When Verizon’s eastern division refused to bargain with officials from the CWA and IBEW regarding maintenance of basic contractual language and over a billion dollars worth of employee concessions, 45,000 workers hit the streets in protest.
Because a hit to one worker is a step backward from progress for all workers, the Teamsters were there at the request of the I.B.T. to send support and stand in solidarity. The message: WE ARE ONE. If politicians and corporate executives want to send our jobs over seas, the people can band together in protest with a resounding, “NO!” There can be zero allowances for outsourcing, offshoring, or anything that takes jobs away from American families, thus putting the basic tenets of unionism, economic independence, and American pride at risk.
There is no reason for Verizon, with its billions of dollars in profit, to demand its workforce to make concessions that will impact the economy for all Americans. It’s deliberate corporate warfare against consumers as well as the working class and completely unconscionable.
Beginning this week, Verizon will resume negotiations with union leadership in good faith as it has for the past two contracts. The strike is over (at least for now), which is great news for the 45,000 families who were scheduled to lose all medical benefits after August 31st. Striking workers are to report back to regular duties on Tuesday, according to the official CWA web site.
Let’s continue to show these workers our unity. If you have a Verizon account, remind the company that you support the workers and want to see its wireless division unionized as well.
Even though there was no official call to duty or notification on behalf of Teamsters Local Union 767 President Wesley Jenkins regarding the CWA’s organized picket line, volunteers from the membership were still there to support solidarity and represent union pride on the rainy Saturday morning. The CWA members were a great bunch of folks, adding, “Next time you guys need us, let us know. We’re there to help!”
Fight the good fight, and stand strong!
All images: Beatrice Garcia, with exception of second-to-last: Karen Berry.
