Judge Orders Documents in CWA’s Suit vs. Southwestern Bell, AT&T

The parties in the Communications Workers of America lawsuit against Southwestern Bell and AT&T are to file by Nov. 30 copies of two documents “central” to CWA’s claims and referenced in its May 12 complaint, said an order Thursday (docket 1:22-cv-00455) by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower for Western Texas. CWA sued to compel arbitration of a grievance filed by the union claiming violations of an existing collective bargaining agreement stemming from AT&T's spinoff of DirecTV. Hightower wants to see copies of the April 2017 CBA and a February 2021 agreement of contribution and subscription, providing that DirecTV post-spinoff is responsible only for obligations that were incurred after its assumption of the labor agreements. Southwestern Bell and AT&T moved in July to dismiss the complaint for CWA's failure to state a claim.