Verizon Communications Inc (VZ)

[Zboricua]

“While 40,000 striking workers are fighting to save good, middle-class jobs, Verizon is sending untrained and unqualified replacement workers to perform highly technical tasks in homes, businesses and communities along the East Coast," said Bob Master, Assistant to the Vice President of CWA District 1. "We have received dozens of reports of delays, botched repairs, and dangerous behavior from Verizon’s replacement workforce."

[XeoX_X]

Interesting to see how the PPS reacts to these events, that news should help.

[cintrix]

Verizon, Unions Consent to Gag Agreement During Negotiations
Wed, 05/18/2016 - 8:29am by Diana Goovaerts, Associate Editor, @DiaMariesbeat

This is not a battle for public opinion.

That was the message from the U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday as Verizon and representatives of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) met in Washington Tuesday.

According to the Department of Labor, both Verizon and the unions have agreed to “make no public statements” as they work to hash out the terms of a new contract that will end the more than month-long strike of nearly 40,000 workers. Similarly, the Department of Labor said there will be no public comments from the federal officials involved in the negotiations as talks continue through this week.

The gag agreement comes on the heels of Labor Secretary Tom Perez's intervention in the proceedings last week, and appears to be an attempt to stem the fierce public relations battle between the two that has been raging since the strike began in April.

Up to this point, Verizon and the unions have taken turns trading barbs as negotiations have progressed.

At the start of the strike, the CWA accused Verizon of failing to meet pledges to expand FiOS broadband and destroying middle-class jobs by shipping jobs abroad. The union also accused the company of corporate greed. Verizon, however, said it has worked “diligently” to come to a fair agreement and placed the blame for failed negotiations at the feet of union leaders who “have their own agenda rooted in the past.”

And things haven't improved with time. Verizon at the end of April issued an ultimatum when it presented its “best and final” offer to union officials. Strike leaders quickly condemned the offer and called on the Verizon to “start bargaining in good faith.”?

The stalemate appeared to hold until Perez stepped in to help the pair resume talks.

The Labor Department said both Perez and federal mediator Allison Beck will oversee the ongoing negotiations. Perez commended both Verizon and union leaders for their “continued commitment to remain at the bargaining table and work toward a resolution.”

A resolution to the strike – which began April 13 after 10 months of failed contract negotiations – will likely come as a relief to all parties involved.

Verizon said it has had to deploy “thousands” of contractors and employees on special assignment to cover the gaps left by striking workers. The carrier has also turned to automation to help ease pressure on overburdened call centers.

CWA workers, who have gone without a paycheck since the strike began and lost access to benefits at the end of April, have been forced to lean on the union's $440 million strike fund to help make ends meet. Between the third and eighth weeks of the strike, CWA representatives said workers will receive $300 per week from the member-funded reserve. After the eighth week of the strike, that amount will rise to $400 per week with no cut off date.
http://www.wirelessweek.com/news/2016/05/verizon-unions-consent-gag-agreement-during-negotiations

[cintrix]

OMG but I thought they were totally prepared to conduct business as usual without the strikers?

[Susie924]

For years I have been getting my Verizon bill online instead of them mailing it to me and I pay the bill online.

For the past week I am unable to access my bill or the payment page.

When I login I get the following:

We are unable to process your request at this time. Please try again later. We apologize for the inconvenience.

When I went to the "chat" window I was told I could call and pay the bill on the phone for a charge of $3.50

What BS!

[cintrix]

Yes, this strike is not about wages. But Verizon will keep telling the public what a nice raise they offered. And their CEO Lowell McAdams was on a picket line and didn't know that his company outsourced FIOS work to other countries. He kept claiming that they only outsource dsl which is a small amount. Last time I had a problem and called customer service for fios I asked the rep where they were located and the guy said Costa Rico. How is it that I know VZ is sending work to other countries but Lowell didn't? Take a listen:

[ajackson1204]

Very true is poor management when the wireline side of business is reported to make 2.2Billion a year and the company makes 4.4Billion a quarter. If they accurately charged wireless for data the wireline would be even more profitable...sad that they manipulate the media and public into believing that this is a wage fight amongst the unions...its about keeping jobs here in america.

[dippyfloppity]

Unions.... It amazes me that Verizon management lets this go on for so long. Its a direct reflection of poor leadership and employee investment on their side.

[Susie924]

Beats me but this Union seems to have long strikes going back to the 7 month strike in the 70's.

[dippyfloppity]

So... When is Verizon going to handle this once and for all?

