By David Lazarus

Looks like there won't be much ho-ho-ho this holiday season for SBC workers and managers as the two sides prepare to square off in labor negotiations.

The contract for nearly 100,000 employees of the telecom behemoth, which acquired Pacific Bell in 1997, will expire on April 1. Union leaders are already talking about a strike if they don't get what they want -- and the company is taking them very seriously.

As union officials meet this week to discuss key issues like health care and wages, SBC managers received an internal memo recently saying that the company's Work Stoppage Business Continuity Planning team "is working fast and furiously" to prepare for all contingencies.

As such, SBC is ordering all managers to be ready to take over key operations as of April. All vacations scheduled for April and beyond are therefore canceled.

"Exceptions will be very, very rare, if they occur at all," the memo warns.

To underline how serious SBC's head honchos are, the company is telling managers that if a strike occurs, even long-scheduled wedding plans will have to be called off. And the happy couple may have to eat the cost of any delayed nuptials.

"If the arrangements were made before the directive and cannot be refunded, the manager should be able to obtain at least a credit from the airline," the memo says. "If this is impossible and arrangements were made prior to the directive, it is up to his management chain to determine if the company will reimburse."

It adds that no guarantees are being offered "and thorough documentation would be required."

Yes, romance lives at SBC.

"We're simply advising all managers well in advance to avoid nonrefundable commitments," said Marc Bien, an SBC spokesman. "This is customary, prudent business planning."

William Harvey, secretary-treasurer of Oakland's Local 9415 of the Communications Workers of America, said union officials from throughout the country are gathering this week to lay the groundwork for their negotiations with SBC.

Harvey, who sits on the bargaining committee for about 30,000 California and Nevada workers, said the key sticking point with management is likely to be rising health care costs for SBC employees.

"We've deferred wage increases over the years to maintain health care," he said. "We will be extremely reluctant to make modifications on this issue.

"I hesitate to say that anything's a line in the sand," Harvey added, "but I can think of no greater concern for our members."

A strike at SBC could cripple the Texas company and disrupt communications throughout California.

In 1989, 62,000 workers at rival Verizon (then known as Nynex) walked off the job for three months, bringing the company's services to a virtual standstill.

SBC experienced a number of labor actions in the 1970s and '80s, but has enjoyed relative calm for the past decade.

"We've had good relations until recently," said Harvey, who observed that workers' rapport with management has gone downhill since SBC took over Pacific Bell.

"SBC believes the bosses know better," he said. "At Pacific Bell, the attitude was that everyone has an area of expertise and all viewpoints are welcome."

SBC's Bien challenged this perspective. "We have a long-standing positive relationship with our employees," he said.

Be that as it may, the company's execs are bracing for the worst.

SBC's internal memo emphasizes that all managers are expected to be ready for action if workers lay down their headsets. Or else.

"Not showing up for strike duty will be considered job abandonment," it says, "and will be dealt with as such."

Medical excuses? Better get it in writing from your doctor.

"The expectation is that a medical restriction should not be approved without the physician's signature," the memo says. "Any medical restrictions approved without the physician's signature will be looked at very closely by Human Resources."

Just in case supervisors haven't gotten the message, the memo continues: "You need to seriously consider the scrutiny you and your employee will be under if you approve a medical restriction without a physician's signature."

"All these activities are prudent business-contingency planning," Bien reiterated.

But Robert Dolinko, a San Francisco labor lawyer, said that while all companies plan ahead when contract talks are looming, SBC is adopting an unusually strong posture.

"They're certainly taking an aggressive position," he said, adding that management may be trying to send an early message to union bargainers.

"It looks like they're saying that they're prepared for a strike, if that's what it comes to," Dolinko said.

In any case, union reps will have their work cut out for them when they sit down with management in late January or early February.

SBC said last month that it intends to slash expenses by $1.3 billion a year. It will also cut another 1,500 jobs by the end of the month, on top of 28,000 positions eliminated over the past two years.

Yet even though sales are down, SBC pocketed $1.2 billion in profit during the most-recent quarter, compared with $1.8 billion a year ago. The company reported net income of $5.6 billion for all of 2002.

Meanwhile, SBC's chief exec, Ed Whitacre, pulled down $8.6 million in salary and bonuses last year (after receiving more than $21 million a year earlier).

"The fact is, SBC is a profitable company," said Harvey, the union official. "That's represented in the CEO's compensation and it's one of the issues that comes up any time you talk to employees."

Will management be sensitive to workers' concerns? Considering that executives' vacations are already being canceled and weddings being called off,

you kind of get the feeling that SBC is set to play hardball during contract talks.

That may not bode well for customers accustomed to hearing a dial tone every time they pick up the phone.

David Lazarus' column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He also can be seen regularly on KTVU's "Mornings on 2." Send tips or feedback to dlazarus@sfchronicle.com.

©2003 San Francisco Chronicle