A U.S. labor union, the Communication Workers of America (CWA), has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, asking it to block WorldCom, Inc.'s proposed merger with MCI Communications Corp. The union claims the new company would wield too much power over the Internet.
If MCI merges with WorldCom, the former competitors together would own more than 63% of the Internet backbone, giving the new company too large a say over Internet access and pricing, the CWA statement said. The union pointed out that the merged company, which would own some of the market's largest Internet service providers, would have the potential to discriminate against other ISPs by offering its own subsidiaries more favorable interconnection deals.
The CWA, which has 650,000 members, also claimed the merged company's pursuit of corporate customers could translate into the stifling of MCI's planned $1.5 billion investment in local networks. The union fears this, in turn, will fetter the growth of an estimated 75,000 jobs within the U.S. telecommunications industry.
WorldCom, which has been predicting that the FCC will approve its bid for MCI in the first quarter of 1998, was unavailable for comment. The European Union also is evaluating the planned merger.
