"At will employment leave if you don't like it. CTL owes you nothing but a paycheck …"
You are wrong, when you put in a resume for hire and negotiated they present themselves as a company that wants to grow and treat you fairly, in turn you would do your best to make the company a profit, they promised benefits and salary compensation at a rate better or equal to the competition.
US West was the third ranked company for Benefits and compensation when I hired in, where we are not called US West they are responsible for the contracts negotiated when they bought the company, my cover letter was accepted as part of that and had items that by accepting they would try to accommodate. When you sign your acceptance for hire they are also agreeing to what your wishes were as well, why it's called an employment contract. These like all others are grandfathered into the company when it is bought.
Why the Union doesn't push these breaches I am still baffled by.