AT&T disconnects 225 union workers on U-Verse project

About 225 union workers, who have been upgrading the AT&T Inc. network for U-Verse, were told their positions would be eliminated before Labor Day.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 21 in Downers Grove had a phone message to members saying the affected workers were notified on Thursday and their last day on the job would be Friday, Aug. 29.

"This is not a layoff," said AT&T spokesman David Saltz. "They have run their course and these people were brought on as term employees knowing full well it was for a limited time."

Saltz said the U-Verse installation continues as planned and it has been working in accordance with the union contracts.

IBEW spokesman Tom Hopper said these workers had contracts for up to two years.

"We made every attempt possible to make these jobs permanent through negotiations," Hopper said.

In January, AT&T said it would roll out its U-Verse TV service to around 175 suburbs, including many in the Northwest and West suburbs. The Internet Protocol-based service is offered alongside its Dish satellite TV, landline and wireless telephone services to compete against Comcast Corp.

At that time, AT&T said it had planned to hire up to 1,100 workers to upgrade the network.

U-Verse was not immediately welcomed by government officials in some local suburbs and the relationship became tense when AT&T sued different towns so it could enter and upgrade its network. It took a new law, the Cable and Video Competition Act in June 2007, to allow AT&T to move forward statewide with its IP service.