Guess what?
AT&T’s plan to take over T-Mobile is about gouging consumers,
destroying a competitor and firing an estimated 20,000 American workers.
We at Free Press have warned about this from day one. Now, one of
AT&T's own lawyers has confirmed it. He inadvertently leaked a
letter that reveals the merger has nothing to do with expanding
AT&T’s coverage to 97 percent of the country – the main argument the
company has made to gain Washington’s support – and everything to do
with eliminating the cheaper T-Mobile option from the marketplace (and
laying off half of its workforce) to pad company profits.1, 2
The truth is out. Every AT&T argument about the supposed benefits of this merger has now been proven wrong.3
As AT&T’s case unravels, we must keep up the pressure and urge
Washington to stop supporting a deal that is so harmful to workers,
consumers and our economy:
President Obama has repeatedly called creating jobs his "singular
focus." If the White House signals to the FCC and the Department of
Justice that this deal should go through, Obama will be breaking that
pledge.
Please add your name to our letter and then
share via Facebook so others can expose AT&T’s deception.
Last week, 32 respected industry analysts said in a survey that the
deal now has less than a 50-percent chance of gaining regulatory
approval. That’s a huge shift in momentum against this merger.4
Unless
we act now on this momentum, the
facts won't matter. AT&T writes more checks In Washington than any
other company. (It has spent $200 million on lobbyists and campaign
contributions over the years and gives more than $60 million a year to
not-for-profit groups, many of whom have lent their name to letters in
support of the merger.)
5, 6
Regulators now have all the evidence they need to block this deal. If
they ignore the public’s outcry and approve the merger, we'll have no
clearer example of industry influence in Washington — where
well-financed fictions trump reality.
It’s time for President Obama to step up and stop AT&T's charade:
Everyone in Washington must know that the price of approving this
deal is too high. We need to remind President Obama that if this deal
goes through, we’ll hold him and Congress responsible for higher prices,
less choice and tens of thousands of lost American jobs.
Thank you for taking action.