August 5, 2015
By Steve Wishnia and Neal Tepel
About 39,000 Verizon workers in the Northeast will not go on strike despite the expiration of their contract Aug. 1, under an agreement announced Aug. 2 between the company and the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the two unions representing its wireline workers.
Verizon said it has offered a proposal that moderates some of its previous demands, but the unions say it is still wants to cut jobs and job security, sharply increase what workers pay for health care, and either eliminate its matching contributions to 401(k) benefits or freeze its defined benefit pension. “Verizon has earned $1 billion a month in profits over the last 18 months, and paid its top handful of executives $249 million over the last five years, but continues to insist on eliminating our job security and driving down our standard of living," CWA vice-president Dennis Trainor said in a statement Aug. 2. "We're not going to take it, and we're going to keep the fight going while we're on the job." Read more
