Spreading the Word: Verizon is VeriGreedy

The Verizon Annual Meeting was held in Huntsville, AL on May 3. In Huntsville and cities around the country, union members, people of faith, students, environmentalists and civil rights activists stood up against corporate greed at Verizon.

Hundreds of CWA members, activists and allies descended on Verizon's annual shareholders meeting in Huntsville, Ala., to make that message crystal clear. Protesters from the 99 Percent Spring coalition came from as far away as New Orleans and New York City. College students from the University of Central Florida, part of the Student Labor Action Project, made the 11-hour bus trip from Orlando to join the rally, and UCW-CWA members from the University of Tennessee made the trek from Nashville. Jobs with Justice, the AFL-CIO and the Greater Birmingham Ministries also lent their support, helping post VeriGreedy signs all along Interstate 565.

“They thought they could escape the voices of working people by taking their meeting to Alabama,” said Alabama AFL-CIO President Al Henley. “Well, it looks like they misjudged our sense of solidarity here in the South.”

CWA members and supporters are continuing to hold actions and rallies to spotlight Verigreedy Verizon and Verizon Wireless, and activists are leafleting outside Verizon Wireless stores around the country. More than 45,000 workers, members of CWA and the IBEW, have been bargaining for a year for a fair contract. Meanwhile, the $100 billion company continues to demand big cuts in workers’ compensation.

“Enough of the attacks on middle-class jobs while paying executives obscene salaries and dodging taxes,” said CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins. “Enough of outsourcing good jobs to low wage workers here and overseas. Enough of deepening the digital divide in communities most in need of a reliable and fast Internet connection that comes with FiOS.”

At the rally outside the meeting, activists chanted a twist on the familiar chant: “You can’t run! You can’t hide! This time we'll be right inside!”

Verizon: A Big Tax Dodger

Verizon Communications is among the nation’s biggest tax dodgers.

The telecommunications giant placed third on a list of top tax evaders compiled by Citizens for Tax Justice, grossing $7.7 billion in tax subsidies between 2008 and 2011. Its aggressive manipulation of tax loopholes, economic development subsidies, and business restructuring has produced a negative tax rate year after year.

Sadly Verizon isn’t alone. Twenty-six major corporations haven’t paid federal income taxes, despite raking in billions of dollars in profits, over that four-year period. In fact, these companies actually made more money after taxes than before taxes over the past four years, thanks to IRS rebate payments.