Veto of Verizon "Sneak Attack" Upheld in Virginia

A major lobbying push by District 2 and CWA locals in Virginia succeeded in mustering the legislative backing to uphold Gov. Tim Kaine's veto of a bill that would have denied state regulators and citizens a chance to address the impact of a telecom sale or merger.

Earlier, Verizon had quietly pushed the bill through the legislature before CWA and public interest groups were fully aware of the threat.  Having friends like Gov. Kaine to step up and block the anti-consumer bill illustrates the importance of CWA's political program, President Larry Cohen said in announcing the veto at the union's Legislative Conference last week.

"I'm proud of our locals and staff for putting this campaign together on short notice and showing that we can stand up to the corporate lobbyists," said District 2 Vice President Pete Catucci.

Virginia locals had already built up a grassroots campaign to educate the public and urge Kaine to veto the bill, and over the past week they mobilized members to lobby delegates and senators to uphold the veto.  The campaign also included automatic "robo calling" to members and radio ads in Richmond asking citizens to contact lawmakers as well.

The radio spot noted that Verizon has already sold off phone lines in Northern New England and is planning to do the same in other rural areas.  Under the Verizon bill, "There would be no one to question the impact on jobs and service and the rates we pay" if Verizon sold its rural operations.

Verizon pulled out all the stops in its own lobbying effort, but in the end the veto was narrowly upheld in the House of Delegates on April 4.