SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- SBC Communications and a union representing 100,000 workers resumed talks Thursday in hopes of reaching a new contract at the nation's second-largest local phone company before Saturday's strike deadline.þþThe linemen, call-center employees and other workers in 13 states have been without a contract since April 3.þþSBC officials have said they will bring in nonunion workers in the event of a strike to make sure operations run smoothly.þþNegotiations between SBC and the Communications Workers of America were under way in Washington with the help of a federal mediator. The biggest issues -- wages, job security, health care and pensions -- were unresolved.þþCWA President Morton Bahr said the union wants limits on how much work can be done by nonunion subcontractors, some of them overseas. He said the union also wants workers to have more access to jobs in call centers, Internet supporbt and other growth areas.þþSBC is the nation's largest provider of local telephone service behind Verizon. It has said it is under pressure to control costs amid increasing competition.þþThe CWA has been trying to persuade customers to switch their phone service if a walkout occurs.þþþ
Source: NY Times
