Lucent refrain from subcontracting bargaining unit work without first consulting the union. The NLRB issued the complaint on September 29th, 2000. The Lucent Technology spin-off company, Avaya began trading on the NYSE on October 2nd, 2000. On October 8th, 2000 the IBEW was attempting to have Avaya included in the complaint. Will this new agreement appease the IBEW?