[chuckles]

I'm a retired 30 year employee from SBC and you are absolutely correct on the strike durations. I asked how long a strike would be and the UNION bosses said 21 days at most. It was 21 days exactly. My boss told me that to get the package we asked for the company estimated 3 weeks of strike would cover it. The company saved the money and the union crowed they had taken on the giant corporation and won. Win- win, as they say. The only problem I found was I was paying dues for this crap. So, being from a "right to work" state, I quit the union and saved the dues.

Didn't much care for the company, but hated the union. What a bunch of con men.

[Myrddin]

After moving from being a toll COE, I was a happier camper as a systems analyst. I left as a D55 (3rd level technical manager). I found a useful way to work with my union staff in the computer room. The 3 piece suit stayed in the closet. When I had a critical need for cabling to be installed, I ran it myself and left the connectors “in the wood”. I scheduled the craft folks yo do the install. They were finished in minutes, but go credit for the hours it would have taken. I met my schedule. Win-win. No grievances.