CWA, IBEW Employees Working Without Contract, Awaiting Verizon’s Next Move
With no deal in sight and no further negotiations scheduled among Verizon, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, union reps wonder if Verizon is trying to provoke a strike, said Candice Johnson, CWA spokeswoman. But Verizon is ready and willing to negotiate, said Raymond McConville, a company spokesman. The company is “committed to reaching an agreement that’s fair to our employees, good for our customers, helps keep Verizon’s landline unit on a sustainable course in 2015 and beyond,” he said. Verizon made a proposal at 9 p.m. Saturday, but hasn’t heard any response, he said. Since then the unions have packed up and left both of the bargaining sites in New York and Philadelphia, saying the next move is Verizon's. McConville said it’s apparent the unions are in “no hurry to reach an agreement.”
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Thousands of nonunion Verizon employees and business partners have undergone training in various network and customer service functions, including FiOS, copper repair and maintenance, and general customer service functions, Verizon said in a news release. Verizon has mentioned that training in negotiations, and Johnson said, "It seemed like the company could have been trying to provoke a strike... Maybe [they hope] to get rid of union representation altogether, I don't know. It's unfortunate." Ed Mooney, vice president for CWA District 2-13, which represents Verizon workers from Pennsylvania to Virginia, said 86 percent of members have voted to authorize a strike if necessary, "but we’re not going to walk into a trap set by Verizon. The ball is in their court -- we are waiting for them to get serious.”
Union representatives are waiting for Verizon to make a move, Johnson agreed. Despite leaving the bargaining sites, where officials from both parties have been since June 22 (see 1507310059), the unions have informed the company they're prepared to schedule regular bargaining sessions, and urged the company to begin bargaining constructively, said a news release from CWA. To negotiate successfully, the company will need to more aggressively address the unions’ concerns regarding job security, transfers, healthcare costs, retirement security, overtime and differential payments, and the family leave care plan, it said.
Although new agreements haven't been reached, no strike had been called as of our deadline Monday and employees will continue to work as negotiations continue, but Verizon said it was disappointed in the outcome of the talks so far. The company gave the unions a “comprehensive counter-proposal” that included changes to Verizon’s other proposals on healthcare, retirement and other issues, the Verizon release said. That’s the deal that's on the table for now, it said. “We are disappointed that after six weeks of good faith bargaining and a very strong effort by the company, we have been unable to reach new agreements with the unions,” said Marc Reed, Verizon chief administrative officer, in the release. “Our employees will remain on the job serving the needs of our customers. In the meantime, we’ll continue to meet with union leadership with the goal of reaching agreements that are good for our customers and our employees and put Verizon’s Wireline unit on a path toward success in the years to come.”