[Susie924]

Picketing Verizon Worker Struck by Truck; Replacement Worker Arrested

It's Massachusetts' second instance of a replacement worker allegedly driving into a picketer in a week

By Alysha Palumbo


A driver has been arrested after police say they struck a striking Verizon worker on a picket line in Boylston, Massachusetts, Tuesday. (Published Tuesday, May 17, 2016)

Police say the worker, 48-year-old Anthony P. Davenport of Holden, was struck by a truck being driven by replacement worker, later identified as 37-year-old Kevin S. Goodale of Bethel, Vermont. The truck allegedly stopped in front of a picket line and lurched forward, striking the worker.

Police are investigating if the incident was intentional.

Verizon workers have been striking since April after contract talks failed.

Goodale, who police say left the scene in a coworker's vehicle and then returned, is being held on $5,000 bail after being charged with leaving the scene of an accident, driving with a suspended license and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

It's not clear if Goodale has an attorney. His next court date is June 2.

Davenport was transported to a hospital for injuries to his hand, hip and leg.

In a statement, Verizon said its initial review showed that the picketing workers were too close to the vehicle, creating unsafe conditions.


"Dangerous picketing activities put our employees and others in harm's way and must stop immediately," a representative said.

This is the second time in seven days when a striking worker in Massachusetts has been struck by a replacement worker.


Another replacement worker is facing drunken driving and assault and battery charges after he allegedly hit a picketing Verizon worker and a police officer with his pickup truck in Westborough last week.

http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Verizon-Worker-Struck-by-Truck-Replacement-Worker-Arrested-379814191.html

[cintrix]

Obama Administration Gets Verizon and Strikers Talking Again

by Aaron Pressman

@ampressman

May 18, 2016, 7:32 AM EDT


New talks could cool off bitter strike after armed confrontation, heated accusations.

Verizon Communications and the two unions representing about 40,000 workers on strike for the past month have reopened talks, this time with a federal mediator involved.

The new talks, prompted by Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, could head off what was becoming an increasingly bitter and acrimonious strike, the largest labor action in five years. Sporadic talks in recent week made no progress.

President Barack Obama’s labor secretary initially jumped into the fray and brought the parties together over the weekend, a few days after armed security guards from Verizon had chased down strikers visiting call center workers in the Philippines. The incident followed Verizon accusations that striking workers were vandalizing company lines and harassing replacement workers.

To cool off the situation, Perez gathered Verizon VZ -0.64% CEO Lowell McAdam, Chris Shelton, president of the Communications Workers of America, and Lonnie Stephenson, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, at his office Sunday and got them to agree to the new round of talks. Alison Beck, a labor lawyer who heads the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, is overseeing the talks.


Both sides agreed not to comment while the new talks are ongoing, Perez said in a statement.

“I’m encouraged by the parties’ continued commitment to remain at the bargaining table and work toward a resolution,” Perez said. “We will continue to facilitate conversations to help the unions and the company reach an agreement.”

A longtime labor lawyer, Beck was named the director of the mediation service in 2014 and confirmed by the Senate last year, the first women to hold the post since the agency was created in 1947. There have been no major strikes since she took the post, although in 2014 she helped avert a walkout at the New York Metropolitan Opera.

The striking Verizon employees, who generally work from Massachusetts to Virginia installing and servicing Verizon’s wire line telephone and FiOS Internet and television service, had been without a contract for nearly 10 months when they walked out on April 13. They say they cannot accept Verizon proposals that would allow additional outsourcing of call center workers to the Philippines and Mexico, greater use of nonunion contractors, and the assignment of employees to other cities for up to two months at a time.


Verizon says it offered a 7.5% wage hike for the new contract over the next few years but also needs new work rules to gain greater flexibility and lower costs as its telephone business shrinks and its wireless business becomes ever more important.
http://fortune.com/2016/05/18/obama-administration-gets-verizon-and-strikers-talking-again/?xid=yahoo_fortune

[Zboricua]

I'm getting tired of Verizon releasing statements blaming our union brothers and sisters for the failings of the SCABS they are employing to do the technical work, they are obviously not trained or mentally capable of performing. In the past 2 weeks, Union Brothers have been struck and run down by unlicensed drivers, one drunk and one in CDL vehicle, yet Verizon is telling the press that the union workers were at fault. WTF ? I'm not really sure what pisses me off more about this attitude, Is it that they honestly think our Union Members would put themselves in harms way, especially with a truck that requires a CDL? Or is it that they think our loyal customers are so stupid, that they will forget that the drivers were drunk, or were unlicensed?

