This is short and just some ideas about how we as customers can help the Verizon strikers. I have worked in the labor movement for over 25 years and most of these are tactics we used at different times.
1) Call the company give your name, let them know you are a customer and express you displeasure.
2) Go to picket lines. If possible bring food, coffee or anything you can. More than anything this is a huge moral booster for the strikers.
3) If you are involved in any community/church groups see if you can get the group to adopt a striker. this means really working with one person that is in particular need. It might mean food, or clothes for kids, or tuition or mortgage. These are the things that will break a strike faster than anything else.
4) Find out if there is a local strike fund you can contribute to.
5) Do not use your Verizon service for anything that you have to pay additional fees for. NO movie rentals, pay per view or anything that they charge you extra for.
6) If your service goes down call and demand that you be credited for the loss.
It is very rare that a union has a definitive answer as to what ultimately won the strike. There and many pieces in play and you have to throw everything you have at the employer. Think creatively as customers. There are a lot of things we can do to gum up the works. I have two land lines in my house and I am calling tomorrow to cancel one. Please leave any of your suggestions in the comments and i will try to incorporate them in the post.
I cannot express how important the local aspect of support is. The company will paint the union as an outside force. We the customers have to make it clear that we support our local strikers. they are our friends, family, and neighbors and they will pay a heavy price for fucking with them
This situation could be even worse than what is happening to public sector workers. We need to start thinking now about what we as customers are going to do if they move to permanently replace these workers and create a non union workforce.