Negotiations between Verizon and the CWA and IBEW unions will res...

29, the parties were able to negotiate past the contract expiration of midnight, Aug. 2. FMCS said it would continue to assist the parties in their work on the new agreement. Meanwhile, Verizon said it reached a tentative agreement with CWA Local 3673 on a new 3- year contract in western N.C., ending a strike there that began May 19. The company said the agreement was ratified by the union’s membership late Thurs., and it expected its 150 striking employees to return to work today (Mon.). As the previous contract expired April 26, the parties said they had been working on the new agreement off and on since April 2. The CWA said the new settlement called for increases of 12% in wages and 4% in pensions as well as improvements in health care and other benefits and job conditions. Among major improvements, the CWA said, the settlement extends the same health care coverage used in preferred provider network to members in areas where the network isn’t available. “This is a big issue here in these small towns because a lot of our members would have to travel very long distances to get treatment from a doctor who is part of the network,” Local Pres. Thomas Pool said. However, John Ferrell, Verizon pres.-operations for southeast region, said “the 12-week strike was unnecessary as the agreement [reflected] only minor compromises on our last offer before the strike.” Changes from the offer on the table at the time of the strike include a 0.7% wage increase and an extra floating holiday, Verizon said. It said the new agreement would allow the company to “operate more efficiently in an increasingly competitive market for telecommunications services.” It said it also had gained more flexibility in controlling absenteeism, “a prime contributor to overtime expense in the region.” The new settlement calls for a joint task force to study overtime levels and make recommendations to remedy workers’ complaints. A Verizon spokesman said the strike affected employees providing wireline service in portions of 11 counties in western N.C., where Verizon serves 100,000 phone lines, as the striking employees “didn’t get any wages and health benefits for 12 weeks.” He said neither wireline nor wireless services were affected. The spokesman didn’t speculate on whether the company had lost any revenue or customers to competitors because of the strike, but said possible losses could be “offset by not paying wages to the striking employees” for the 12 weeks. The new contract will run from April 27, 2003, to April 22, 2006.