(Laura Clawson)
The Verizon strike is
over, but the struggle it arose from is not. The strike ended because Verizon signaled a willingness to bargain in more constructive ways while the workers returned to work under their old contract, not because Verizon had given up any of its demanded concessions.
That means that keeping up the pressure on Verizon is important. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electricians (IBEW) will be doing that at the bargaining table, but supporters of Verizon workers can do that in the streets. Specifically, in the streets in front of Verizon stores.
According to Steve Early at Labor Notes, picketing of Verizon stores during the strike had an impact:
In a CWA phone briefing [...], strikers were told that their picketing at 1,000 [Verizon Wireless] stores had generated a flurry of calls from non-union workers wanting to organize. (According to the company’s numerous injunction requests, protests at the retail stores also sharply reduced sales at a number of stores.)
CWA is asking supporters to adopt a store to stand outside of discussing the strike and handing out flyers with passersby and potential customers. There are flyers available online for downloading and printing after you adopt a store. It's important to understand that this isn't picketing—people who volunteer to flyer at Verizon stores must not form picket lines or carry picket signs. But we can quietly and politely, yet persistently, let people know that just because workers aren't on strike doesn't mean that the fight to protect middle-class jobs is over at Verizon.