The Verizon Corporation is asking its workforce to accept wage and benefit reductions—despite being a very profitable company. Morgan Stanley’s recent analysis shows Verizon’s net income from ongoing operations was $13.9 billion in 2010, up more than 16 percent from 2007. No wonder Verizon’s stock has outpaced that of the S&P index and other telecommunication’s firms, something Verizon itself brags about in its last annual report. How, then, can Verizon freeze current workers’ pensions and eliminate pensions for new workers? Ask their workers to accept reductions in holidays (to seven), reduced sick pay and the substitution of the current health plan with one having high deductibles and contributions? The unions involved estimate that benefit and wage reductions would total $20,000 per worker each year.
Understandably, the workers have gone on strike. This labor conflict, however, is a microcosm of a broader trend in our economy, one that is not healthy for overall growth and certainly not conducive to improved living standards for America’s working families.
American workers are beset by a deep recession that continues with no end in sight. Unemployment has been roughly 9 percent or above each month for over two years and underemployment has correspondingly remained at 16 percent or more. At some point over the course of the year, one out of three workers (four out of 10 Hispanic or black workers) will be unemployed or underemployed. Simply put, we have been stuck for a long time with unemployment that is worse than even the worst moments of the last two recessions. The consequence is that a June poll showed that 43 percent of adults have been either unemployed or have an unemployed family member. Some 61 percent of respondents knew a family member or friend (or themselves) who personally experienced a reduction in wages, benefits, or hours worked. The misery from persistent high unemployment is widely shared. Unfortunately, the consensus of forecasters expects unemployment to still be 8.5 percent at the end of 2012, so the misery will continue.
In stark contrast, businesses are doing exceedingly well. The Commerce Department has recently reported that corporate profits have increased by a third since the start of the recession: this is a very impressive gain since the economy is still smaller than it was before the recession began. Not surprisingly, the total amount of wages and benefits earned by workers has yet to return to pre-recession levels. What we have is an economy in which businesses and highest-income households do very well even when the vast majority is deeply hurting. Over the last four quarters only 73.7 percent of the income generated in the corporate sector went to employees in wages and benefits, the lowest share since during World War 2, when wages were deliberately suppressed. Correspondingly, the 26.3 percent share of corporate output going to profits is the highest since the World Was II years.
This is not a national accomplishment of which we should be proud, nor one that augurs well for the future. And it didn’t happen by accident. This outcome is a reflection of the continued disempowerment of America’s workers that has emerged from three decades of eroding labor standards, deregulation, privatization, globalization, weakened labor laws and other policy choices that have given employers the upper hand. Policies that were supposed to make us better off have led to a deterioration of job quality and an increase in economic insecurity.
The results are that wages are not growing as they should, which is holding back consumer spending (and not allowing households to pay off their debts). All of which, in turn, is holding back the economy. This mugging of the workforce—what else can you call wage and benefit reductions in the face of high profitability?—occurs because it can, because employers can have their way with most workers. Verizon and other employers may think this is simply good strategy for their businesses, but it undercuts our ability to provide robust growth and to ensure a rising living standard and some basic economic security (health, retirement) for workers and their families.
In this light, the resistance of Verizon workers can be seen as an attempt to maintain a reasonable labor standard in the workplace, the standard by which profitable firms share improvements in productivity with their employees. If Verizon workers are forced to accept givebacks, this will only have negative consequences for other workers, further constraining consumption and growth. It is unusual these days for workers to go on strike so the Verizon workers deserve our admiration. What we need is for the Verizon workers to be successful and for their example to be followed by other sectors in the economy. I wish them well, and so should we all.
Verizon has notified the National Union that they intend to perform all the work associated with the following functions:
Corporate Telecom Services
Cable Locate Work
Coin Collection Work
FiberSolutionsCenter Work
We have responded to the Company that their notification to us was a wake up call to our membership. Clearly this notification shows their intent to move all the work to contractors. This was not a simple “six (6) month notification letter” but part of a Strategic Corporate Plan to destroy our bargaining unit. If Verizon believes they can destroy our Union they should know that they may get destroyed in the process.
It is time for every member to send a message to their managers. We have had enough. We are tired of Verizon sending our work to contractors. We are not taking it any more. It’s time to Fight Back !
Beginning April 4, 2011, on the National Day of Action, CWA will join forces with all Unions in this country and form a coalition with many organizations in this country to fight back.