One more thing the public needs to be aware of. Verizon would like nothing more, than to BUST the unions and replace each union member with scabs like these. These scabs have not been vetted in any way at all. But Verizon was hiring scabs though contract companies, like SCABSRUS or what ever. This way, when drunk unlicensed workers screw up, they can blame them too, but Americans are smart enough to know, Verizon, YOU are ultimately at fault for every bit of what is going on. Even Donald Trump would hold you accountable if hell froze over and he got elected. Lowell Adams, you and your ass puppets need to get back to the negotiating table, work out issues, and offer a great contract, one that brings back every job you have ever outsourced, and get them into the unions, as well as Verizon Wireless, get them into the unions, negotiate with them, and get the quality into Verizon wireless, that you and the customers have enjoyed or decades. We, the unions demand it, and your customers do too.

[cintrix]

Statement of US Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez on the ongoing labor dispute involving Verizon workers
Sunday, May 15, 2016

U.S. Department of Labor

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today issued the following statement on the ongoing labor dispute involving Verizon workers.

“A few days ago, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez reached out to the parties in the ongoing labor dispute involving Verizon workers and invited them to meet with him in Washington in an effort to help the parties resolve a dispute that is affecting thousands of workers, their families, and the company.

Today, Secretary Perez met at the U.S. Labor Department with Lowell McAdam, chairman and CEO of Verizon; Chris Shelton, president of the Communications Workers of America; and Lonnie Stephenson, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The parties had an open, frank and constructive dialogue about finding a comprehensive way forward to resolve disputed issues and get people back to work. The parties agreed to return to the bargaining table on Tuesday to continue their discussion.

“The best way to resolve this labor dispute is at the bargaining table, and I am heartened by the parties’ mutual commitment to get back to immediate discussions and work toward a new contract,” said Secretary Perez. “I was singularly impressed by the parties’ appreciation that time is of the essence, and their strong commitment to use the collective bargaining process to reach a mutually beneficial resolution.”
Press Contact:
Mattie Munoz Zazueta
[phone]
[e-mail]
http://www.cwa-union.org/news/releases/statement-of-us-labor-secretary-thomas-e-perez-on-ongoing-labor-dispute-involving

[Zboricua]

Excellent article Great DD

[cintrix]

Verizon Strike Escalates With Armed Confrontation in the Philippines
http://fortune.com/2016/05/12/verizon-strike-armed-confrontation-philippines/
by Aaron Pressman

@ampressman

May 12, 2016, 8:21 PM EDT



U.S. workers joined protest for call center worker rights.

Tim Dubnau knew that helping lead a strike of almost 40,000 workers against Verizon Communications was going to be tough. But he had no idea that he would find himself, as he did on Wednesday, crammed in the back of an unmarked white van, terrified, being chased through the streets of Alabang, a city on the outskirts of Manila, by a group of armed men on motorcycles.

And the situation only got more tense when the men surrounded the van, forcing it to pull over, and called in a SWAT team of heavily armed Philippine police officers.

“It was like being in a movie–they were dressed all in black with masks and automatic rifles,” Dubnau recalled in an interview with Fortune. “At first they were demanding that we get out. One officer even hit the door with his gun. But we didn’t open up, we knew our rights.”
Verizon strikers confront police.
Screen capture from a video of Verizon strikers confronting police in the Philippines.

Inside the van with Dubnau, an organizing coordinator at the Communications Workers of America union, were three visiting strikers from the United States. They were joined by representatives from a local call center workers group called BIEN Pilipinas, fellow local labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), and the international telecommunications union Uni.





To gain a little extra publicity for their cause, the group had tried to visit a Verizon VZ -0.97% office near one of the third-party call centers the company uses to handle some U.S. customer service duties. Instead of just being ejected and told to go home, the group was followed by a private security group from the Verizon building and chased through the streets.

After police arrived on the scene, as captured on phone videos viewed by Fortune, a local KMU representative got out of the van to negotiate a truce. Both sides agreed to go to the nearby District 3 police station in Alabang, where the matter was sorted out. Everyone was allowed to go home and the police filed no charges.

The over-the-top reaction by local Verizon officials, however, was just the latest move on both sides in a now month-long strike that seems to be escalating further each day. Verizon has accused union members in the United States of vandalizing company lines and following and harassing replacement workers. The union has taken its picket lines nationwide, called for a boycott of Verizon’s popular wireless service, and even tried to impose severance and stock-based compensation restrictions on management via shareholder proposals at the company’s annual meeting last week in Albuquerque.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Despite all the heat, there’s been little progress in negotiating a settlement. The employees who went on strike generally work from Massachusetts to Virginia installing and servicing Verizon’s wireline telephone and FiOS Internet and television service. They had been working without a contract for nearly 10 months when they walked out on April 13.

The two unions involved, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, say they cannot accept Verizon proposals that would allow additional outsourcing of call center workers to the Philippines and Mexico, greater use of nonunion contractors, and the assignment of employees to other cities for up to two months at a time.

