Religious Leaders Decry Verizon's Lack of Good Faith

The Clergy Community for Social and Economic Justice, an organization representing more than 2,000 faith communities in New York state took a public stand with Verizon employees by sending a letter to CEO Lowell McAdam on August 1. The group declared that Verizon’s “failure to negotiate with workers in good faith” and its overall business plan “represent a fantastic race to the bottom,” that is “extremely detrimental” to the community.

In another bold move, almost 100 religious leaders from many faiths signed a letter to McAdam on August 2, asking for a meeting to discuss the plight of workers at the company.

“Working people deserve fair wages and adequate health coverage, safe and nonthreatening work environments, and time off to care for themselves and their families,” the letter declared. These leaders called on McAdam to bring the negotiations to a just resolution—honoring the dignity of workers.

As of August 12, the religious communities had received no reply from Verizon.