CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Communications workers rallied in Clearlake Thursday afternoon to bring attention to their struggle to reach a contract with AT&T.

Members of Communications Workers of America Local 9400 carried signs at the intersection of Old Highway 53 and Olympic Drive between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday, and organizer Shawn Heape said they will continue such demonstrations around the county every Thursday until they get a new, fair contract.

Those taking part were mostly local outside technicians who work on overhead and underground communications equipment for AT&T, said Frank Arce, senior vice president for Local 9400. There also were some AT&T workers from Concord and Santa Rosa who came for the event.

Union members have been working without a contract since April 7, when their last three-year contract expired, Arce said.

By working without a contract, said Arce, “that allows us to walk at any moment.”

Although the workers weren’t yet on strike on Thursday, Arce said there has been no progress made at the bargaining table, and a strike could take place any time.

AT&T said that four core wireline contracts for different regions of the United States – West, Midwest and East, plus Legacy T Core – expired on April 7, affecting 40,000 employees.

The company said the parties agreed to continue to negotiate. Employees are to work under the expired contract’s terms while the negotiations continue.

In the case of the West contract, which covers the workers rallying in Clearlake, it affects a total of 17,000 employees in California and Nevada, AT&T reported.

The company said the bargaining tables “are working on major issues like health care, attendance and pension.”

AT&T provided a health care proposal to the union on April 7, the union responded on April 13 and on Tuesday the company responded to the proposal. In a Wednesday report AT&T said proposal details will remain confidential.

Arce said union members are not asking for big gains; they just want to keep what they have and not have to roll back pay and benefits at a time when the company is thriving and its chief executive officer and board chair, Randall Stephenson, reportedly has a total compensation package of $22 million annually.

“Their answer is to cut our salaries and have us work harder,” said Arce.

Technicians already work long days, sometimes seven days a week, he said.

Some of the technicians who were rallying on Thursday afternoon described challenging working conditions and company actions that stripped them of seniority.

Matt Willis said he had worked for the company for a time before it laid him off for nearly seven months, rehiring him after he lost his seniority. He was required to go back through the probation process and now makes $10 less an hour than he did before.

Bryan Brentwood said he was told he had to take an $11 an hour pay cut and was forced to move across the state with his family in order to keep his job.

“We’re just in a tough spot, you know?” Brentwood said, holding a sign at the intersection’s edge.

Arce, a 28-year AT&T veteran, said he’s been on strike three times in his tenure with the company; eight years ago, for four days; for two weeks in 1989; and for two and a half weeks in 1983.

Customers could face some service losses if a strike occurs, said Arce. While new teams are waiting to be brought in to cover for striking workers, he said it takes two to three years to learn the technician jobs.

Arce said the union also is fighting against AT&T’s efforts to move jobs and services overseas.

“We want jobs here in California,” he said.

On Wednesday, North Coast Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey sent a letter to Stephenson at his Dallas office, urging AT&T to invest in its workers’ health and welfare.

She said AT&T workers in her district have expressed concern that their wages, health benefits and workplace considerations are being eroded. “I share these concerns.”

Woolsey added, “At a time when the American public believes increasingly that it is ignored by corporate interests and excluded from employers’ profits, it would be irresponsible to exact such substantial concessions from middle-class families,” and encouraged the company to “reach a just and expeditious resolution that respects its workers’ contributions.”

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews .