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Fresno AT&T workers protest for new labor contract

AT&T employees protested outside a Blackstone Avenue store Wednesday after the company has delayed to bargain with the union over their workers contacts.
AT&T employees protested outside a Blackstone Avenue store Wednesday after the company has delayed to bargain with the union over their workers contacts. abriseno@fresnobee.com

AT&T employees in Fresno protested outside of the company’s Blackstone Avenue store Wednesday as part of a statewide union protest for better wages and benefits.

About 25 protesters still stood outside the business late Wednesday after others left. The protest lasted from about 5 to 7 p.m.

Employees and their children held signs on the sidewalk that read, “We demand better jobs at AT&T Mobility” and “More work, less pay? No Way!”

Workers from inside the Blackstone Avenue store came on their break and lunch to stand beside their fellow workers.

“We’re just trying to show the company that we mean business,” said Zachary Couch, first vice president of Communications Workers of America Local 9408.

The larger protest includes 17,000 AT&T employees in California and Nevada who have been working under extended contracts for over a year. That number includes AT&T wireless, AT&T wireline and DIRECTV employees, the union said.

Andrea Figueroa Briseño: 559-441-6074, @_AndreaBriseno

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 8:57 PM with the headline "Fresno AT&T workers protest for new labor contract."

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