Contracts Expire at Verizon West, CWA Members Rally for Fair Deal

Verizon workers rally for a fair contract.

Contracts covering more than 4,500 CWA members at Verizon West expired just before midnight yesterday, with CWA notifying the company that it was cancelling the contract extension that had been in place.

CWA members are working with expired contracts under status quo conditions as bargaining continues this week but are being asked to remain on alert for updates, said Ellen West, who leads the CWA bargaining committee and serves as District 9's Southern California Area Director.

CWAers rallied yesterday in many locations in California, standing strong for a fair contract. Among the issues are fair wages, healthcare and retirement security and limits on outsourcing of jobs.

Verizon West workers include FiOS technicians, operators, call center representatives, customer service representatives, cable splicers, field technicians for business and residential service, buried service wire employees and other job titles throughout California.

Counting down to midnight, CWA Local 9586 members rally in Long Beach, Calif.

"Bargaining has been contentious and very slow, and we felt that we had to put the company on notice that this is unacceptable," West said.

"Clearly, this isn't a company that's hurting for money," said Ave Malagalaii, a Verizon Operator II employee who lives in Long Beach. "Why should Verizon workers have to face cutbacks as corporate earnings soar? We are profitable in California and we want a fair contract now!"