Thousands of AT&T workers stage a walkout in California, Nevada

Thousands of AT&T workers in California and Nevada have walked off their jobs, the latest development in an acrimonious contract negotiation that has dragged on for months.

AT&T landline workers in hundreds of locations gathered to protest what they saw as AT&T's unfair contract demands, which they say include "massive healthcare cost-shifting to workers and their families," as well as reductions in AT&T worker retirement security, according to the Communications Workers of America, the union to which the employees belong. The contract for 40,000 AT&T workers around the U.S. expired two months ago, and the company has since failed to reach an accord with the CWA. The CWA’s 9th district, which includes California and Nevada, covers 18,000 AT&T landline workers. Libby Sayre, a CWA spokeswoman, said that the actions did not amount to a full-blown worker strike, and were only likely to last through the day. Although the contract negotiations have been "excruciatingly slow and time-consuming," she said, "we'd much rather get a contract without a strike."