BATON ROUGE - It's been almost one week since Communications Workers of America began their strike against AT&T.

Union members say the company is not negotiating fairly as they work to establish a new contract.

"Well, we're hoping somebody with authority can actually show up to the bargaining table on AT&T's side and say 'let's get to an agreement.' We all want to come back to work, nobody wants to be on strike," Baton Rouge-are CWA president Dwaine Henderson. "We want to take care of our customers out here and until we can get somebody at the bargaining table we'll be out here striking."

On Thursday, nearly 100 union members picketed in front of the AT&T on Sherwood Forest Boulevard.

In an AT&T statement sent to WBRZ, officials said CWA's allegations of unfair labor practices are "false and baseless." The company said it is "committed to coming to an agreement and moving forward with the contract."

Another strike happened in 2019 when members were off the job for five days before reaching a deal with the company.

These workers are hoping they get that same outcome even though it is taking longer.

"Stay strong. You're in," Henderson said. "You don't know if it's going to end today or next week or next month. So you know we have to stay strong, stay together, and stay united. We're stronger as one."

In a press release sent Wednesday, the CWA says it has entered into federal mediation with AT&T and had its first mediation meeting, but Henderson said that won't solve the problem with unfair labor practices.

"The mediator is not gonna do anything with the ULP strike. The mediator is just there to speed up negotiations. But again, until somebody gets at that bargaining table with authority on the companies side, the ULP will stand," Henderson said.