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A judge at the United States National Labor Relations Board has found T-Mobile US guilty of engaging in nationwide labour law violations against workers. The unprecedented ruling comes following a rare move by the NLRB consolidating multiple complaints against T-Mobile US for illegal actions and policies in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Wichita, Kansas; Charleston, South Carolina; and New York City.

At issue were illegal corporate nationwide policies that block workers from organizing or even talking to each other about problems at work. Workers throughout the T-Mobile US system were subjected to and effectively silenced by these illegal policies; the judge’s order to rescind them covers 40,000 workers.

Coming on the heels of repeated complaints issued by the NLRB against T-Mobile US and its labour practices, the ruling shines a light on how management’s efforts to suppress workers’ organizing activity has been supported by wide-ranging, unlawful corporate policies issued from the highest levels of the company.  Even while this trial was underway, additional complaints against the company have issued from the NLRB.  Another NLRB trial will begin in June in Charleston, South Carolina, to hear yet more cases of T-Mobile US’s unlawful suppression of workers’ rights, and other charges and complaints continue to pile up.

The decision by Judge Christine Dibble focused on T-Mobile US’s illegal employment policies and restrictions that prohibited workers from discussing wages with each other or criticizing working conditions or seeking out assistance to blow the whistle on unlawful behaviour. 

CWA President Larry Cohen said, “This decision exposes the deliberate campaign by T-Mobile US management to break the law systematically and on a nationwide scale, blocking workers from exercising their right to organize and bargain collectively. This behavior can only be changed by a nationwide remedy to restore workers’ rights.   Deutsche Telekom, the principal owner of T-Mobile US, has claimed that its U.S. subsidiary follows the law. Now we have the official word: T-Mobile US is a lawbreaker. Bonn, the headquarters of DT, no longer can hide behind the false statements made by T-Mobile US executives. These behaviors would be almost unimaginable in Germany or any other democracy in the world.”

UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “This is a very significant decision which should capture the attention not only of Deutsche Telekom but also the senior levels of the German government, afterall they own one third of the shares.

"The message from the courts is clear: Deutsche Telekom is engaging in illegal activity nationwide in the United States. It's time to change course."

Global labour leaders are assembling in Berlin next week. Jennings has been asked to speak about how to ensure effective implementation of labour rights in multinational enterprises. The event will be attended by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The T-Mobile ruling was preceded by years of federal complaints against T-Mobile US for unlawful labor practices around the country.  Those complaints, which have covered all manner of violations, from firing union supporters to illegally restricting employees’ ability to communicate with one another, were often brought to the cusp of trial and then settled by T-Mobile US, which has paid tens of thousands of dollars to avoid a judge’s guilty finding.   Today’s merit finding marks a turning point in efforts to effectively enforce US labor law at T-Mobile US. 

Judge Dibble’s decision addresses written policies that T-Mobile US disseminated to employees and managers nationwide – policies that invariably reinforced a management culture, reflected in complaint after complaint, of shutting down workers who attempted to speak out for fairness on the job.

“We are happy and relieved,” said Carolina Figueroa, T-Mobile US call center worker from Albuquerque. “We are finally being heard. My coworkers and I at T-Mobile US will have the right to speak out against unfair treatment and should not be muzzled or retaliated against - and with today’s decision, the company has to declare this to all of its employees nationwide.”

T-Mobile US workers and their colleagues at T-Mobile in Germany together have built TU, an organization that represents them. Thousands of German workers, members of the 2 million member union ver.di, have formed city-to-city partnerships with T-Mobile US workers, and together are pushing Deutsche Telekom to ensure that U.S. workers can bargain collectively, just as telecom workers in Germany do.