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Report Links Job Loss to Verizon Service Decline
Verizon service in New York shows "continuing declines of service to levels that are simply unacceptable," stated an interim report released this week by the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions of the State Assembly.
The report noted that worsening service comes "at a time when both workforce reductions and capital spending reductions are again the policy of the company."
The committee has been studying results of the first year of a new service standard program called the Verizon Incentive Plan (VIP), which eliminated some of the service measurements that previously were required. The conclusion - even by the weaker measurement standards, Verizon service is deteriorating and stronger standards and enforcement measures should be put in place by the Public Service Commission.
The report points out that Verizon's history in New York shows that service quality is tied directly to workforce levels. "During the early part of the (1990s), at a time of reductions in capital spending and the size of the workforce, service quality under New York Telephone declined rapidly," the report states. In response, the (PSC) in 1995 implemented a strict service quality program... with harsh financial penalties for deficiencies."
Under that program, along with requirements set forth at the time of the Nynex-Bell Atlantic merger, dramatic service improvements paralleled a 23 percent increase in the number of plant workers, to 22,000. "However, under the VIP, the company has cut its workforce by over 6,000 workers, or 27 percent, in a single year. This is a troubling sign, particularly in the context of Verizon's poor performance on service quality during 2002 and 2003," the report stated.
Among other worsening indicators, the report found that service outages lasting more than 24 hours had surged statewide from 20 percent in March of 2002 to 33 percent this past March, the worst month of service quality under the VIP. Nassau County on Long Island and Upstate New York were cited as areas of the worst service decline.
The report noted that worsening service comes "at a time when both workforce reductions and capital spending reductions are again the policy of the company."
The committee has been studying results of the first year of a new service standard program called the Verizon Incentive Plan (VIP), which eliminated some of the service measurements that previously were required. The conclusion - even by the weaker measurement standards, Verizon service is deteriorating and stronger standards and enforcement measures should be put in place by the Public Service Commission.
The report points out that Verizon's history in New York shows that service quality is tied directly to workforce levels. "During the early part of the (1990s), at a time of reductions in capital spending and the size of the workforce, service quality under New York Telephone declined rapidly," the report states. In response, the (PSC) in 1995 implemented a strict service quality program... with harsh financial penalties for deficiencies."
Under that program, along with requirements set forth at the time of the Nynex-Bell Atlantic merger, dramatic service improvements paralleled a 23 percent increase in the number of plant workers, to 22,000. "However, under the VIP, the company has cut its workforce by over 6,000 workers, or 27 percent, in a single year. This is a troubling sign, particularly in the context of Verizon's poor performance on service quality during 2002 and 2003," the report stated.
Among other worsening indicators, the report found that service outages lasting more than 24 hours had surged statewide from 20 percent in March of 2002 to 33 percent this past March, the worst month of service quality under the VIP. Nassau County on Long Island and Upstate New York were cited as areas of the worst service decline.