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CWA Members Tell Congress to Stop Verizon Wireless Cable Deal
CWA members from District 1 attend a Senate subcommittee hearing on a proposed deal by Verizon Wireless and cable companies to share spectrum.
Below: CWAers deliver thousands of petitions opposing the VZW-Cable deal to Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Five New York CWA activists spent the day on Capitol Hill Wednesday, lobbying lawmakers to stop the deal between Verizon Wireless and a coalition of cable companies that would create an unchecked monopoly in the industry.
The members, along with IBEW activists, delivered thousands of handwritten letters to New York Sens. Charles Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D), calling on them to oppose the deal. They also met with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D) and the staffs of other New York members of Congress.
"They will kill competition. They will kill jobs. They will kill our union," warned Mike Gendron from Local 1108 in Patchogue, NY.
The push came ahead of Wednesday's hearing to scrutinize the deal before the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. Verizon Wireless and Comcast executives testified, while the five CWA members watched and tweeted from the audience.
At issue is Verizon Wireless's announcement last December to buy spectrum currently unused and held by cable operators, including Comcast and Time Warner. At the same time, Verizon Wireless and Comcast announced an agreement to cross-promote each other's products and services.
The deal has the potential to not only hurt union workers, but also consumers. For instance, Gendron said that only half of Suffolk County residents had access to FiOS TV and Internet, while everyone else is forced to pay higher rates for worse service. If the deals move forward, Verizon won't be expanding FiOS services that compete directly with the cable companies.
"They should be serving communities," said John Muddie of Local 1122 in Buffalo. "Instead they're abandoning communities."