Verizon Business Pulls Down American Flag of War Veteran

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/15/verizon-business-pulls-down-american-flag-of-war-veteran/

Kevin Byrne, Voice@Work field mobilization/communications specialist, describes a move by Verizon Business that most of us would call un-American.

When a majority of Verizon Business technicians throughout New England and New York formed unions with the Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Communications Workers of America (CWA), the company refused to recognize their union. Instead, management began a fierce anti-union campaign. But the animosity of Verizon Business moved to the absurd after the company removed an American flag from the cubicle of Terry Skiest, who recently returned from his third tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Skiest, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, recently returned from his third tour of duty in the Middle East and has proudly flown his unit’s American flag over the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan. (See a video of Skiest here, and then tell Verizon Business to put the flag back up on Skiest’s wall.)

When he’s not defending our country overseas, Skiest works as a technician for Verizon Business in Acton, Mass. Skiest is part of a group of technicians at Verizon Business who signed authorization cards and had their majority verified by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and four U.S. representatives last year. But when Skiest left his American flag hanging outside his cubicle during his last tour in Afghanistan, Verizon Business removed it.




Verizon Business recently implemented a strict policy against displaying “personal items” in public areas to prevent the posting of pro-union fliers, union organizers contend. The policy was put in place after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) cited the company for “interfering with, restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights” to form a union by prohibiting distribution of union materials while permitting anti-union solicitations.

Maybe Verizon should take a look at the NLRB’s own policy. Just this week, the NLRB announced that an American flag will be displayed at every union representation election, stating:

The display of an American flag will impress upon all the participants to elections—employers, unions, and most importantly voters—the solemnity and importance of the Agency’s representation elections.

FULL story at link.

[noamnety]

1. I'm having a hard time getting past this phrase:

"defending our country overseas ..."

it's sort of killing the rest of it for me, I wish they had phrased it in terms of rights to display personal items in general instead of this patriotic-schlock appeal to nationalism.

[DavidDvorkin]

2. Yep. My reaction exactly.

[ixion]

3. yeah, there hasn't really been any 'defending' going on... more like slaughtering

and illegally invading and occupying and war criming going on.

[tabasco]

4. I think a citizen should be allowed to display the national colors.

In a work environment when pictures of family, etc. are permitted.

Why would that bother anybody?