PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Verizon Workers Ready to Call-Out Boss
by Rovin' Workman, for Pittsburgh IMC Saturday August 02, 2003 at 03:02 AM

Update on Verizon's latest effort to screw workers.

Come Saturday morning, Pittsburghers may see the beginning of a long strike at Verizon. Workers have been trying to negotiate a new contract, but management wants significant concessions from the workforce. Workers struck for 18 days in 2000 before the last contract agreement, which is set to expire Saturday, August 2, 2003.

Many workers think that Verizon is bargaining in bad faith in an attempt to break the unions. It has resisted unionization of its cellular workers, and wants to unload more jobs, and move even more to cheaper locations. Workers have answered these proposals with a resounding "no," as CWA members voted overwhelmingly (92% of ballots cast) to authorize a strike if an agreement could not be reached by Saturday.

Both the CWA and IBEW have contracts up for renewal, and these contracts cover roughly 80,000 workers concentrated in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

In the last month, Verizon has been training managers to take over the jobs of unionized workers, and has been soliciting a steady supply of replacement workers (scabs) from temp agencies downtown, including Volt Information Sciences, Inc.

The company has also been waging a public relations war, running ads in many media outlets, explaing how good workers have it under their current contract. Of course, the irony is that Verizon is trying to change whatever was "good" about the past contract.

Verizon wants to be able to lay-off thousands of workers (including those with many years seniority) as well as transfer others to different parts of the US. The company also wants to increase health care contributions and cut-down on sick leave for workers who are already overworked and exhausted from previous rounds of cuts.

The unions say it's management pay which should be cut, where high-level officials pull in way over $5 to 15 million a year, not including their generous stock options.

If Verizon succeeds in busting the unions, organized labor will be weaker as a whole, and workers in the telecommunications industry will be the unwilling participants in a "race to the bottom" for labor standards.

Help workers on the picket line! The next job you save might be your own.

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