Job Concerns Raised Over T-Mobile/MetroPCS Deal
The NAACP, AFL-CIO and various other union and public interest groups expressed concerns about Deutsche Telekom’s proposed plan to combine MetroPCS with T-Mobile USA, in reply comments to the FCC. Only the Communications Workers of America raised objections when petitions to deny were due in November. DT, T-Mobile and MetroPCS meanwhile asked the FCC to proceed expeditiously to approve the transaction in light of little opposition.
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The T-Mobile/MetroPCS FCC docket contains only 26 filings, with the deal in general attracting little opposition. Commission review of the transaction is in day 52 of the agency’s non-binding 180-day shot clock for merger reviews. FCC officials said they see little chance the deal won’t be approved, though some conditions are possible.
The comments pick up on objections raised by CWA (CD Nov 28 p5), which said the FCC should guarantee that the deal doesn’t lead to job loss. The Service Employees International Union, Sierra Club, National Consumers League, Center for Community Change, Alliance for Retired Americans, USAction and Jobs with Justice also signed the reply comments. “The proposed T-Mobile/MetroPCS merger provides an opportunity to strengthen the combined company and grow U.S. employment,” the commenters said (http://xrl.us/bn6vzd). “Or, it could lead to significant job loss in light of both MetroPCS’ and T-Mobile’s record of sending work overseas and the Applicants’ business plan to implement $6.7 billion in merger ’synergies and efficiencies,’ which typically means lay-offs and job cuts.”
Those who signed the filing are particularly concerned about the impact of the merger on “employment and service quality,” they told the FCC. “People of color lead the way in mobile access to the Internet, with two-thirds of African Americans (64 percent) and Latinos (63 percent) as wireless Internet users and higher rates of cell phone ownership (87 percent of blacks and Hispanics own a cell phone compared to 80 percent of whites). Many African Americans and Hispanics are among the ‘value conscious’ consumers that the merged company plans to target. Moreover, women and people of color are also over-represented among the non-management wireless workforce: two-thirds of wireless customer service representatives are women; 23 percent are African American and 16 percent are Hispanic."
Three mayors also raised objections, in nearly identical letters at the commission. “I have learned that MetroPCS outsources all its call centers, some located overseas,” wrote Mayor Dwight Jones of Richmond, Va. (http://xrl.us/bn6wpx). “T-Mobile recently closed seven U.S. call centers and displaced 3,300 employees, while contracting with offshore call centers to perform similar work. T-Mobile and MetroPCS have announced anticipated $6 [billion]-7 billion in merger-related savings, including customer support. These facts raise concerns about the employment future of T-Mobile workers in Richmond.” Mayors Bob Buckhorn of Tampa, Fla., and Joseph Riley of Charleston, S.C., also filed letters.
CWA noted the various filings in a news release Monday. “Clearly, many feel that protecting U.S. jobs is in the public interest,” said CWA Senior Director George Kohl. “The FCC should impose specific conditions protecting T-Mobile employment. We are all asking the FCC to make this a ‘growth and opportunity merger’ for U.S. workers too.""
"The combination of T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS will plainly service the public interest -- it is pro-competitive, pro-consumer, and pro-growth,” a T-Mobile spokesman said late Monday, in response to the filings. “Indeed, the proposed transaction is not opposed by anyone on any grounds. These parties simply repeat -- in many cases verbatim -- CWA’s various complaints about T-Mobile and Metro -- and add nothing new or material to the FCC’s review of this transaction. Accordingly, the FCC should expeditiously grant the license transfer applications and summarily reject CWA’s unsupported, unwarranted, and unprecedented requested conditions."
Meanwhile, representatives of DT, T-Mobile and MetroPCS met with Wireless Bureau officials, FCC Chief Economist Marius Schwartz and others at the agency last week to note that no party has filed a petition to deny. “Accordingly, they urged the FCC staff to conclude its review of the transaction expeditiously, preferably in advance of the MetroPCS shareholder vote, which could occur as early as mid-February,” the letter said (http://xrl.us/bn6wqq).