Marching for a Fair Verizon Contract
by Jon Melegrito | September 08, 2011
At the “UnityatVerizon” march and rally, Pres. Gerald W. McEntee called on Verizon to give workers “a chance to negotiate a better wage and better life for their families.” (Photo by Fred Watkins)
Can you hear us now? That was the question posed loudly by nearly 100 members of AFSCME who joined with members of other unions and marched to a downtown Washington, D.C., Verizon Wireless store in solidarity with 45,000 members of Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Both unions have been seeking justice in contract negotiations with Verizon Communications and Verizon Wireless.
The CWA and IBEW members — who maintain, install, repair and provide customer service for the company’s network — ended a 16-day strike in August without reaching a settlement. It was the largest strike in the U.S. since 2007.
Calling on Verizon to “negotiate with your workers and treat them with respect,” Pres. Gerald W. McEntee said that AFSCME leaders and members across the nation are “ready to take on Verizon and all the big corporations that put profits before people. All year long, we’ve seen how corporate CEOs have tried to kill collective bargaining. They want to write their own ticket and control all the cards. We’re here to tell Verizon: Not on our watch!”
Despite earning huge profits, Verizon has refused to compromise on $1 billion in concessions that it insists its workers make — averaging $20,000 per striking employee.
CWA has filed bad-faith bargaining charges with the National Labor Relations Board.
