CWA Fights Verizon Attempt to Muzzle State Regulators

District 2 and Virginia locals are fighting an attempt by Verizon to sneak through a bill in the legislature that would keep state regulators from having any say in the event of the sale or merger of a telecom carrier.

CWA is running radio ads in Richmond, where lawmakers are slated to vote on the legislation next week, alerting the public that consumers would have no voice over the impact on rates, quality service, high-speed network rollout or jobs in the event Verizon sold off operations in Virginia, as it plans to do right now in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. Embarq also provides local service in parts of Virginia.

CWA and consumer advocates have used the state regulatory review process to protect jobs and service standards in several states where there have telecom mergers, sales and spinoffs over the years.