Qwest unions could OK strike

Salaries, health care benefits and outsourcing jobs to the Philippines are among issues under negotiation between Qwest Communications International and the Communications Workers of America union.

Negotiations began July 8 in Denver on what will happen after a three-year contract expires Aug. 16. Union members are voting through Saturday on whether to authorize union leaders to call a strike if there is no agreement.

Al Kogler, a spokesman for the union, said the company wants to shift more of the cost of health care to union members and retirees through higher premiums, bigger co-payments or other changes.

In the short term, the union wants to keep its present health care policies, he said. In the long run, it favors a national universal health care program with federal intervention, Kogler said.

The union also hopes to negotiate pay increases for the 21,000 Qwest employees it represents, including about 850 in Omaha and nearly 1,000 in Nebraska, Kogler said.

Parallel negotiations are under way with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents 200 Qwest workers in Montana.

The company froze wages in 2003 and 2004 because of the company's financial problems, but workers have had annual raises since 2005.

Qwest has shifted some customer service call jobs to the Philippines, Kogler said. The union wants those jobs returned to the United States.

Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs said, "There's a host of issues, health care, wages and a lot of others," including how long a new contract would last.

He said a strike authorization vote is "an expected part of any bargaining cycle.

"Our deadline is Aug. 16," he said.

• Contact the writer: 444-1080, steve.jordon@owh.com