East Coast Verizon Workers Strike After Talks Break Down
Verizon workers, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), launched a strike Wednesday. CWA said workers are picketing in New York City, and across that state, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and across Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. Verizon said the company tried to avoid a strike, which was expected (see 1604110029).
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The carrier, which has faced state utilities commission investigations spurred in part by CWA complaints (see 1604120039), said it would have welcomed federal mediation but the union refused. CWA and IBEW leaders were "unwilling to make an agreement or even seek the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service," the company said. "Monday evening, FMCS asked if the company would be willing to participate in mediation if the unions extended their previously announced strike deadline. The company indicated that it was willing to mediate. In 2012, agreements between Verizon and these unions were ultimately achieved through mediation conducted under the auspices of FMCS."
In an appearance covered live on MSNBC, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., joined a picket line in Brooklyn. “Verizon is one of the largest, most profitable corporations in this country, but they refuse to sit down and negotiate a fair contract,” he said. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s campaign issued a statement saying Verizon executives should come back to the bargaining table.
Verizon workers have been without a contract since Aug. 1, CWA said in a news release. The telco's executives, “who have brought home hundreds of millions dollars in the last few years,” have been pushing for the offshoring of jobs, outsourcing of work to low-wage contractors, the closing of call centers and forcing wireline technicians to work away from home for as long as two months as a time, CWA said. Verizon Wireless formed a union in 2014 but Verizon has refused to offer it a contract, CWA said. About 100 Verizon Wireless retail workers in Brooklyn and Everett, Massachusetts, and 100 wireless techs who maintain the downstate New York cell network are participating in the strike, a CWA spokesman said.
“Verizon says Wireless workers make the company huge profits, but it’s refusing to give them any improvements -- even though they’re some of the lowest paid people at Verizon,” CWA said. “Also, Verizon is failing to negotiate a fair contract for the 100 wireless technicians who maintain the network in downstate New York.”
“Verizon’s corporate greed isn’t just harming workers’ families, it’s hurting customers as well,” CWA said. “Service quality has deteriorated to the point that New York State’s Public Service Commission has convened a formal hearing to investigate problems across the Empire State. In the last few weeks, regulators in Pennsylvania and New Jersey have launched similar inquiries into Verizon’s operations.”
Verizon has tried for 10 months to reach agreements with the company’s 36,000 wireline associates in the East, the carrier said in a news release. “While the company has on the table proposed wage increases, continued retirement benefits (including a generous 401(k) match) and excellent healthcare benefits, union leaders decided to call a strike rather than sit down and work on the issues that need to be resolved.”
“It’s regrettable that union leaders have called a strike, a move that hurts all of our employees,” said Marc Reed, Verizon chief administrative officer. “Calling a strike benefits no one, and brings us no closer to resolution.” Verizon said starting immediately, trained non-union employees will "cover for striking workers and provide customers with the support and assistance they need and expect."
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam responded directly to Sanders in a LinkedIn post Wednesday. “Verizon is one of the top 3 capital investors in all corporate America,” McAdam said. “Our investment has built wireless and fiber networks that deliver high-quality services, create high-tech jobs and form the infrastructure for the innovation economy of the 21st century. I challenge Sen. Sanders to show me a company that’s done more to invest in America than Verizon.”
​Major labor strikes have become rarer as companies have become more aggressive since the 1980s about permanently replacing striking workers, said Julius Getman, professor at the University of Texas Law School and a labor law expert. But he said CWA and IBEW are strong unions and would have a good sense how to conduct a successful strike, and replacing that number of striking workers could be a particular challenge for Verizon.