Unionized Verizon Communications employees, working without a contract since August, on Thursday held a rally outside the carrier’s office in New York City. Employees represented by the Communication Workers Association and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have been in ongoing contract negotiations with Verizon reps.
A spokesman for the workers described the rally objective as “demanding the company stop its attack on job security, health and retirement benefits. The workers will call [on] Verizon to drop its demands for worker concessions made in bargaining since June of 2015, particularly since the company makes about $1.5 billion in profits each month.”
Earlier this month a group of 20 U.S. senators addressed the ongoing dispute in a letter to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam. The senators pressed for resolutions so Verizon can “move forward in investing in state-of-the-art broadband buildout for communities around our states, including currently underserved areas.”
“It is our understanding that the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have offered to negotiate substantial savings in health care for the wireline workforce, but there are additional areas of concern for your workers, including job security, the treatment of sick and injured workers, pensions and the contracting out of work,” the letter states. “While we recognize that changes in technology and customer preference have led to a decline in landline service, driving the need for some contract changes, we also want to be sure that Verizon preserves good family supporting jobs in our region. At the same time, Verizon’s wireless side of the business has seen a surge in demand, indicating the need to negotiate a new contract that offers an opportunity to provide improvement in wages, health care, retirement security, and work rules for the wireless retail workers and technicians who have been at the heart of Verizon’s success in this market and beyond that has driven the company’s impressive profitability of $39 billion in the last three years.”