Strike of 40,000 Verizon workers in US into third week
The largest strike in the US since 2011 is into its third week as more than 40,000 workers, members of the Communication Workers’ of America (CWA), fight outsourcing and offshoring by the company. The strike also includes retail staff in New York who are fighting for their first contract.
The strike follows 10 months of negotiations between the union and the company, where Verizon has maintained their stance over the following issues:
- outsourcing contact center jobs to the Philippines and Mexico.
- outsourcing of certain US based jobs to low-wage contractors.
- Provisions that would allow the company at a moment’s notice to transfer workers up to 1,000kms away from their homes and families for up to two months at a time.
In 2015, Verizon made US$4.31 billion in the first three months of 2016, up from US$4.22 billion in the same period a year earlier. Over the past three years, Verizon has reported US$39 billion in profits.
One of the effected Verizon Contact Center workers Mandy Poe, said that she was on strike “for my future and my children’s future”. Jennifer Masferrer, who also works at a Verizon Contact Center said, “my fight for my family is important, my fight for my home is important, my fight for my sweet girls is important and I’m willing to go on strike for that.”
Verizon technician Dan Hylton said that, “the biggest issue for me is that the company wants to relocate jobs on a moment’s notice. We are all husbands, fathers, daughters, sons and when you’re asking someone to move in some cases out of state for up to four months at a time it’s nearly impossible.”
UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “UNI Global Union stands with Verizon workers in their fight for decent jobs and decent pay. These workers and their families deserve a life and not to be constantly living at the whim of Verizon.”
Alan Tate, the head of the ICTS division of UNI Global Union, which includes telecommunications, said, “we stand in solidarity with the brave workers of Verizon in the United States in the face of the company’s brutal attack on their living standards and way of life”.
CWA has expressed concern that safety violations are occurring as Verizon rushes to maintain its network using unqualified contractors, a practice the union says is likely to increase as the company pushes to outsource more jobs.
Respond
CWA is asking that supporters sign the following petition to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam