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On Wednesday, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced that it had reached a tentative agreement on terms for a new contract with telecommunications giant Verizon Communications, preserving job security and retirement security for 34,000 workers. Some 11,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are covered under similar agreements. At the same time, CWA announced a tentative agreement between Verizon Wireless and 70 technicians who maintain New York City cell sites.



Union members will meet with leaders in the coming days to discuss the details of the agreement, and a ratification process should take approximately one month.



CWA President Larry Cohen emphasized that workers could claim a win, despite Verizon's tough approach to negotiations and a harsh climate for unions. “Because of what's going on in America, every employer, regardless of its financial wherewithal, believes it's obligated to cut the costs of front-line employees,” Cohen told the New York Times . “But we held our own. This is an incredibly profitable company, and the reality of today in America is if you hold your own, that's a victory.”



Edwin D. Hill, president of the IBEW said that the agreement “allows us to move forward and continue to fight for good middle-class jobs at Verizon in the years to come.”



The path to this agreement has been a long one, requiring more than 13 months and an epic mobilization campaign led by workers, their families, and allies. This victory would not have been possible without the strong support and solidarity of our allies—including Jobs with Justice, the AFL-CIO, Central Labor Councils and state federations, Change to Win, countless community organizations, faith-based organizations, and elected leaders.



Bargaining committees elected by membership began negotiations with the company on June 22, 2011. Verizon came to the table with demands for massive givebacks, including cuts in real wages, pensions, job security, and healthcare, and further outsourcing of union jobs. The company refused to budge and negotiations stalled. Members and allies mobilized on a massive scale as contract expiration loomed.



The Verizon contract expired on August 6, 2011, and 45,000 members of the CWA and IBEW across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast hit the picket lines, in a strike that lasted two weeks. Upon returning to work, and for the next 12 months, members and allies kept up the pressure on Verizon through vigorous on-the-job actions, highly visible leafleting in front of Verizon Wireless stores, rallies, and days of action.



Last July, after months of stalled negotiations, the unions sought help from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Verizon agreed, but said their negotiators would stay at the table for only one week. Members and allies turned up the heat again. Members began practice picketing, handing out strike assignments, and supporters took to the streets in actions targeting Verizon board members and Verizon Wireless stores. Our actions kept the company at the table.



And seven weeks later, we have an agreement we can take to all members. Highlights of the new agreement include:

An 8 percent pay raise over the next three years.

Preservation of existing job security language, including no layoffs of workers hired before 2003 and limits on relocating work.

Preservation of provisions limiting Verizon's right to reassign workers long distances from their homes.

Preservation of the existing pension plan for all current employees.

In an additional agreement, Verizon Wireless workers successfully negotiated for no concessions and substantial wage increases.



CWA is hopeful that the agreements will lead to additional investment and jobs going forward.



The Struggle Continues. In an era when the middle class is under attack and unions are on the defensive, union bargaining teams credited the mobilization of tens of thousands of members and allies in the labor and progressive communities with making a major difference in the outcome of the negotiations. We couldn't have done it without your commitment and activism.



But while CWA and IBEW members in the East have reached a tentative agreement and are looking ahead to the ratification process, CWA members at Verizon in the Southwest are still bargaining with the company. Their contract was extended and expires at the end of this month, and members continue to mobilize.



The contract for members in California will expire in March 2013, and they have already begun to prepare for bargaining and mobilization.



We know that neither this story nor our solidarity ends here. Members in the East will not forget that members in other regions need their support. And we know that our allies—union members and families, community activists, people of faith, and elected leaders—will continue to stand with Verizon workers to fight for good jobs wherever the company does business.