Skip to main content

News

Search News

Topics
Date Published Between

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.

Vermont Forum Spotlights Political Movement for Change

Building a political movement for change was the focus of a day-long session at the University of Vermont in Montpelier, where CWA President Larry Cohen spotlighted the "Stop the Sale" campaign to keep quality telecommunications services and jobs in northern New England and joined a panel with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and others on how to move forward on workers' rights and social justice.  

Pres. Cohen addresses conferees on building a movement for workers' rights and social justice.

More than 300 workers, students, health care providers, educators and other activists participated in discussions, workshops and actions around workers' rights, livable wages, economic justice, quality health care for all and global solidarity. 

In an opening workshop, CWA President Larry Cohen discussed the campaign by labor, community and other activists to block the sale of Verizon landlines to FairPoint Communications, a small, financially risky company that will be unlikely to provide quality service, let alone build out high speed Internet networks for residents.

"CWA's three principal concerns are: how do we set good public policy that will enable customers to have access to real high speed Internet; how does the coming global credit crunch affect this deal; and what happens to workers who have invested their lives in this work and find they now work for a company with an overwhelming debt structure and financial problems," Cohen told reporters at a media briefing before the conference.

"And FairPoint is not the only alternative," Cohen added, pointing out that Verizon could spin off its northern New England operations as an independent company without the huge debt load that burdens FairPoint.

Separately, CWA and the IBEW continued to press the case against the FairPoint sale this week, testifying before the Vermont Public Service Board and a Senate Economic Development Committee hearing.

Senator Vincent Illuzzi, who chairs the committee, and other Vermont lawmakers have expressed concern that a proposed settlement by the companies will not provide affordable broadband by 2010 to all residences and businesses in the state now served by Verizon.

Expert witness Randy Barber, testifying for the unions, said it was clear that FairPoint simply will not have the financial resources to meet all the additional commitments it has made. "The proposed Vermont stipulation requires FairPoint to spend tens of millions of dollars without a penny of additional funding from Verizon. Verizon should not be permitted to abandon Vermont without making adequate provision for the future prospects of its customers, communities and employers," he said.