Few Verizon Service Complaints as Strike Marches On
Union strikes against Verizon haven't caused service problems but states are monitoring the situation, state telecom regulators reported Friday. Nor have the strikes resulted in a deal with Verizon, said the Communications Workers of America, as the East Coast strike continued into its third day (see 1604130031). There is no end in sight, said one Verizon call center worker.
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Pennsylvania hasn’t seen more consumer complaints about Verizon than usual, said a Public Utility Commission spokesman. “Our Bureau of Consumer Services has received approximately 23 Verizon calls this week, compared to 22 calls during the same week in 2015.” The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities hasn’t “received any new or unusual complaints,” a spokesman said. “Presently, non-union (management) personnel, some who came from technical positions, are handling installation and repair jobs that come into the company.” Massachusetts “has not seen a groundswell of complaints,” said a Department of Telecommunications and Cable spokesman. It's had only two complaints, which is not more than usual, he said. But the department’s consumer unit is closely watching the strike situation in Boston, he said.
The Maryland Public Service Commission isn’t “aware of any service issues related to the strike and [has] received no increase in complaints,” it said. “We are, however, continuing to monitor the situation.” The Virginia State Corporation Commission hasn’t received any complaints related to the Verizon strike, a commission spokeswoman said. The New York Public Service Commission didn't respond.
Union workers have seen no major progress since the strike began, CWA said. "Verizon workers and customers are extremely frustrated that company executives are not more serious about bargaining,” said CWA District 2-13 Vice President Ed Mooney in a statement. “CWA and IBEW met with Verizon to discuss the contract covering workers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, D.C., Virginia and West Virginia, but after 30 minutes and more demands to devastate workers' jobs, company executives left for the weekend. Workers already have put hundreds of millions of dollars in healthcare cost savings on the table. We simply cannot compromise on contract changes that would ship more work overseas and have our families separated for months at a time.”
A Verizon CWA member who works at a call center in Maryland told us Friday that she has gotten no reading from the union on how long the strike might continue. The union requires that each member walk the picket line at least eight hours per week, she said. The Verizon employee said union members with families were especially concerned about a prolonged strike. While on the picket line, she has gotten questions about how much money the union wants, but has explained the members are just trying to keep the benefits they already have, she said.
“Day three of the strike and our priority remains serving our customers,” a company spokesman said. “Employees now stationed in the wireline footprint are doing it quite well. We remain committed to reaching a new contract agreement, but that gets done by earnest negotiating and not by issuing meaningless press releases.”