Verizon workers authorize strike if contract talks fail

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/397295.html

Union workers at Verizon have authorized a strike if talks fail to reach a new agreement by Aug. 2, when the current contract expires.

The vote by the Communication Workers of America covers about 55,000 Verizon telephone workers across the Northeast, including about 2,400 in Western New York. About 91 percent of those voting favored giving CWA leadership the option to call a strike, the union said.

The CWA "has a long history of not working without a contract," said Jim Wagner, president of CWA Local 1122 in Buffalo. However he added that talks appear on track to conclude by Aug. 2 with a new agreement.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which is also in negotiations with Verizon to replace a contract expiring Aug. 2, voted July 11 to authorize a strike.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

1. When was the last major phone strike?

THIS would bring some attention!