Verizon says is offering a 7.5% wage hike for the new contract over the next few years but also needs new work rules to gain greater flexibility and lower costs as its telephone business shrinks and its wireless business becomes ever more important. Last year, for example, the wireless unit brought in revenue of $91.7 billion, up 5% from a year earlier, and an operating profit of nearly $30 billion. The older wireline unit, which also includes wired video and Internet service, brought in revenue of only $37.7 billion, a 2% decline from the year before, and an operating profit of just $2.2 billion.

In some ways, the call center employees in the Philippines, who work for third parties that contract with Verizon, are caught in the middle.

They are paid less than $2 an hour in regular wages. After the strike began, they were required to work an additional shift— a sixth day per week—plus one to two extra hours of overtime on their normal shifts. But promised overtime pay covering the extra hours has not been forthcoming, according to BIEN. Some call center workers protested by intentionally slowing their work and by reaching out to the U.S. strikers via the world’s most used social network, Facebook.

“We started to investigate on our own why are the U.S. workers on strike,” one call center employee told Fortune in a telephone interview from the Philippines. He asked that his name not be used to protect his job security. “On Facebook, we saw the [U.S.] workers started to have protests, so we made contact.”

The Facebook messages quickly escalated into a plan to meet in the Philippines and draw further attention to Verizon’s use of low-cost, outsourced labor.

When the CWA representative and Verizon workers arrived in the Philippines this week, they participated in a rally on Wednesday outside one of the call center offices in Quezon City near Manila. After passing out leaflets and talking with the workers there, they headed off to the local Verizon headquarters where the confrontation became much more dangerous.

Verizon declined to comment about details of events in the Philippines. But the company accused the union of wasting money and failing to help resolve the strike by sending its representatives across the Pacific.

“Why in the world would the CWA, led by president Chris Shelton, spend tens of thousands of dollars to send a dozen or so CWA members to the Philippines for a fancy vacation at a time when 36,000 of our employees are lucky to get $200 a week from a union strike fund?,” Verizon said in a statement to Fortune. “Union members need to ask Chris Shelton and other union leaders whether they really think this perplexing tactic will lead to a new contract and bring our employees back to work where they get excellent wages, healthcare and retirement benefits.”

[cintrix]

U.S. jobless claims hit 14-month high; analysts blame Verizon strike
the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose last week to a more than one-year high, but economists blamed striking telecommunications workers for the surge and said the data did not signal a deterioration in the overall labor market.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKCN0Y31LN

[Susie924]

LOL, way to go Robert!

[cintrix]

This one is almost amusing:


Verizon: We don't want you to leave the Verizon family, Robert. What issues are you having? How can we turn things around?
- Robert
· May 2 at 9:20pm

Robert: And Verizon is not my family. Please don't insult our intelligence. Tell your bosses that the catch words that the corporate surveys say work are not working.

https://www.facebook.com/verizon

[cintrix]

Funny how they want the conversations to go "private."

[Susie924]

Here are a couple more from Verizon's Facebook page.


Suzy Yungvirt What do I need to do to get the double payment Verizon stole my from checking account refunded to me or applied to my bill?

Like · Reply · 1 · 8 hrs

Verizon We definitely want to do everything that we can to help you Suzy. We apologize if the previous Private Message wasn't received. If you can please send us another message, we will be sure to respond as soon as possible. - Nicole

I guess they want "private" messaging so people can't see how badly they are screwing up.




Stephanie Little My mother in law had her landline service knocked out by Verizon's "trained" replacement workers when they were working down the road from her. Its been over a month and they still have not restored her service. She calls every day and every day customer service tells her that some one will be out that day to make repairs. She has health problems and unreliable cell service. At this point its become a health and safety issue. The MD Public Service Commissioner has been notified and she will be cancelling her service. Its great to see Verizon putting profits over quality customer service.

Galena Jenkins Ojiem Fios you cancelled my installation order and rescheduled it for a month from when I first requested service but sent me a hotspot so I could access TV and internet "right away." This thing is AWFUL. I did a speed test and it says my internet is worse than 96% of consumers. Half the time it says I have no connection at all. I am paying for FIOS not internet that barely works when it feels like it. I was told by three different people that someone would contact me and no one has. So done with them.

Kimberly Dunkin I have also been hung up on twice tonight, after waiting over an hour each time. Online chat representative was unable to help with my billing issue. I am being billed TWICE for the same service and cannot seem to cancel one of them because of the terrible customer service!


Verizon Kimberly, I'm terribly sorry for your whole frustration. Please allow me to check into your situation. Can you please send me a private message to further assist? - Ivone

[cintrix]

Verizon Strike: Customers Report 'Nightmare' Service Delays
Catch up on the latest news about one of the largest worker strikes in modern American history.

