It's been more than a year since union workers at Verizon went back to work after a two-week strike. But it's only now, after continuing negotiations, that their unions, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, have reached a tentative deal with Verizon.
According to the CWA:
Highlights of the new agreement include:
- Preservation of existing job security language, including a prohibition on layoffs of workers hired before 2003 and restrictions on the company’s right to relocate work out of the region.
- Preservation of provisions of the contract which restrict the company’s right to reassign workers long distances from their homes.
- Preservation of the existing defined benefit pension plan for all current employees.
- The workers at Verizon Wireless negotiated a contract containing no concessions and substantial wage increases.
The first word from a union on a tentative deal will tend to emphasize wins and say little about concessions, but these points do hit Verizon's major concession demands. Even if there are in fact concessions elsewhere in the contract—for instance, what about a defined benefit pension plan for
future employees?—the workers are clearly getting more than Verizon wanted to allow. The 43,000 workers affected by the contract will vote on it over the next month.