Verizon/Cable Deal: Taking the Fight to Baltimore's City Hall

On July 26, more than 100 CWA members and concerned allies in Baltimore, Maryland, marched on City Hall to oppose a deal currently in the works between Verizon and Big Cable companies, including Comcast and Time Warner.

Under the terms of the deal, the companies could cross-market products, eliminating or preventing the creation of thousands of good jobs, as well as deepening the digital divide between inner cities and wealthy suburbs. The agreement would severely limit consumer choice and raise prices. In Baltimore, incentives to expand Verizon’s high-tech FiOS network into city neighborhoods would disappear and so would good jobs building, maintaining, servicing, and selling the network, according to City Council President Jack Young. Young attended the rally and sent a strong letter to regulators in Washington, arguing for strict limits on the deal. “I am deeply troubled by the potential negative effects of this transaction on Baltimore City,” Young wrote. “These quality jobs are vital to our economy so that we can expand.”

CWA members are concerned about the impact of the deal on their communities and their jobs. According to Tony Meeks, a Verizon splicing technician and member of Local 2108:

All of the counties surrounding Baltimore have FiOS. It's no coincidence that Verizon has invested in higher income areas and avoided inner cities where poverty rates are higher. This company is turning its back on those who need high speed Internet the most. Baltimore's inner city residents need FiOS and we need the jobs that come with FiOS expansion. Mayor Rawlings-Blake should support her own constituents and stand up to Verizon now.

On July 12, members of the U.S. House of Representatives petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), citing their concerns and opposing the deal. Their letter calls on the FCC to make certain that the final agreement follows the requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and preserves competition. Operating as though objections to the deal voiced by lawmakers, the Department of Justice, and workers are mere annoyances, Verizon and Comcast have already started cross-marketing in 19 states.

For more details about how workers and officials in major cities are uniting to oppose Verizon’s profits-over-people strategy, take a look at this article:
Elected Officials, Community Groups in Five Cities without FiOS ask FCC to Reject Verizon’s Proposed Collaboration with Cable Companies