NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon workers in nine states have voted
to go on strike if necessary over a dispute about a new contract, a union
official said at a rally Saturday.
"Our members are clear and they are
determined," said Dennis Trainor, an official with the Communications
Workers of America union. "They reject management's harsh concessionary
demands."
At the rally in New York, the CWA announced that 86
percent of Verizon workers who voted in a recent poll backed strike action if
required. A contract that covers 39,000 workers represented by the CWA and the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers expires at midnight on August
1.
The contract covers employees the nine states from
Massachusetts to Virginia who work for Verizon's wireline business, which
provides fixed-line phone services and FiOS Internet service.
The unions say that the internet company is demanding
that workers sharply increase their health care contributions and make
concession on pensions.
Verizon spokesman Rich Young said that the company had
made the unions "a solid proposal that recognizes the changing
communications landscape and offers a path toward success."
Many of the aspects of the contracts that were set
"decades ago" were no longer relevant in an industry that was facing
increased pressure and structural change, Young said. He also said that the
company had been training non-union employees to take on additional roles to
ensure that there was no disruption to customers in the event of a strike.
The contract also affects wireline workers in
Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
as well as Washington, D.C.
About 45,000 Verizon workers went on strike in August 2
Source: Philly.com
No comments:
Post a Comment