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Verizon Loses Bid to Block Free Speech
The U.S. District Court for the state of New Jersey on Sept. 15 dismissed the contempt of court charge that Verizon Wireless brought against CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen as part of the ongoing case over CWA's parodying a company slogan in ads blasting the Verizon layoffs last year.
CWA applauded the ruling by Judge Mary L. Cooper and stressed that Verizon Wireless's action was nothing short of another attempt to regulate and control free speech. Judge Cooper has taken under advisement CWA's motion to dismiss Verizon Wireless's overall attempt to keep the union from making reference to the slogan, "Can you hear me now."
"That Verizon obtained the information it used to bring this charge in a fraudulent manner is a matter of serious concern," CWA said in a statement. The charge was based on informal remarks by Cohen in a private conference call with select news reporters. Two executives from Verizon's investor relations unit secretly listened in on the call, prompting CWA to file its own suit charging a violation of federal wiretapping laws.
Any Verizon employee who committed a similar abuse would be fired immediately under the company's code of conduct, yet Verizon has taken no action against these executives, CWA pointed out.
Citing Verizon's "aggressive and acrimonious posture" toward workers and CWA, "characterized by incessant litigation," CWA stated: "Verizon and its shareholders would benefit more from building a constructive relationship with CWA based on mutual trust and respect. That's the direction every other major telecom company has taken and this high road approach to labor relations has produced positive results all around."
CWA applauded the ruling by Judge Mary L. Cooper and stressed that Verizon Wireless's action was nothing short of another attempt to regulate and control free speech. Judge Cooper has taken under advisement CWA's motion to dismiss Verizon Wireless's overall attempt to keep the union from making reference to the slogan, "Can you hear me now."
"That Verizon obtained the information it used to bring this charge in a fraudulent manner is a matter of serious concern," CWA said in a statement. The charge was based on informal remarks by Cohen in a private conference call with select news reporters. Two executives from Verizon's investor relations unit secretly listened in on the call, prompting CWA to file its own suit charging a violation of federal wiretapping laws.
Any Verizon employee who committed a similar abuse would be fired immediately under the company's code of conduct, yet Verizon has taken no action against these executives, CWA pointed out.
Citing Verizon's "aggressive and acrimonious posture" toward workers and CWA, "characterized by incessant litigation," CWA stated: "Verizon and its shareholders would benefit more from building a constructive relationship with CWA based on mutual trust and respect. That's the direction every other major telecom company has taken and this high road approach to labor relations has produced positive results all around."