SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Verizon has reached a tentative deal with the Communications Workers of America and
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to extend their current contract from 2019 to 2023. If ratified, the agreement would raise wages by a total of 11.2%. It will cover about 34,000 workers, primarily wireline workers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, with separate agreements for Verizon Wireless’s about 140 union technicians and retail workers. “We certainly think it’s a good agreement,” CWA Local 1123 President Chris Ryan told the Syracuse Post-Standard, saying it preserves restrictions on Verizon’s outsourcing of customer call-center jobs. The CWA said Verizon had proposed the extension earlier this summer, and both parties agreed that the bargaining would be limited to wages, benefits and duration. “Since the end of the 2016 strike, we have seen a marked improvement in the relationship between CWA and Verizon, and this agreement reflects the more constructive relationship that has developed since then,” CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor said in a statement. Read more
