VZ Connected Solutions Techs Awarded $2 Million

Last week, nearly 250 CWA technicians at Verizon Connected Solutions Inc., shared a back pay award of more than $2 million, the result of an arbitration decision that found that VCSI failed to pay workers for performing work of higher-paid senior techs, said CWA District 2 Vice President Ron Collins.

The workers, members of CWA Locals 2100, 2106, 2108, 2202, 2204, 2205, 2222, and 2336, maintain, install and repair telephony, voice and FiOS for VCSI in Maryland and Northern Virginia. "This arbitration award is a great victory for the workers and our union," said Collins. "It shows the value that a union contract has when a company tries to get around its legal obligation to employees."

The arbitration ended a more than two year fight by CWA to get the Verizon subsidiary to pay the Multimedia Services Technicians the pay they deserved for performing the work of senior technicians, including the downloading and installation of firmware and software. District 2 Administrative Director Gail Evans helped negotiate the implementation settlement for the arbitration.