When companies hold their annual meetings of shareholders, it is typically an occasion for the CEO to put the company spin on the previous year and pique investor interest in the upcoming period. The annual meeting at Deutsche Telekom on May 24 was different. TU brought its message to both DT management and the thousands of shareholders in attendance. All is not rosy at Deutsche Telekom.

Blake Poindexter, former call center worker at T-Mobile USA in Frisco, Texas, and now an organizer for CWA-TU spoke today at the annual meeting of shareholders of Deutsche Telekom (DT) in Cologne, Germany. DT is the parent company of T-Mobile USA. Yesterday, Blake met with works councilors and ver.di members. Here are some of his impressions from last night.

This morning T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm sent an ominous e-mail communication to all employees suggesting that major job cuts lurked in the near future.  He spoke of a “second essential step” after the closure of seven call centers (and the displacement of 3,300 employees) announced in March. Humm announced a “new structure that further aligns our costs with our revenue realities.” Click here for a copy of the e-mail.

In a major victory for Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile workers, ver.di — the union representing more than two million workers — announced a tentative agreement with DT that provides for a 6.5 percent pay increase over two years for 50,000 workers in Germany. According to CWA President Larry Cohen, the agreement is a tremendous step forward for ver.di, TU and the global labor movement.

Workers and union activists from Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's German parent company, visited the U.S.A. to meet with their American counterparts.

Watch this video of their week long delegation.