IBEW Workers in Two States Authorize Strike if Needed in Verizon Contract Talks
Verizon employees in Massachusetts and Rhode Island "overwhelmingly" gave strike authority to union negotiators if they determine it's necessary after a current labor contract expires Aug. 1, said leaders of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers System Council T-6 in a news release. Union negotiators are frustrated with the lack of progress as contract talks enter a fifth week, said the release emailed Monday.
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"Of course, we hope a strike is not necessary and that we reach a fair agreement by August 1 that protects good jobs and quality of service for our customers," said Myles Calvey, business manager of IBEW Local 2222 and chair of the System Council T-6. "However, our members voted to authorize a strike by a resounding 96% in the event our bargaining team decides it's necessary." The union chapter said the IBEW and CWA represent 6,000 Verizon employees in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and they are among the 38,000 Verizon employees across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast affected by the contract talks. The CWA plans to hold strike votes over the next week and announce the results by the end of July, said the IBEW chapter.
Verizon believes "strike authorization votes are simply meaningless bargaining ploys that do nothing more than divert attention from the real issues that have to be resolved at the negotiating table," emailed a spokesman. "As we have from the beginning, Verizon remains committed to working towards a new contract that represents the needs of our employees, our company and our customers. We hope and expect the union to do the same.” Verizon offered the two unions 2 percent wage increases the next two years and a $1,000 lump sum payment in the third year as part of a three-year contact offer that also included some cost control measures (see 1506230021).
Verizon has been running an ad campaign touting the company as a great place to work, including in a full-page ad in Monday's Washington Post. "Outstanding compensation, high quality healthcare benefits, excellent retirement benefits, $8,000 annual tuition assistance, paid military leave, $10,000 adoption assistance, volunteering incentives & matching gifts and career development opportunities," proclaimed the Verizon ad. "We could list more reasons why it's great to work at Verizon, but we'd need a bigger ad."
Verizon's ad campaign "can't cover up the harsh concessions the company is demanding of workers, including the elimination of good jobs, huge increases in workers' health care costs, cuts in retirement security and more," emailed a CWA spokeswoman. "These demands are being made as company profits hit $9.6 billion last year. Verizon workers have made this company successful. In return, Verizon wants to eliminate good jobs, slash workers' standard of living and ignore customers by refusing to build out state-of-the-art fiber optics networks in its footprint. Let's hope the company gets serious about bargaining a fair contract."