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August 4, 2026
Mr. John Stankey,
Chairman, CEO, President AT&T Inc., 208 S. Akard Street Dallas, TX 75202 Dear Mr. Stankey, On behalf of more than 134,000 former Bell System retirees, including tens of thousands who dedicated their careers to making AT&T great, I come to you with gravest concerns about the loss of guaranteed land line concession service. I also come to you as a shareholder, and Chairman of a group with an estimated 74% of our members report owning AT&T and Verizon shares—your own loyal retirees! Year after year and decade after decade, following divestiture, AT&T guaranteed its workforce in many pre-retirement HR conferences and in written notices, that their earned benefits package would remain in-place and was not to be eroded. Among these guaranteed benefits are Telephone Concession Service, which must not be depreciated or discontinued until after the death of the employee. Our retiree members residing in the State of California, have been notified that their service is being changed effective no later than June 1, 2027 and the only option available to them is AT&T Phone – Advanced (AP-A), which deploys the AT&T cellular network and/or a broadband connection to provide home telephone service instead of the traditional wired phone lines. First, removing concession land line service and forcing retirees to solely rely instead on an AP-A device with a backup battery providing only 24 hours of power is not what we could consider “the best connectivity in the industry.” This is actually putting many retirees in danger if they are faced with a blackout. While AT&T claims this is a faster and more reliable system, it feels more like a trojan horse, deposited onto the doorsteps of our retirees, especially those in rural areas. In these secluded parts of the country, a power outage would mean a total loss of communication with the outside world if not for landline service. Second, the so-called discount cost of service for AP-A to retirees is $45/month. That is the same price as every other customer in the California market. This is the equivalent of canceling or revoking retirees earned and guaranteed concession service. The current cost of concession service for a retiree was approximately $2/month in state and federal tax only, resulting in a quite significant upcharge, and yes, a breach of the employer agreement and a 100 year old tradition. In a May 2026 notification, AT&T told retirees, “thank you for your dedication as a retiree who helped shape AT&T into the nation’s best advanced connectivity company. You gave your best years of service to the company, and that’s why we are always working to bring you the best connectivity in the industry.” I implore you to re-consider the negative health, safety and fiscal impact on retirees before shutting down landline service in this state, or other locations. AT&T retirees deserve better and we expect to hold you to a higher standard of care for the decades of loyalty and commitment they provided the company. Sincerely,
Thomas Steed  |
