CWA Stewards, Officers Show Solidarity at Verizon Business

Chanting "tear down the wall" and "your fight is our fight," hundreds of CWA stewards and local union officers in New York City showed solidarity with Verizon Business technicians in a Jan. 25 demonstration outside the corporation's offices in lower Manhattan. Since the former MCI workers became part of Verizon following the companies' 2005 merger, the corporation has intentionally separated the workers from the CWA and IBEW Verizon workforce, fearing that the technicians would seek union representation as well.

"We want you to know that we are 80,000 strong at Verizon and we support your struggle for union representation," District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton told a group of Verizon Business techs who, wearing red shirts, joined in the demonstration. Also showing support for the techs were New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson and representatives from the New York Central Labor Council and Jobs with Justice.

CWA leaders presented the Verizon Business techs with a statement of support bearing the names of more than 3,000 CWA stewards and members. Their statement read, in part, "Management wants to keep us divided. But our mutual interests are best served by uniting for a better future, for ourselves and our families." The demonstrators came from CWA Locals 1101, 1103, 1105, 1107, 1109 and 1180. IBEW's Verizon workers held a similar demonstration outside Verizon Business offices in Boston.