Designated VP for Verizon is Stan Santos
ssantos@cwa9408.org
Please email him with any questions or concerns.

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August 20, 2011

Thanks to our unity and public support for bargaining rights, striking Verizon workers will return to work on Tuesday with the contract back in force and bargaining restructured. There will be a member update call on Sunday at 11 am EDT. Visit www.cwa-union.org/verizoncall for information on how to connect to the call.

Our public statement, to be released at 1 pm Saturday, follows and public demonstrations will cease at this time. With your support, we return to bargain the major issues we face.

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International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Communications Workers of America

CWA, IBEW Reach Agreement on Bargaining with Verizon;
Members to Return to Work Tuesday, August 23

Following is a statement by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers:

For release 1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011

Washington, D.C. – Members of CWA and IBEW at Verizon Communications will return to work on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at which time the contract will be back in force for an indefinite period.

We have reached agreement with Verizon on how bargaining will proceed and how it will be restructured. The major issues remain to be discussed, but overall, issues now are focused and narrowed.

We appreciate the unity of our members and the support of so many in the greater community. Now we will focus on bargaining fairly and moving forward.

CWA and IBEW represent 45,000 workers at Verizon covered by this contract from Virginia to New England.

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August 8, 2011

45,000 Workers on Strike at Verizon
Company Refuses to Bargain Seriously,
Verizon Proposals Would Take Workers Back Decades

Verizon Communications' 45,000 union wireline workers have gone on strike after the two sides failed to reach an agreement for a labor contract that expired Saturday night.

This is the first time in 11 years the service provider has had to deal with a strike. In 2000, 80,000 union workers went on strike for three weeks until the unions and Verizon came to an agreement.

Since June, Verizon and the two main labor unions representing workers in Verizon's wireline division--the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)--have been in loggerheads over issues such as healthcare contributions, pension plans and work rules.

When Lowell McAdam became CEO of Verizon in July, he stated that in addition bringing more of the entrepreneurial mentality he fostered as the CEO of Verizon Wireless to the wireline side of the ILEC, he said he also wanted to tighten union concessions.

Not long after McAdam made his plans known, the CWA and IBEW announced they would strike if they could not reach an agreement with Verizon before their contract expired this past Saturday.

CWA said in a statement on Sunday that "nearly 100 concessionary company proposals remained on the table," a factor that has driven the CWA and IBEW to "take the unprecedented step of striking until Verizon stops its Wisconsin-style tactics and starts bargaining seriously."

Although the CWA, which represents 35,000 workers, said that that negotiations were expected to continue on Sunday, no talks have begun yet.

Verizon financials

• 2011 annualized revenues are $108 billion and annualized net profits are $6 billion.
• Verizon Wireless just paid its parent company and Vodaphone a $10 billion dividend.
• Verizon’s top five executives received compensation of $258 million over the past four years.
  

The contract covers 45,000 members of CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers from New England to Virginia.

For more information send email to: cwa9408@pacbell.net