Verizon workers get ready to strike to protest outsourcing of jobs

[think]

Source: UPI

NEW YORK, April 12 (UPI) -- A strike deadline of Wednesday was announced by two unions representing about 40,000 Verizon employees seeking improved pensions and an end to outsourcing of jobs.

The workers, largely in landline and Internet services on the East Coast, have been without a contract since August 2015. They are represented by the Communication Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. A strike will begin Wednesday at 6 a.m., according to a CWA statement released Monday.

Verizon has said it wants changes in "legacy contracts" in its landline phone business, which has become a smaller segment of its services. Its landline operations fell from 37 percent of the company's revenue in 2011 to 29 percent in 2015, and the unions, which have not made much impact in the company's wireless divisions, now represent half the number of Verizon workers they did in 2000.

Verizon, which has about 178,000 employees, has trained nonunion employees to cover jobs in the event of a strike. A 2011 strike by the unions was resolved in two weeks with a new contract.



Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2016/04/12/Verizon-workers-get-ready-to-strike-to-protest-outsourcing-of-jobs/5881460464180/

[Else You Are Mad]

1. Yet...

Only one candidate still in the race is fighting for the rights of workers such as these.... The others have received a lot of money from the individual executives of Verizon & their PACs have received MILLIONS from the Verizon corporation itself.

[mdbl]

2. Anyone with Verizon wireless or land line service

Needs to call Verizon and threaten to cancel their service if they can't respect their workers.

[greymouse]

11. Verizon would love to have people cancel their landlines

They won't repair them, trying to drive everyone to FIOS.

[mdbl]

12. Ok, anyone with FIOS should call and threaten them too

Companies are so greedy. They don't care about the workers anymore.

[PoliticAverse]

15. There are many Verizon areas that don't have access to FIOS and won't be getting it anytime soon. nt

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. A friend has Verizon and it isn't good outside

Last edited Wed Apr 13, 2016, 05:20 AM - Edit history (1)

The contiguous US. She got sent to Alaska and her phone was no good.

That would be ironic.

[olddad56]

7. my neighbor three doors down has Verizon for his business phone,

and has no reception indoors. The guy is a sales rep of some sort and can usually be found in his driveway talking on his phone.

[ButterflyBlood]

13. What type of phone? I bet I know why

Prior to about two years ago, Verizon had no service in Alaska. Alaska had no service aside from local providers except AT&T. They only moved into the market in very late 2013. Because of this, they only set up a 4G network.

So older phones that are 3G only (like an iPhone 4 or 4S, or most flip phones) can't run on the Alaska network. There's also a few features you can't rely on in Alaska, like real time data usage tracking. However just about any phone purchased in the last four years should work there.

[leftyladyfrommo]

17. She uses a govt. Blackberry most of the time.

I don't know what she was using then. She used to use ..another cell phone but now she just uses her Blackberry

[noretreatnosurrender]

4. We're Behind You

Verizon Workers!

[AzDar]

5. K & R

[Phlem]

6. Where you guy's during Nafta and the tech outsourcing?

While I support the strike, this has been happening to a lot of jobs nationwide at smaller companies............for decades.

We need to fight for every job that get's outsourced. EVERY JOB!

A company exists in the US to make a profit. Even Non Profit agencies pay workers. Yes some volunteer but there usually people in place that get a salary to keep things running smooth.

Putting profit over people has been the norm for a long time, it just didn't seem to affect us all till Corporations decided to not hide the fact anymore.

Profit over people = corporate greed

The above equation doesn't bode well for ANY American worker.

[Bubzer]

8. I've been thinking of switching away from verizon... problem is, I've got the unlimited data plan...

I keep looking at services like: https://ting.com/ and think I could be saving so much money.

[DAngelo136]

9. As a Verizon worker

I'd like to thank you all ahead of time for your support. This has been a long time coming against a management that has never bargained in good faith.
in 2011, we went out for 2 weeks, then Hurricane Sandy hit and management asked us, begged us to put aside differences to come back to work for "the sake of the customers". And we did, many of us worked weeks without days off, to get our customers back online and in service. Once the crisis passed, Lowell McAdam and Verizon went right back to the bargaining table with the same regressive demands and hardball tactics as if nothing had happened.
We could have, and in retrospect, should have left Verizon to deal with the crisis and not come back until we got what we wanted. But we put our customers first, Verizon didn't and we paid for it.
Now Verizon is coming back with the same regressive demands they had on the table in 2011. And even after we worked without a contract since the expiration last August, they haven't dealt in good faith. So we have no choice but to go out.

To show you the lack of respect that Verizon has not only for us workers but for our customers, let me submit some articles for your perusal on how Verizon has been ripping you off for years. These are articles from Bruce Kushnick, an industry analyst who has tracked Verizon's practices and has published a book about it named "The Book of Broken Promises"

Here's his video:

Here's some of his articles:

How Verizon ripped off the public on their FiOS rollout and how you're paying for it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/the-great-verizon-fios-ripoff_b_1529287.html

How the telecoms since divestiture have ripped off the American public
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/please-sir-may-i-have-ano_b_1434583.html

And how the telecoms are making you pay so much for so little:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/how-wireless-hype-is-hurt_b_1463527.html

Please read and make the telcoms do the right thing.

Thanks.

[Gman]

16. Unfortunately there's no Sandy to help along negotiations

My wife is retired VZ in Texas. She was management, but was a CWA local officer for years before. We're with you 100%. Wish we could do more from here.

[Umbral18]

10. No shit, they even outsourced their advertising personalities. nt

[Omaha Steve]

14. Ready to Strike for Our Future

[4dsc]

18. I hope explains the real situation at Verizon

?oh=7acd17435e7dcdc5839796cf7c5d6001&oe=57ADD3E4

[The2ndWheel]

19. If the jobs are already being outsourced

the company is making whatever money it makes, and apparently they've already trained people to replace you should you go on strike, how is going on strike going to show the bosses that you're needed?

Plus if landlines are going away at a decent clip because of technology, then these people would be another example of modern day Luddites, and they don't really ever win.

The number of people available for work around the planet, plus technological advances making more of those people available for work around the planet unnecessary, equals increasing pressure on everyone. We're not going to easily escape that.

[mdbl]

21. That's the argument that the company loves

If companies were actually held accountable to the American consumer they would also care more about their employees. Degrading the entire workforce just to make a few extra dollars is pretty pathetic. But who cares, right? People are just numbers and don't need any consideration. Funny how the consumer gets all pissed about this treatment but doesn't think employees deserve the same considerations.

[Jefferson23]

20. Recommend. n/t