Monday, February 13, 2012
News UPDATE: Eleven Occupiers arrested at AT&T sit-in
Posted by Gwynedd Stuart @gwynnstu on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 1:05 PM
- Joeff Davis
- A demonstrator walks in front of a police van he believes is carrying the arrestees from the AT&T protest this morning. People from organizations Jobs with Justice, Occupy Atlanta, Grandmothers for Peace, the Teamsters and AT&T retirees were among those arrested, according to Ladie Mansfield a member of the Occupy Atlanta Media Committee.
Atlanta Police say that 11 people were arrested for Criminal Trespassing when they refused to leave the AT&T building in Midtown today. The arrestees names aren't available yet, but public affairs officer Curtis Davenport says the arrests were "uneventful."
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Occupiers staging a sit-in at the AT&T building on W. Peachtree Street have apparently been arrested. Many more are still protesting outside the building and are planning to hold a press conference outside the building at 1 p.m.
According to Occupy Atlanta's Tim Franzen, that group has teamed up with several unions to protest AT&T's elimination of 740 postions, 70 of which are located in Atlanta:
AT&T recently announced a proposed “surplus” of 740 union jobs in the Southeastern region of the US. This would include 95 workers in Georgia and 70 in Atlanta. This news is particularly outrageous in these tough times for working families and when CEO of AT&T Randall Stephenson made over $27 million dollars in 2011 alone. Last year, AT&T revenues soared to over $126.7 billion. The company is thriving; it is unacceptable to eliminate 740 middle class jobs and further weaken our local economy.
The protesters are demanding that the lay-offs be rescinded. Click here to watch a Livestream of the protest, and check Fresh Loaf for more details.
Another photo after the break
- Joeff Davis
- Thirteen tents are set up in front of the AT&T building. Protesters plan on spending the night in front of the building to protest AT&T layoffs. Another protest is planned for tomorrow from 11 am-2 pm.
Comments (8)
Showing 1-8 of 8
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/16695647/o…
"In the last six months we have hired more than 2,600 U-verse technicians and retail employees in our Southeast region, including more than 400 in Georgia; and we are currently hiring over 1,000 more in the region, including nearly 200 in Georgia.
"At the same time, the shift in our business as more consumers disconnect their home wireline access is driving a shift in our employee base, and we are eliminating some jobs in our declining wireline business.
My translation, here is another example of the middle class being squeezed and more funds being transferred to the top 1% or 2%. As technology has shifted AT&T has every right to shift workers. Problem is, and what AT&T leaves out. The new jobs AT&T has created are at a lower pay scale.
From the message board http://www.topix.com/forum/dallas/TR37JEH8… - this is a couple years old but I believe still largely unchanged.
Premise Tech is a title they have tried to implement around their 22 state territory to create a two-tier wage and benefit employee. The work a premise tech would do is work our service techs have been doing since Alexander invented the phone. You will top out at close to $700 a week after 5 years and would have no pension or retirement benefits. They would also tell you when you have to use one week of your vacation each year and send you home without pay if they deem it necessary for the "Needs of the business". And you thought the test sucked...
I just got hired for this position. I start at $13.08 an hour and the top pay for this position as of now is $16.75 an hour. I'm assuming that by the time I get to top pay it will be higher than that. I did get hired at the 3 year pay scale because of my schooling, so it will take 2 years, instead of 5 to get to top pay. I will be the first to admit that the pay is not on par with the other jobs at AT&T but hopefully, now that I have a foot in the door, I will be able to bid into a higher paying position after a few years.
So AT&T has record profits thanks in part to squeezing the you know what out of their work force.
I don't know how to fix this trend in America but Kudos to the occupy folks for at least trying to raise awareness. Growing wealth for the middle class needs to happen for capitalism to succeed.
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So AT&T doesn't need these employees in order to run it's business any more. But in the eyes of Occupy Atlanta, they should just keep paying them? To do what, exactly? In what universe is it reasonable to say that a company should continue to pay people for a job that is no longer needed. Should AT&T also still be employing those operators who you used to have to talk to to route your call?
And what does the CEO's pay have to do with anything? AT&T isn't laying off these people because the company is broke and they have to cut costs. As noted in the above comment, they are net hiring. These are simply jobs that are no longer relevant. But these occupy idiots who have probably never had a real job in the first place just don't comprehend the real world.
I truly am sick and tired of these goddamn occupiers. Capitalism isn't always fair, and frequently rewards those who break the rules, but as dancamp691 points out - these jobs are no longer relevant and the company has every right to terminate them.
Newsflash: It's not "your" job, it's the company's job.
Life's a bitch, then she fires you.
Sure they don't have to keep people they don't need. But their practice of deflating salaries is not good for the economy. They opened this door by defending themselves with the additional Uverse Jobs thing.
Sure I'm not sure what the answer is but I appreciate the Occupy folks for trying to raise awareness and thus discussion of the problem. How do we address this shift in of income from the middle class to the top 1 or 2 percent? Its not healthy for our capitalist system.
Sorry you're so sick and tired of people you don't agree with, drewdistilled. That's a first-world problem if ever there was one.
Anyhoo, I think you missed the point. Capitalism doesn't equate to buying yourself a government who then facilitates your thumb on the scales.
I don't think APD was equipped to handle the particular situation in the picture above...that would be a job for the Fashion Police.
@CrackWilding - your response amounts to a platitude, if I've ever heard one. Of course it's a first world problem - I'm in the first world, and what's wrong with being sick and tired of people I don't agree with? Does that invalidate my point?
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