Verizon recorded $39 billion profit over last three years, senators point out
Since August, some 39,000 unionized Verizon Communications employees represented by the Communication Workers Association and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have been working without a contract in an ongoing dispute.
Eight months into the collective bargaining machinations, a group of 20 U.S. senators recently sent a letter to Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdams asking “to work towards progress in the current round of collective bargaining with its unions.”
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.”