Montclair, NJ
By Eric Kiefer (Patch Staff) - May 11, 2016 12:44 pm ET
Verizon Strike: Customers Report 'Nightmare' Service Delays



May 11, 2016 – When almost 40,000 Verizon employees went on strike last month, touching off one of the largest labor actions in recent United States history, many of the company’s customers were left wondering how it would affect their service.

As the strike approaches its fifth week, some now have answers to that question: service has gotten worse.

The company had said it was “fully prepared to serve its customers” when the work stoppage started on April 13.

“We do not take strike threats lightly,” said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon’s wireline network operations. “For more than a year, we’ve been preparing in the event union leaders order our employees to walk off the job. If a strike takes place, whether it’s one day, two weeks or longer, we are ready.”

Company spokespeople reiterated this message a few weeks into the strike, stating that the labor activity was having “a very minimal impact” on its operations.

On April 29, Verizon announced that it began "deploying thousands of additional employees and contractors" to serve its customers during the strike.

“While we’d rather have our seasoned veterans in these positions, each day, more and more customers are giving us high marks in that their inquiries and issues are being successfully resolved in our call centers and in the field,” Mudge said. “We are taking additional steps to ensure our services are available as our customers deserve and expect. Our employees are proudly working hard in our customers’ homes and businesses and are getting the job done.”


SERVICE ISSUES

However, union leaders have stated that the company is having more maintenance issues than they’re letting on.

"Regulators in three states are already investigating Verizon for its refusal to keep up with network maintenance and wear and tear… the root of many ongoing service problems,” CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor and CWA District 2-13 Vice President Edward Mooney stated in a joint news release.

One Verizon customer sent the following email to Patch on April 29:

“I signed up for new service today and the wait time for a technician in Staten Island is June 16. Over a month. Ridiculous. I asked a customer service rep if I could move that up and I sat on hold for a half hour when I just gave up.”

A Cherry Hill resident who wished to remain unnamed reached out to Patch with the following comment on May 2:

“I am a Verizon customer and recently got FiOS right before the strike and it as been nothing short of a nightmare. When FiOS was installed (Internet, phone and TV) on March 30, there was a problem with the phone line. I had a tech scheduled to fix the phone, but then the strike hit on the day the tech was supposed to come out (April 13). Of course, no one showed up. Several days later, 2 techs came to the house on April 17 and they didn't have a clue as to how to fix my phone, so they called 2 more techs to come and help. They were at the house from 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and the 4 of them completely botched my phone and made it even worse.”

She continued:

“Since then, I have spent close to 40 hours on the phone trying to explain my phone issues and to get techs to the house who can fix my phone… When I called to get a credit for the phone portion of my bill, they sent me to the Collections Department. I've never missed a payment on anything in my life and the bill isn't due until 5/16. They left a bunch of jerry rigged wires hanging from the ceiling in my basement, which are held together by a phone jack. I've never seen anything like it. It looks like a fire hazard to me.”

Other Verizon customers that have reported alleged service issues include:

The owner of an auto body shop in Tonawanda, NY, claims that his business has suffered because the company has refused to make service appointments or provide adequate technical support
The owner of Fortunata’s Bakery in Milford, Delaware, said that her company has been unable to install equipment for a month

Some alleged customers have taken to social media to voice their frustration.
http://patch.com/new-jersey/montclair/verizon-strike-customers-report-nightmare-service-delays-0

[cintrix]

Verizon reports results of preliminary shareholder vote at 2016 annual meeting
PR Newswire Verizon Communications Inc.
6 minutes ago



ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) has announced preliminary results of the shareholder vote at its annual meeting here today.

The company reported that Verizon's shareholders elected each of Verizon's 13 directors to a one-year term, with Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam receiving over 95 percent of the vote, and ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm. The shareholders overwhelmingly approved the compensation of the company's executive officers as described in the 2016 proxy statement, with over 92 percent of the vote.

Despite recent assertions from unions that the company's major shareholders were calling for change, all six of this year's shareholders proposals were defeated.

A proposal regarding an enhanced executive stock retention policy from the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Pension Benefit Fund was soundly defeated with only approximately 7.4 percent of shareholders voting in favor. A proposal from a member of the Association of BellTel Retirees to expand the company's current severance approval policy was defeated for the fourth consecutive year, with approximately 31.3 percent of the vote for and 68.7 percent of the vote against.

A proposal from Kenneth Steiner -- presented at the meeting by a representative of the Communications Workers of America -- requiring an independent chairman of the board was also defeated, with approximately 23.5 percent of the vote for and 76.5 percent against.

