17,000 AT&T workers in Calif., Nev. go on strike

NEW YORK — A union representing AT&T workers says about 17,000 employees in California and Nevada have gone on strike over a change in some of their job duties.

The Communications Workers of America said they went on strike Wednesday morning. The union plans to file an unfair labor charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

The workers install cable and phone service and work in call centers where customers can phone in with questions and problems.

AT&T is asking technicians who install cable to also work outside maintaining phone and cable wires, which is a higher-paid job, said Sheila Bordeaux, who works in an AT&T call center and is an executive board member of the union local that covers Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

She said workers will strike until the issue is resolved.

AT&T spokesman Marty Richter said AT&T is talking with the union to try to get employees back to work.

AT&T and the union are also negotiating a new contract for the workers, whose contract expired almost a year ago. moving to a new venue: hotel rooms, where Alexa and Siri are both vying to be the voicecontrolled platform of choice for travelers.

Marriott International, the world’s biggest lodging company, is testing devices from the two tech giants at its Aloft hotel in Boston’s Seaport district to determine which is best to let guests turn on lights, close drapes, control room temperature and change television channels via voice command. In December, Wynn Resorts Ltd. became the first hotel company to install Alexa-powered Echo devices, starting with suites at its flagship Wynn Las Vegas property.

Marriott expects to decide whether to adopt the technology for one or more of its chains as early as mid-year, potentially boosting sales for the device of choice. More important, it will increase the winning company’s exposure in the market for voice-activated devices, which are gaining more mainstream traction.