The 750,000-strong brothers (and sisters) of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is backing the proposed AT&T/Time Warner merger, calling it pro-consumer and pro-worker.
That is according to a letter to Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Michael Lee and ranking member Amy Klobuchar obatined by Broadcasting & Cable and being sent on the eve of the senators' oversight hearing on the deal.
"AT&T has a history of business practices that emphasize integrity and respect for its employees and consumers like," wrote IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson, saying it was on behalf of his members.
Related: Stephenson—AT&T-Time Warner Would Be Disruptive Cable Competitor
He said that at a time when wages for many workers are stagnant, AT&T's "commitment to respecting its employees' right to come together on the job to promote fair wages and family-friendly benefits is the right direction for our economy and nation.
Stephenson said there were many examples of AT&T's commitment, no more so than its DirecTV purchase and the choice in video and high-speed internet service it created.
Related: IBEW Ratifies contracts for Former DirecTV Employees.
"The AT&T-Time Warner transaction would represent another step forward for the telecommunications and broadcast industries," he told the powerful senators.
Critics have raised competition issues, but Stephenson didn't see it that way. "By bringing together companies in two separate markets," he said, "it will do so without creating the traditional risks to competition."