The remaining three shareholder proposals were defeated as follows:
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Renewable energy targets: Defeated, with approximately 8.4 percent of the vote for and 91.6 percent of the vote against.

Indirect political spending report: Defeated, with approximately 30.1 percent of the vote for and 69.9 percent of the vote against.

Lobbying activities report: Defeated, with approximately 33.9 percent of the vote for and 66.1 percent of the vote against.

Vote tallies are considered preliminary until the final results are tabulated and certified by independent election inspectors. The final results will be posted on Verizon's website at www.verizon.com.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York City, generated nearly $132 billion in 2015 revenues. Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 112.6 million retail connections nationwide. The company also provides communications and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide
http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:b351f1d794c348d5b9878c5fff055a96

[cintrix]

Verizon Strikers Take Protests Nationwide Ahead of Company's Annual Meeting

by Aaron Pressman

@ampressman

May 5, 2016, 8:19 AM EDT


Wireline workers want to crank up the pressure.

Thousands of workers striking against Verizon Communications plan to expand their protests against the company on Thursday, fanning out to 400 hundred stores and locations across the country, just as the company holds its annual shareholder meeting.

The two unions involved in the walkout, now entering its fourth week, said they would they would set up picket lines outside hundreds of Verizon wireless stores across the country, for the first time not just in the Massachusetts-to-Virginia northeast region where the strike is occurring. That will bring more direct news—and noise—of the strike to consumers from Chicago to San Francisco and Dallas, for example.

Verizon VZ -0.24% and most outside analysts expected that the strike by some 40,000 members of the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers would be settled fairly quickly, as a similar walkout in 2011 ran for only two weeks (though it took another year to agree on a contract). The company is using replacement workers but could feel a financial pinch if the labor action drags on from delayed customer installations. The unions have also called for a boycott of Verizon Wireless.


Now both sides appear to be digging in, with the company adding thousands more replacement workers last week and the CWA tapping its $400 million strike fund to pay benefits to workers who walked off the job. Talks between the sides have occurred sporadically but made no progress.

Increased protests come as the union is also pushing several shareholder proxy measures at Verizon’s annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday. The union, which says its members own $1.3 billion worth of Verizon stock, wants to give shareholders the power to approve future executive severance agreements, require an independent chairman of the board of directors, and impose limits on executives selling shares they receive as part of compensation.

The strike itself, which started when almost 40,000 workers who service and install old-fashioned telephone and FiOS Internet and television services walked out on April 13, is largely about job security. Verizon has made concessions on wages and benefits, but workers are concerned about proposals that could move call center employees to Mexico or the Philippines, outsource more installing jobs to nonunion contractors, and require employees to take assignments in another city for up to two months.



Shares of Verizon were up 0.3% to $50.84 on Wednesday. The company had been one of the top-performing stocks in the market before the strike, but has sold off 1.5% since it began while the S&P 500 Index has gained 0.5%. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said last month the company expected no financial impact from the strike, at least in the second quarter. But now some analysts worry Verizon may have to revisit that forecast.

Verizon is expected to release the results of shareholder proxy votes at its Albuquerque meeting today. The union has won the support of some large pension funds that invest in Verizon but most proxy battles are won by the company management.
http://fortune.com/2016/05/05/verizon-strikers-take-protests-nationwide-ahead-of-companys-annual-meeting/

[Susie924]

What a complete waste of money

[cintrix]

$500,000 sending every member a FedEx package

[Susie924]

Can you imagine what the cost is to send every employee something via FEDEX?

I can remember before my husband retired they used to send out VCR tapes to each employee via FEDEX and I don't know about anyone else but my husband just usually tossed them.

What a complete waste of money IMO.

[Zboricua]

It is not bargaining in good faith, or negotiating at all when you send for Fedex to pick up your "final, best, and last offer" to be mailed to employee homes at 10:08 am, 5 hours before you meet to hear the unions counter proposals. Verizon does nothing in Good faith!!!!!

[cintrix]

lighten up - that wasn't what I was joking about and you know it

[Zboricua]

Yes, I agree it is hilarious especially when sick children no longer have health insurance.

[cintrix]

human lives? rotf well I would hope they don't insure non-human or the non-living

[Zboricua]

It has been reported that 110,000 human lives health care was canceled May 1, 2016 by Verizon. #standup2vz

[cintrix]

Asked why Verizon is holding its annual meeting in Albuquerque, a company spokesman said, "Verizon is a company with extensive national operations, and we hold the annual meeting in different cities to accommodate shareholders in different areas of the country."
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2016/03/29/verizon-executive-pay-shareholder-meeting-abq.html

[Susie924]

Only on 10: Company says Verizon strike hurting patients who need oxygen
BY MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL, NBC 10 NEWS FRIDAY, APRIL 29TH 2016

As Verizon workers enter their third week on strike, a company in Johnston that helps people who are on oxygen said the strike is hurting its patients. (WJAR)

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JOHNSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — As Verizon workers enter their third week on strike, a company in Johnston that helps people who are on oxygen said the strike is hurting its patients.

