Verizon strike is largest in the United States since 2011

Mark Sumner

Daily Kos Staff

Wednesday April 13, 2016 · 12:51 PM PDT

2016/04/13 · 12:51

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 13: Hundreds of Verizon workers strike outside of the telecommunications company's Brooklyn offices on April 13, 2016 in New York City. Across the nation nearly 40,000 Verizon workers with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) walked off their jobs Wednesday demanding a new contract. The workers' contract expired in August, and Verizon management has yet to negotiate a new one citing issues with health care expenses for its retired and current employees. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Communication Workers of America, which represents workers at Verizon’s landline and business units, was unable to reach an agreement with the company, leading 36,000 workers to walk off the job today. What’s at stake here is more than a change in salary or benefits—it’s whether or not Verizon will continue to have decent jobs with union representation.

Verizon has outsourced 5,000 jobs to workers in Mexico, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic. Verizon is hiring more low-wage, non-union contractors, the union says.

"The main thing is that's it's taking good-paying jobs and taking them away from the American public," said Ken Beckett, a technical telecommunications associate for Verizon and union board member with 1101 CWA, as he picketed with colleagues outside a Verizon office in Manhattan.

Though profits at Verizon are soaring, the company is imposing ever-tougher conditions on workers. Call centers are being closed and consolidated. Workers are being asked to work for extended periods—weeks or months—away from their homes. The company bragged of saving $300 million on employees in its wireline division last year, at the same time that division posted an $8.9 billion profit.

Verizon indicates that most customers will not notice the worker outage, since the wireless unit is not affected. However, the workers involved do cover Verizon’s FiOS high speed internet services and television services in addition to landline phones.

Meanwhile, Verizon’s CEO still has time to attack Bernie Sanders.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam on Wednesday became the latest corporate executive to tear into Bernie Sanders for calling out companies that are "destroying the moral fabric" of the United States, blasting the Vermont senator for his myriad claims.

...”The senator’s uninformed views are, in a word, contemptible."

McAdams might try talking to his own workers. Sanders was there lending support to strikers today.

Bernie Sanders got a rock star reception Wednesday when he joined some of the nearly 40,000 Verizon workers who walked off their jobs.

"Brothers and sisters, thank you for your courage in standing up for justice against corporate greed," Sanders said to loud applause.

Earlier, Sanders' rival Hillary Clinton blasted Verizon's management and sided with the strikers.

"Verizon should come back to the bargaining table with a fair offer for their workers," she said in a statement. "To preserve and grow America's middle class, we need to protect good wages and benefits, including retirement security. And we should be doing all we can to keep good-paying jobs with real job security in New York."

For a company that’s all about communication, Verizon seems very good at not listening. That record strike in 2011? Also Verizon.

Verizon strike is largest in the United States since 2011

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