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WHEREAS, AT&T announced on Friday, March 15th that it would close one Pittsburgh call center and scale back operations at another in May 2013; and
WHEREAS, as many as 200 hard working Pittsburghers employed by AT&T will be affected by these closings and cutbacks; and
WHEREAS, the loss of these jobs or the transfer out of state of these employees not only hurts them and their families but it hurts the Pittsburgh neighborhoods they live in and the businesses they frequent; and
WHEREAS, the new jobs that employees are being offered the chance to apply for are located out of state and are primarily retail jobs that offer little job security and few, if any, benefits such as health insurance; and
WHEREAS, AT&T earned $7.3 billion in profit in 2012, profits which these 200 employees surely helped contribute to; and
WHEREAS, AT&T has a long history in Pittsburgh and we urge the company to strengthen and expand upon its roots here, not pull them up; and
WHEREAS, AT&T should work with the Communications Workers of America Local 13500 and 13550, Pittsburgh City Council, and other local leaders to protect these workers' jobs and, if necessary, provide training opportunities to place them in new positions in Pittsburgh that allow them to maintain or increase their compensation.
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby call upon AT&T to reverse this harmful decision and keep a strong presence in Pittsburgh for many years to come.