June 9, 2006

An effective mobilization campaign and tough bargaining produced a tentative 3-year agreement at Avaya that achieves workers' key goals, reported CWA Vice President Ralph Maly, Communications and Technologies.

The settlement provides wage and pension improvements, protects retiree health care and enhances employment security, among other gains. The contract, covering about 5,000 workers, expired May 31, but the parties continued to negotiate and reached settlement on June 1. Workers had voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if a fair contract could not be reached.

Maly commended the bargaining committee for gaining an agreement that addressed workers' key concerns, especially in employment security and health care. The contract provides annual wage increases of 3 percent, boosts pension bands by 3 percent each year, improves dental coverage and continues to ensure that workers and retirees will pay no premiums for health care benefits. In exchange, CWA agreed to some sharing of non-premium health care costs.

The settlement also retains the variable workforce agreement for at least 18 months and provides an additional 12 percent improvement in the pension bands for pension eligible workers who retiree before August 31.