Sprint Nextel Corp. and the Communications Workers of America reached agreement on the union’s labor dispute in the upcoming spinoff of its local landline business, to be named Embarq.

AT&T Inc., which recently merged with SBC Communications, said on Sunday it had reached an agreement for a new contract with the union representing some 11,000 employees of the pre-merger AT&T.

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

Sprint Nextel workers returned to work Monday after the union approved a new contract with the company. The employees had been on strike since Oct. 10.

On Monday over 300 New York employees of Verizon Information Services, which produces the Verizon SuperPages yellow pages directories, went on strike. They had been working without a contract since Oct. 19.

About 1,000 Sprint Nextel employees walked off the job Monday in Hickory, N.C.; Bluff City, Tenn.; Evansville, Ind.; and Ocala, Fla.

Qwest employees on Friday ratified a new contract by a 66 percent vote, according to the Communications Workers of America.

The Communications Workers of America has set a Sept. 30 deadline for nearly 25,000 Qwest employees to vote on a tentative contract agreement.

The Communications Workers of America announced it had reached a tentative settlement with Qwest last night that achieved the union’s major objectives.

Qwest employees are currently working without a contract as union leaders report progress in talks with Qwest management.