The staff at Absolute Respiratory Care contacted Verizon with a simple request on Friday morning -- they wanted to install a fax line. But that request took them off the grid.

"When the gentlemen put the work order in, he took us offline," Dana Lesperance, director of marketing and sales at Absolute Respiratory Care, said.

Suddenly, phones stopped ringing. The waiting room cleared out. Employees were no longer able to help the hundreds of patients they talk with daily who are on oxygen or use ventilators.

"We have patients who are on life-sustaining equipment that we need to take care of," Lesperance said. "(These are) patients who come in for their supplies for their medical equipment."

NBC 10 News was there when Verizon arrived to make the repairs -- nearly 8 hours after employees lost service. An entire workday had been lost.

"We just had staff here that were unable to work because we couldn't get on our server. There was no phone to answer except for one phone that was being routed to one person's cell phone," Lesperance said.

Those on the picket line in Warwick told NBC 10 they're not surprised by the growing list of problems they're hearing from Verizon customers. They said replacement workers just can't fill the void.

"You can see that in a short two weeks we've goT a lot of customers out there having a lot of problems. That would not happen if we were at work," said Joseph Bizon, a Verizon employee who's on strike. He's demanding better pay and that jobs don't get outsourced?

[Zboricua]

Why is the shareholders meeting in New Mexico?

[cintrix]

Marc Reed has said on numerous occasions how prepared they are for the work stoppage. How prepared are they? Take a look at these two videos:

https://www.facebook.com/370169933000679/videos/1209592969058367/

https://www.facebook.com/341502500318/videos/10156876378095319/

... Verizon has said it has trained thousands of temporary replacements to weather the coming storm.

"We are very prepared," said Verizon chief administrative officer Marc Reed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/04/12/its-official-verizons-workers-are-going-on-strike/

[cintrix]

Did you notice how the company posted this seconds after they pr'd that they made an offer:
http://www.verizon.com/about/portal/laborfacts/

I find that sneaky and manipulative on their part. They had these ridiculous videos all setup prior to making the offer. They also released a pr right after their "offer pr" about possible sabotage. Does Marc Reed really think people don't see right through him?

[Zboricua]

Many of you have asked why we didn't take the deal offered from the company yesterday. The following is the reason. It is a list of bullet points put together by the bargaining team.

Specifics from yesterday's Proposal

· Job Security

Job security would remain in place for those hired prior to 2003 provided the union agrees to increase the mileage people can be moved from 35 to 50 miles, and force transfers requiring home relocation, permanent transfers requiring home relocation and the company wants complete control over where and when they offer a Special Enhanced Income Plan, which will lead to those jobs being performed by contractors

· Significant retiree healthcare increases

· New hires would not receive any retiree healthcare at all.

· 11 Centers are still on the list to be closed, shipping people up to 150 miles away from their current location.

· Freezing the Pensions, tying the 2016 Mortality Table to the Pension fund from this point on

· Changes to the healthcare plan, including deductibles

· Introducing a Formulary to the healthcare. The company will decide which drugs you can get based on their cost, regardless of their effectiveness or your doctor’s recommendation

· Call sharing that does not promise to maintain existing centers and gives the company complete freedom to route calls however they choose

· Increasing the flexibility of their ability to send calls to contractors, which positions our members for a surplus or layoff

· There will be no Corporate Profit Sharing in 2016, paid out in 2017

· There will be no retro pay for the last year of working without a contract

· Company is trying to sell this agreement by offering 400 jobs without any promises of keeping current levels of employees

· Even though the company has modified sending people out of town for 60 days, the intent is clear to be able to have a traveling work force in the states that are clustered together

Issues the Union has brought up

· They have not addressed any of the forced overtime issues at all

· They have not addressed our issues with Electronic Monitoring and Evaluative Observations

[Zboricua]

The ongoing strike by nearly 40,000 Verizon workers—the largest work stoppage in the United States in recent years—is a bold fight against the kind of strategies that big corporations have used for decades to maximize profits at the expense of workers.

#VerizonStrike #StandUp2Vz

[Zboricua]

That does not include employees hired after 2003. VZ has hired a multitude of employees in the past 13 years. VZ treats it's employees like chattel.

