Verizon Communications’ employees will go on strike starting Wednesday after talks over a new labor contract stalled, union officials said on Monday in a statement:
After ten months of intensive negotiations to reach a fair contract with Verizon, the CWA and IBEW have announced a strike deadline of 6 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13. We will set up picket lines and shut this company down if a fair agreement is not reached by then.
Verizon made $39 billion in profits over the last three years — and $1.8 billion a month in profits over the first three months of 2016 — but the company is still insisting on givebacks that would devastate our jobs.
The company wants to gut job security protections, contract out more of our work, freeze our pensions at 30 years of service, shutter call centers and offshore the jobs to Mexico and the Philippines. If we don’t accept all of these changes, they will require technicians to work away from home for as long as two months at a time, anywhere in the Verizon footprint, without seeing their families. Verizon has also totally refused to negotiate any improvements in wages, benefits or working conditions for Verizon Wireless retail workers who formed a union in 2014.
The company’s greed is disgusting. Lowell McAdam made $18 million last year—more than 200 times the compensation of the average Verizon employee. Verizon’s top five executives made $233 million over the last five years. Last year alone, Verizon paid out $13.5 billion in dividends and stock buybacks to shareholders. But they claim they can’t afford a fair contract.
And it’s not just workers who are getting screwed. Verizon has $35 billion to invest in the failing internet company, Yahoo, but refuses to maintain its copper network, let alone build FiOS in underserved communities across the region. And even where it’s legally committed to building FiOS out for every customer, Verizon refuses to hire enough workers to get the job done right or on time.
It’s time for Verizon to acknowledge that working families also have a right to do well in America. It’s time for a contract that’s fair to Verizon’s working people and the customers we serve.
Going on strike is a decision that is not made lightly. Your bargaining team has worked countless hours to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement. We have indicated a willingness to help the company cut its health care costs by hundreds of millions of dollars. But our good faith has not been reciprocated. It has been met by an arrogant disrespect for both workers and consumers. That is why we have made the decision to hit the streets two days from now. We are counting on every member to dig in, be prepared, join picket lines, picket Verizon Wireless Stores, and demonstrate the commitment and solidarity that have been the values we’ve lived by throughout CWA’s proud history.
If the company changes course and shows a willingness to bargain in good faith, your bargaining team stands ready. In the meantime, we will do whatever we have to do to win a fair contract for 39,000 Verizon workers from Massachusetts to Virginia. Solidarity forever!
Verizon responded in a statement:
After nearly 10 months of unsuccessfully trying to reach a contract, Verizon remains committed to its negotiation objectives and seeks to bring this process to closure.
“We’ve tried to work with union leaders to reach a deal,” said Marc Reed, Verizon’s chief administrative officer. “Verizon has been moving the bargaining process forward, but now union leaders would rather make strike threats than constructively engage at the bargaining table.”
In the event of a strike, the company is fully prepared to serve its customers.
“We do not take strike threats lightly,” said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon’s wireline network operations. “For more than a year, we’ve been preparing in the event union leaders order our employees to walk off the job. If a strike takes place, whether it’s one day, two weeks or longer, we are ready.”
Mudge added, “We have trained thousands of non-union Verizon employees to carry out virtually every job function handled by our represented workforce – from making repairs on poles to responding to inquiries in our call centers. We know the unions’ strike order will be a hardship and pose challenges for our employees, but as a 24×7 customer service company, our contingency plans are in place and our company will continue to serve those who rely on us.”
Verizon approached these negotiations with a goal of preserving good jobs while also making critical changes needed to legacy contracts. Verizon’s 36,000 employees covered under these contracts currently have a wage and benefit package that averages more than $130,000 a year. Over 99 percent of these employees support the wireline business which in 2015, contributed about 29 percent of Verizon’s revenue but less than 7 percent of the Company’s operating income.
As it has in the past, union leadership has resisted making changes. Verizon’s unions in the East have struck in two out of the past four bargaining cycles (most recently in 2011), meaning the leadership of these unions took the workers out on strike 50% of the time.
“A strike in this case is not going to change the issues on the table that need to be addressed,” said Reed. “Union leaders need to take an honest look at what Verizon is proposing.”
Highlights of the company’s wireline proposal include:
- A 6.5 percent wage increase over the term of the contract.
- Access to quality and affordable healthcare benefits.
- Competitive retirement benefits including a 401k with a company match.
The company’s healthcare proposal makes structural changes to Verizon’s legacy healthcare plans while continuing to provide broad access to quality and affordable comprehensive health coverage. The rising cost of healthcare is a concern to all companies. Last year, Verizon spent over $3.2 billion on healthcare for its employees and retirees, about 45 percent of which was for the employees and retirees from the unions Verizon is now negotiating with. The cost of family coverage for this group is up to $24,000 for active employees and $39,000 for retirees. Verizon is seeking common sense solutions to manage the rising costs of medical and prescription drug programs. The solutions that Verizon has proposed are already in place for Verizon’s 130,000 other domestic employees.
Verizon is also looking to modernize legacy contractual provisions, some put in place decades ago. The company is seeking greater flexibility to manage and utilize its workforce to gain operating efficiencies and better customer experiences.
“Legacy constraints that may have made sense in the Ma Bell era of phone booths and Princess phones don’t make sense in today’s digital world with high-speed connectivity and dynamic customer demands,” said Reed. “Union leaders need to realize that there are real issues that will need to be addressed with or without a strike. Our goal is to continue providing good jobs with competitive wages and benefits and make the wireline business more successful now and in the future. Union leadership needs to be realistic and work with us to help make that happen.”
