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Workers have been battling for a fair contract for almost a year
45,000 CWA and IBEW workers were forced into a 15-day strike in August. Verizon’s demands included:
- Freezing the value of pensions for active workers and eliminating them entirely for new workers
- Slashing disability benefits for workers injured on the job
- Eliminating all job security language and continuing outsourcing of work to low-wage, low-benefit, non-union contractors domestically and overseas
- Imposing health care payments up to $6,700 on retired workers and $6,800 on active workers.
- Eliminating paid sick days entirely for new workers
- Limiting paid sick days to no more than 5 for all other workers
Union workers returned to work under the terms of their contract—and the promise of good faith negotiations and a restructured negotiation process by Verizon’s management. Yet Verizon’s management—despite billions in profits— still refuses to offer a fair new contract, continuing to insist on deep cuts.
“You said you needed to outsource work in order to save money to operate, and then that wasn’t enough; and now you have tax loopholes where you don’t pay your fair share of taxes, and now that’s not enough; and now you have a contract negotiation where you have an opportunity to demonstrate your willingness to participate in society and support society, support middle class people and middle class jobs, and that’s not enough! Where does it end?”
— Javier Espinosa
15 years with Verizon
Even though the company makes billions in yearly profits, Verizon claims wireline profits are too small. But Verizon Wireless is not rewarding its workers for the division’s relatively higher profits: Wireless workers who have joined the union are also fighting for a fair contract.
Verizon Wireless has already raised health care costs for its workers by thousands of dollars, and has slashed benefit levels even as its costs have dropped dramatically. When non- union Verizon Wireless workers have tried to form a union, the company has intimidated and harassed them, going so far as to close call centers to stop the union from spreading.