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BellSouth and Communications Workers of America Extend National Directory & Customer Assistance Contract

Posted on: Friday, 14 October 2005, 18:00 CDT

ATLANTA, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- BellSouth Corporation and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced today the ratified extension of the contract covering approximately 1,000 employees of BellSouth National Directory & Customer Assistance (ND&CA). The previous contract was set to expire on November 5, 2005.

"BellSouth and the CWA have always had a positive working relationship," says Dick Sibbernsen, vice president-HR for BellSouth. "By staying focused on the needs of our customers as they recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we have reached an agreement that helps meet the needs of our employees and the company."

"This agreement is an important one for our members," says Noah Savant, CWA District 3 vice president. "We appreciate their support, even as they work to respond to the needs of co-workers and customers impacted by the storms and restoration efforts."

Workers will receive a 1 percent base wage increase plus a 4 percent lump sum payment. The extension agreement also reduces the health care premium costs workers had been paying for spouses and dependents.

The contract extension received CWA membership ratification on October 12, 2005 and will be in effect from November 6, 2005 through November 4, 2006. BellSouth National Directory & Customer Assistance employees provide national directory assistance service (411) to customers at the retail and wholesale level.

About BellSouth Corporation

BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth has joint control and 40 percent ownership of Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest wireless voice and data provider with 51.6 million customers.

Backed by award winning customer service, BellSouth offers the most comprehensive and innovative package of voice and data services available in the market. Through BellSouth Answers(R), residential and small business customers can bundle their local and long distance service with dial-up and high-speed DSL Internet access, satellite television and Cingular(R) Wireless service. For businesses, BellSouth provides secure, reliable local and long distance voice and data networking solutions. BellSouth also offers online and directory advertising through BellSouth(R) RealPages.com(R) and The Real Yellow Pages(R).

BellSouth believes that diversity and fostering an inclusive environment are critical in maintaining a competitive advantage in today's global marketplace. More information about BellSouth can be found at http://www.bellsouth.com/.

About CWA

CWA, the union for the information age, represents more than 700,000 workers in telecommunications and information technology, media and publishing, airlines, public service, health care and higher education and manufacturing. For more information, go to http://www.cwa-union.org/.

BellSouth Corporation; Communications Workers of America

CONTACT: Brent Fowler, Media Relations of BellSouth, +1-404-249-2839; orCandice Johnson of CWA Communications, +1-202-434-1347, or cell,+1-202-415-6566

Web site: http://www.bellsouth.com/http://www.cwa-union.org/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/095650.html

Source: PRNewswire

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