[Susie924]

Statement by the Communications Workers of America on Negotiations with Verizon

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Responding to Verizon’s refusal to drop proposals that would hurt the families of nearly 40,000 striking workers, Dennis G. Trainor, Vice President, CWA District One and Ed Mooney, Vice President, CWA District 2-13, issued the following statement:

Verizon workers remain on strike and are standing strong on the picket lines. At negotiating sessions in Westchester and Philadelphia today, executives refused to back off of callous proposals that would hurt working families and destroy middle class jobs, including shipping jobs overseas and outsourcing work. The company also failed to budge on the issues facing Verizon Wireless workers. Verizon workers, customers and shareholders need the company to get serious about negotiations and building a stronger company.

Customer opinion of Verizon has hit a three-year low as Verizon executives refuse to settle a contract that would put skilled technicians and experienced customer service workers back on the job.

Customers are already tired of the wait times, unsafe work practices and poor service being provided by untrained management replacement workers.

Shareholders are going to feel the impact of a prolonged strike that executives could easily end, and they're already risking financial losses as Verizon breaks promises to local communities and fails to maintain lines in multiple states.

It’s time for Verizon to set aside its obsession with short term profits and exorbitant salaries for a few executives. It’s time for Verizon to start bargaining in good faith in order to preserve good middle-class jobs and ensure that customers receive the high quality service they deserve.

The union is currently considering its next steps in the bargaining process.
PRESS CONTACT:

[cintrix]

Representatives for the unions involved, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, blasted the proposal. “The talks were extremely disappointing,” Robert Master, a spokesman for the CWA said of the unions’ assessment. “It does not seem serious.”http://fortune.com/2016/04/28/verizon-offer-strikers-unimpressed/?xid=yahoo_fortune

[cintrix]

Verizon (VZ) Makes 'Last, Best and Final Offer' During Meeting with Unions

April 28, 2016 3:34 PM EDT Tweet Share E-mail



http://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Verizon+%28VZ%29+Makes+Last,+Best+and+Final+Offer+During+Meeting+with+Unions/11556185.html

After more than 10 months of negotiating, Verizon today presented union leaders from the CWA and IBEW with an updated comprehensive proposal for about 36,000 wireline employees in the company's Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

As part of this last, best and final offer, the company increased its wage offer to 7.5 percent over the term of the contract. The company is also offering continued access to high quality healthcare at an affordable cost and generous retirement benefits.

"We're putting our last, best final offer on the table, one that provides the foundation for quality jobs now and in the future," said Marc Reed, Verizon's chief administrative officer. "From the beginning, our goal has been to reach an agreement that's fair to our employees, good for our customers and helps our company better compete in the digital world. This offer meets those objectives. A better offer would be hard to find."

Among the highlights in the company's last, best final offer:

Wages: 7.5 percent wage increase over the term of the contract.
Job security (layoff protection): If an employee has job security today, that will be retained for the term of the contract provided the company gets increased flexibility in managing and deploying the workforce, through measures such as voluntary retirement incentive offers and other workforce flexibility changes.
Retirement benefits: The generous 401k company match will continue. Eligible employees will also continue to participate in a pension plan with three annual increases subject to a 30 year cap.
Healthcare: The company is maintaining excellent healthcare coverage, with increases in contributions and some plan design changes that will help in efforts to better manage escalating costs.
"Verizon has always offered excellent jobs with outstanding compensation and benefit packages, and with this very competitive contract offer that will continue," Reed said. "The ball is now in the unions' court to do what's right for our employees."

This offer also includes the company's final proposals regarding call routing, contracting, and temporary work assignments. Specifics vary by region, but full details can be found at www.verizon.com/laborfacts.

[cintrix]

Proposal has been made by company - they say it is their last offer.

[cintrix]

You are now saying "spotty" when your original statement was that cell service was non existent.

[Zboricua]

Cell service was spotty at best. Many towers were damaged by the storms. BTW, I was not referring to Sandy

[Susie924]

I went to work. We had power there but not at home

[cintrix]

Cell phones were our lifesavers - that was the only way to communicate - no landlines, no tv, no radio - except when you were in the car but all the traffic lights were not working so it was too dangerous to drive. I spent a lot of time at the mall and would see half my neighborhood there . Everyone was there powering up their cells.

[Susie924]

We were out sporadically duirng Sandy.

[cintrix]

When the East Coast was hit with 2 hurricanes 4 years ago, cell service was not existant.
What? I don't know where you are getting this from. Maybe your area was down, but I live in one of the worst hit areas during Sandy and never once lost my cell service. We had no landline because we have fios and the backup battery died after a few hours. Read this:

http://qz.com/21909/hurricane-sandy-and-cell-phone-network-service/