[CWA President Chris Shelton]: "This is a company who can easily afford to do what we want. They make a billion dollars a month in profit. They are continually sending jobs overseas. They are following the dollar to the lowest common denominator and we shouldn't be letting them, period."

Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton talking about the year-long effort to reach a new contract with AT&T for 17,000 California and Nevada workers.

At a rally in San Diego Shelton told KPFA's Steve Zeltzer that AT&T wants these workers to pay 32 percent more for health care.

CWA Chris Shelton: "They want 'em to pay 32 percent and we're not gonna do it. And that's part of the reason we've ben bargaining for a year now."

Shelton says AT&T is also outsourcing American jobs while refusing to provide and properly maintain the high-speed internet and telephone infrastructure America needs.

"And what happens in these call centers when you send jobs there is that people are making such low wages that they do things like identity theft to make up for the income that they're not getting.

So consumers in the United States are getting screwed by these companies because they want to make more profit."

Shelton says CWA workers at AT&T will insist on a fair new labor contract and are likely to hold many more rallies until a new contract is won.

"You will see many, many, many more actions. It has been a year and we're not puttin' up with it anymore. And these folks are not gonna put up with it."