DALLAS, Tex.—AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson announced Dec. 20 that the company will celebrate the
passage of the federal tax bill by giving $1,000 bonuses to more than 200,000 employees—but that’s less than the $4,000 raise the Communications Workers of America had asked for if the bill passed. Stephenson the company was giving the bonus because “this tax reform will drive economic growth and create good-paying jobs.” But a CWA spokesperson told ThinkProgress that AT&T executives had agreed to the bonus only after the union argued that workers should be given the “$4,000 wage increase promised by the Republican corporate tax cut,” and that it was “a drop in the bucket compared to what was promised.” After Republican leaders promised that the tax cuts for the rich in the bill would stimulate the economy enough to yield pay increases averaging $4,000 a year per household, the CWA began a campaign urging executives at AT&T, Verizon, and American Airlines to give workers a $4,000 raise if the bill passed. The contract deal AT&T and the CWA reached on Dec. 14 would give 21,000 union workers a 10% raise and a $1,000 bonus. Read more
