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Maine Senators Reach-Out to AT&T on Behalf of T-Mobile Call Center Workers

By Linda Dobel
TMCnet Contributor

AT&T’s Sunday announcement that it will buy T-Mobile (News - Alert) from Deutsche Telekom, Germany’s largest phone company, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion that will make it the largest cell phone company in the U.S., was received with trepidation by the people of Maine. 

Their primary concern is the Oakland, Maine, 700-employee T-Mobile call center, and AT&T’s (News - Alert) statement that the union of the two cell phone carriers will help the combined company make billions in cost cuts, which would “probably involve thousands of job losses.”

And it doesn’t help that AT&T doesn’t have a call center in Maine.

These concerns have captured the attention of Maine’s two Republican Senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who decided to take action by writing a letter to AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.

In their brief letter, they tell Stephenson succinctly that the purpose of writing is to “express our profound concern about the impact on Maine jobs that could result from AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile.”

In the body of the letter, the Senators draw Stephenson’s attention to the fact that the facility employs “nearly 800 Maine employees” and is known for its call center excellence. “The facility has consistently been ranked as one of the ‘Best Places to Work in Maine’ by the Best Companies Group, and its workers contribute greatly to T-Mobile's frequent awards for customer satisfaction and quality from J.D. Power & Associates,” the Senators explained.

They urged the company chief executive to consider the “impact of your proposed acquisition on the call center's employees.” They also asked him to keep the employees apprised of developments “that may affect them and their families.”

Despite this request and a salutation that said, “We look forward to your response to our concerns,” a response was not available Thursday afternoon.

Prior to the Wednesday release of the Senators’ letter, on Monday AT&T Spokeswoman Kate MacKinnon said it was “premature” to say whether or not the sale would have an affect on the Maine T-Mobile call center.

According to a local Maine newspaper, the Kennebec Journal, “T-Mobile USA Inc. invested $17 million [in 2005] to locate a 78,000-square-foot call center in the regional business park in Oakland.”

The paper said, “The company staffs the center from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, according to a published report, with employees fielding customers’ questions about billing, the use of cell phones and more. Its payroll, in 2009, was listed as nearly $25 million.”

While T-Mobile released a statement saying, “making this combination a success will require the talent and commitment of T-Mobile USA employees,” it also said it will continue to operate as an independent competitor to AT&T while the deal goes through “a regulatory review and approval process,” which they expect could take about a year.

Kennebec Journal reported, “According to published reports, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission will analyze the deal’s potential impact on competition in the wireless market. AT&T also needs to prove the deal meets the FCC’s (News - Alert) ‘public interest’ standard.”

In related news, TMCnet reported, “Industry analysts have been reviewing the proposed AT&T purchase of T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom (News - Alert) AG for $39 billion in cash and stock…For example, Ovum analyst Steven Hartley said the deal is better for AT&T than for Deutsche Telekom.”