Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
Unions Challenge Verizon Execs at Annual Meeting
When shareholders arrived for Verizon's annual meeting in Houston, they were greeted by about 50 CWA and IBEW members and retirees who turned Verizon Wireless' slogan on its head with a comeback to recent remarks by CEO Ivan Seidenberg.
"Can't hear me now? Too bad," the flier mocked, displaying quotes from an April 16 interview with Seidenberg, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. That piece convicted him with his own words of not caring about the satisfaction of Wireless customers: "Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house?" Seidenberg said in the interview. "The customer has come to expect so much. They want it to work in the elevator; they want it to work in the basement."
Among locals participating in the action were CWA Local 6222 and IBEW Local 66, both in Houston. Local 6222 Organizing Director Deborah Alexander said they were there because, "Verizon and most corporations in America have been trying to stifle all union activity. America needs to know we are not bad people, we're here for them and we want them to know what good we do for all working Americans."
Inside the meeting, CWA Retired Members Council Chair Ed Creegan challenged Seidenberg on why retirees have received no wage increase since the early 1990s though inflation has driven up the cost of living about 40 percent. Seidenberg replied that it's because CWA won't back off on retiree health benefits that are 90 percent company-paid.
Creegan also spoke about Verizon's decidedly anti-union stance at Wireless, and he questioned the sincerity of Seidenberg's response that he would be perfectly willing to have secret ballot representation elections.
Dave Reardon, an IBEW retiree, raised a question from the floor: "Why doesn't the company bundle wireless service with wireline?"
It's a hot issue. Other companies offer bundled service with discounts, but not Verizon. CWA maintains that the real reason for not bundling wireline and wireless services is that it would open the door to organizing at Wireless, since Wireless workers would be selling landline services. That's bargaining unit work covered under CWA's Verizon contract.
Activists passed out fliers pointing out that "Verizon is Bungling on Bundling."
"As a shareholder, you should be concerned when management's decisions are motivated by an ideological agenda rather than by the best interests of the company's stakeholders," the flier said.
CWA voted proxies collected earlier from members in support of a shareholder resolution proposed by the IBEW. The proposal would dilute the power of Verizon's chief executive by requiring that the CEO and board chairmanship be held by two separate individuals. Currently, Seidenberg holds both jobs. The resolution drew a significant 36 percent of the shares voted.
"Can't hear me now? Too bad," the flier mocked, displaying quotes from an April 16 interview with Seidenberg, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. That piece convicted him with his own words of not caring about the satisfaction of Wireless customers: "Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house?" Seidenberg said in the interview. "The customer has come to expect so much. They want it to work in the elevator; they want it to work in the basement."
Among locals participating in the action were CWA Local 6222 and IBEW Local 66, both in Houston. Local 6222 Organizing Director Deborah Alexander said they were there because, "Verizon and most corporations in America have been trying to stifle all union activity. America needs to know we are not bad people, we're here for them and we want them to know what good we do for all working Americans."
Inside the meeting, CWA Retired Members Council Chair Ed Creegan challenged Seidenberg on why retirees have received no wage increase since the early 1990s though inflation has driven up the cost of living about 40 percent. Seidenberg replied that it's because CWA won't back off on retiree health benefits that are 90 percent company-paid.
Creegan also spoke about Verizon's decidedly anti-union stance at Wireless, and he questioned the sincerity of Seidenberg's response that he would be perfectly willing to have secret ballot representation elections.
Dave Reardon, an IBEW retiree, raised a question from the floor: "Why doesn't the company bundle wireless service with wireline?"
It's a hot issue. Other companies offer bundled service with discounts, but not Verizon. CWA maintains that the real reason for not bundling wireline and wireless services is that it would open the door to organizing at Wireless, since Wireless workers would be selling landline services. That's bargaining unit work covered under CWA's Verizon contract.
Activists passed out fliers pointing out that "Verizon is Bungling on Bundling."
"As a shareholder, you should be concerned when management's decisions are motivated by an ideological agenda rather than by the best interests of the company's stakeholders," the flier said.
CWA voted proxies collected earlier from members in support of a shareholder resolution proposed by the IBEW. The proposal would dilute the power of Verizon's chief executive by requiring that the CEO and board chairmanship be held by two separate individuals. Currently, Seidenberg holds both jobs. The resolution drew a significant 36 percent of the shares voted.