Members of the Communications Workers of America authorized a strike against AT&T Inc., the union said on Friday, but the company is optimistic that it can reach a new agreement before the current contract expires December 10.

The current contract, which covers over 11,000 employees of (pre-merger) AT&T, does not affect union employees at (pre-merger) SBC.

CWA bargainers and retired workers are concerned over proposals to cut or eliminate retiree health care benefits, according to the union. Many retirees are joining a letter writing campaign to AT&T executives, letting them know that quality jobs and maintaining quality health care benefits for both active and retired workers are a critical part of reaching a fair contract, the union said.

Image provided by AT&T Inc.

“Our goal is to reach a fair agreement, but that won’t happen until AT&T negotiators address these very critical issues. Our members certainly want the ‘new AT&T’ to succeed, but that means management must recognize the need to maintain quality jobs. Success at the new company shouldn’t only benefit top executives,” said Ralph Maly, CWA vice president for Communications and Technologies.

AT&T spokeswoman Claudia Jones said, “We are in daily negotiations with the CWA and remain optimistic that a fair settlement can be reached.”

SBC completed its merger with AT&T nearly two weeks ago, adopting the AT&T name and a new logo.