Verizon Wireless Tactics, Attitude Draw Fire from Unions, Congress

Shareholders arriving for Verizon's annual meeting in Houston on May 5 were greeted by past and present CWA and IBEW members handing out fliers that turned the now-universally known Verizon Wireless slogan on its head.

"Can't hear me now? Too bad," declared the flier, a reference to Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg's remarks about cell phone users that were published in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Seidenberg also got an earful recently from 113 members of the House of Representatives who signed a letter asking him to investigate the union-busting activities of Verizon Wireless and see that it pursues "a more cooperative and productive labor policy," as envisioned in the Employee Free Choice Act, newly reintroduced in Congress.

Shareholder Action
Seidenberg convicted himself with his own words in the Chronicle interview, showing how little he cares about the satisfaction of wireless customers.

"Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house?" Seidenberg was quoted as saying. "The customer has come to expect so much. They want it to work in the elevator; they want it to work in the basement."

Locals taking part in the action included CWA Local 6222 and IBEW Local 66, both based in Houston.

"Verizon and most corporations in America have been trying to stifle all union activity," Local 6222 Organizing Director Deborah Alexander said. "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 pension increase since the early 1990s, even though the cost of living has gone up about 40 percent. Seidenberg replied that it's because CWA won't back down in protecting retiree health benefits.

Creegan also spoke about Verizon's anti-union stance at Wireless, and questioned Seidenberg's sincerity when he said he'd 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 as wireless workers would be selling landline services. That's bargaining unit work covered under CWA's Verizon contract.

Activists passed out fliers saying "Verizon is Bungling on Bundling." It urged shareholders to "be concerned when management's decisions are motivated by an ideological agenda rather than by the best interests of the company's stakeholders."

CWA voted proxies collected earlier from members in support of a shareholder resolution proposed by the IBEW. The proposal would limit 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.

In conjunction with the shareholder meeting, about 50 activists from CWA Locals 1400 and 1302 and IBEW Local 2222 leafleted outside Verizon's Boston headquarters. Decked out in velvet, pearls, and other finery, street theater activists "Billionaires for Bush" joined them there and inside a Verizon Wireless store where they presented an award to management for "excellence in keeping workers from organizing."

CWAers' efforts to broaden community support for worker rights at Wireless follow a rash of mobilization activities, some calling into question the integrity of Verizon Wireless CEO Dennis Strigl, who sits on the board of trustees at Canisius College and the board of directors of PNC Bank.

In March, CWA and IBEW members leafleted on the campus of the Jesuit-run institution in Buffalo, N.Y., pointing out that Strigl's treatment of workers is at odds with Catholic teachings on social justice.

Their point was hammered home again by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who spoke at the college as part of a guest lecturer series.

Sweeney cited Pope John Paul II's 1981 Encyclical, "On Human Work," that reaffirmed the Catholic Church's support of workers to form and to join unions.

Verizon Wireless workers' freedom "is being violated by a management team led by its CEO, who is an alumnus of Canisius College and a board of trustees member. This is indefensible and I hope and trust that it will soon be rectified," Sweeney said.

CWA Locals 13000, 13500 and 13550, along with the AFL-CIO, leafleted outside the PNC annual meeting in Pittsburgh, alerting shareholders to Verizon Wireless' 10-year record of unethical conduct toward workers. They asked whether PNC - which commits to practicing "the highest ethical standards" - should keep Strigl on its board. The activists continued to pass out leaflets and talk with shareholders even after local police
responded.

Local 2204 conducted a rally outside Verizon Wireless in Roanoke, Va., with retirees helping to pass out materials.

Embarrassment on Capitol Hill
Leading the list of signatures on the House letter to Seidenberg were Representatives George Miller (D-Calif.), a primary sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, and Rob Andrews (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.

CWA President Morton Bahr said the letter came after an intense lobbying battle between union legislative activists and the company.

"Verizon actually threatened House members with a loss of investment in their districts," Bahr said. "Unfortunately, some caved in. Personal lobbying by Seidenberg and Wireless CEO Strigl elevated the issue beyond what it would have been had the company just ignored the matter."

For example, Bahr said, Strigl "called Miller repeatedly in an effort to meet with him before the letter was sent."

The letter outlines "what appears to be a corporate-sponsored policy of union avoidance at Verizon Wireless," ranging from National Labor Relations Board complaints about threats, surveillance, interrogation and firing of union supporters to the company's captive audience meetings and anti-union website.

"We are concerned that these sorts of actions frustrate workers in the exercise of their fundamental rights," the House members wrote. "We are also concerned that such strategies produce long-term conflicts between labor and management to the detriment of all, including workers, management, shareholders, customers and the public."

The letter notes that the company's chief competitor, Cingular Wireless, is operating successfully with 22,000 union-represented workers.

"Cingular's adherence to that process demonstrates a successful model for the respect of workers' rights," the letter said.