The layoff total at IBM has reached 1,148 this afternoon as the numbers continue to come in from affected workers around the country, increasing more than fourfold over the figure reported a day ago.

The layoff numbers are being tallied by the Alliance@IBM, an organizing effort of the Communication Workers of America to unionize IBM's workers. An anonymous post on the organizing web site claims to be written by an affected worker at IBM's Research Triangle Park facility.

IBM has not confirmed the layoffs so union organizers are making estimates based on employee information. Affected workers receive information revealing how many employees in their work unit were affected and how many spared.

"It's a lot wider that I thought it was yesterday morning," said organizer Lee Conrad in upstate New York. "These are good-paying high-tech jobs," "They're specialist jobs, they're skilled jobs. And these jobs are going away."

A union representing about 35,000 AT&T employees across the Southeast has reached a tentative three-year contract with the telecommunications company.

The deal increases pay by 9 percent over the contract term, including cost of living adjustments, the Communications Workers of America announced. Additional details were being provided to union members before they're released publicly.

"In these very difficult economic times, CWA was able to maintain the job security provisions that were currently in the contract, along with quality health care," said CWA vice president Judy Dennis, in a prepared statement.

AT&T has more than 8,000 workers across North Carolina, including many employees of the former BellSouth, which AT&T acquired in early 2007. A company spokesman didn't know how many of its workers in this state are covered by the CWA agreement, but said that it is AT&T's largest union contract.