News

Verizon Bargaining 2011: Report # 14

01 Aug, 2011

Bargaining with Verizon resumed today following the invigorating rally yesterday at the Verizon headquarters in New York City. For those who could not join with the 15,000 or so in attendance, just go to YouTube.com and search for Verizon CWA IBEW Rally and you will find multiple uploaded videos. However, what Verizon brought to the table today was simply more of the same.

Here we are in the home stretch of bargaining with less than seven days to go before contract expiration and still we see no movement at the bargaining table. Management came in today and rejected out of hand almost every one of the Union’s bargaining proposals. Their standard reply on almost every one of our proposals is they are not interested in any proposal that adds to the cost of doing business. This despite the company’s own reports stating improved revenue and profitability. You cannot cry poor mouth when you can afford to pay your top executives millions every year and are earning billions in profits.

Yet, today at the bargaining table, the company said all they are asking is for a few “minor adjustments” to the contract in order to be more competitive. You know things like:

• Eliminating the Pension Plan – “Minor Adjustment”

• Cost Shifting Millions of dollars in Healthcare Costs – “Minor Adjustment”

• No Wage Increase unless your supervisor thinks you deserve it – “Minor Adjustment”

• Commission Based Compensation for Sales – “Minor Adjustment”

The time is now for the workers at Verizon to make a few “Minor Adjustments” of their own in the way we do our jobs. This is not business as usual. For those of you who have been through this before you may be thinking this is no different from the other bargaining years we have had with Verizon. If you think that, then you need to think again.

This is like no other bargaining we have ever seen. Verizon believes they can ride what they see as the wave of attacks on organized labor that we’ve seen in the public sector this year. However, this is not a company in financial trouble. The only way we are going to reach a fair agreement is if our members force them into it.

Our members need to show management we can do “Minor Adjustments” better than they can. Every day from now, until we reach a fair agreement, let’s show them what we think of their “Minor Adjustments”. Our membership can lead the way by making the “Minor Adjustments” today so we don’t have to make some major adjustments later.