CWA applauds decisive action by state attorneys general to prevent T-mobile and Sprint from gaining anti-competitive power

In response to the news that New York Attorney General Letitia James and a group of “at least 10” state attorneys general have issued an antitrust complaint to block the proposed T-Mobile-Sprint merger, Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Chris Shelton issued the following statement:

We applaud these Attorneys General for taking decisive action to prevent T-Mobile and Sprint from gaining anti-competitive power at the expense of workers, customers, and communities.

T-Mobile and Sprint are each other’s closest competitors, and their merger would clearly mean higher prices for consumers. It would also result in significant job loss for retail wireless workers due to the closing of duplicative stores.

Reducing the number of national wireless carriers from 4 to 3 would mean less competition in the wireless labor market, giving T-Mobile and other wireless companies more power to cut wages and benefits. T-Mobile and Sprint have a long history of interfering with their workers’ freedom to join a union. Without collective bargaining, T-Mobile and Sprint workers have limited ability to protect themselves from the negative impact of this merger.

The states’ action today is a welcome development for American workers and consumers and a reminder that regulators must take labor market concerns seriously when evaluating mergers.

It also sends a signal to the US Department of Justice to take strong action to enforce our nation’s anti-trust laws.

Links:

Exclusive: U.S. state attorneys general plan lawsuit to stop Sprint and T-Mobile merger (Reuters, Jun 11, 2019)

New York Attorney General James Moves To Block T-Mobile And Sprint Megamerger (NY Attorney General, Jun. 11, 2019)

Redacted Complaint against T-Mobile-Sprint (NY Attorney General, Jun. 11, 2019)