Every member must be ready to Mobilize on April 4, 2011. There will be Mobilization at the worksite during the day and there will be separate events in the evening throughout the country and in your area. We will have more details about both activities next week.
On April 4, 2011 let’s send Verizon and the rest of Corporate America a clear message and tell them exactly what we feel about their notification letter. We are tired of Verizon sending our work to contractors. We have had enough. It’s time to Fight Back !!
Safety Pendants for Elderly and Disabled Family Members
New Work and Family Initiative
Enrollment Guidelines
This is a pilot program, eligibility for enrollment ends when allocated funds are depleted. All employees will be eligible on a first come first serve basis. Employees can enroll at any time during the 2010-year. Members who are interested in participating in the program should download the Pendant Enrollment Application from this site or visit
NYS Workers’ Compensation Board Implements Medical Treatment Guidelines
On December 1, 2010, the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) implemented mandatory medical treatment guidelines.These guidelines apply to all neck, back, shoulder and knee injury cases regardless of the date of the accident. The guidelines apply to treating medical providers (doctors, chiropractors, psychologists and others as defined by law).Even though physical and occupational therapists are notdefined as treating medical providers, the guidelines also apply to them.Unfortunately, physical and occupational therapists cannot request optional prior approval or a variance.
If the treatment is consistent with the guidelines, the treatment is authorized without requiring prior authorization, regardless of the cost of the treatment.
The health care provider is required to provide medical justification that supports the variance request.
In all likelihood, the amount of chiropractic and physical therapy treatment will becomemore limited.It is important to remember that for the first time, the Workers’ Compensation Board has written treatment guidelines that may or may not make it easier and faster for the proper type of treatment to be delivered.Your health care provider must become familiar with the process and follow the steps in a timely fashion.
May 17th, 2010
Today the Riverhead Town Council held a press conference to announce a bill to amend Chapter 92 of the Riverhead Town Code. This bill will hold the utilities on the poles responsible to move their plant off of the double and broken poles. This bill will also require the removal of these double poles. The press conference was led by Councilman James Wooten. Also in attendance was Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter, Councilman John Dunleavy and Councilwoman Jodi Giglio. Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine was in attendance, as he has Co-sponsored a similar bill in the Suffolk County Legislature. CWA 1108 had president Robert Morrow and Business Agents Ivan Millian, Dave Lamberson and Michael Gendron to thank them all for their support of the working men and women of CWA 1108.
An agreement has been reached with the company which vastly improves not only the Income Protection Plan (IPP) package, but the Pension package, as well as contracting protection, and job protection for the post-2003 employee in the Representative and FiberSolutionCenter titles.
The details are as follows:
Supplemental Voluntary Termination (IPP Bonus) payment is increased from $10,000 to $50,000.
The 30 year cap on the IPP payouts has been raised to 40 years, with the payouts for years 30 through 40 increased accordingly. This almost doubles some of the payouts for 40 year employees.
The pension band increase of 3.75% scheduled for October will be made effective the last day on the payroll for4 anyone leaving with this packege.
The calculations for anyone taking the lump sum pension will be based on the March figure (very low interest rate/high payout) or the figure in effect when selected, whichever pays out more.
Waive the pension reduction for retirement before age 55, the pension penalty will no longer apply for those leaving with this offer.
Company agrees it will not increase contracting as a result of people taking this package.
The amount of contracting will be based on the Full Time Equivalent Employees (FTE) rather than dollars spent, so a cheaper contract will not skew the numbers.
The Union and the company will continue talking under Article 55 to continue to reduce surpluses.
The company agreed it will not lay-off any post-2003 employees in the representative title or the Fiber Solution Center (FSC) titles before May, 2011.
The enhanced package will be offered to ALL employees, whether declared surplus or not. (Except Verizon Business and Video Hub)
ALL moulding work associated with the placement of MDU’s will be returned to the bargaining unit within 60 days -
The company has agreed to take back additional Central Office Equipment Installation (COEI) work.
4/27/2010
We have been notified that the scheduling center will be dissolved and the function of scheduling time off will be done by the local supervisors as soon as they are trained to use the software. Thank you to the Chiefs and Stewrds for making sure most were given the time off that was needed. More details to follow.
April 5th, 2010 - Layoff Status
Once again, David Mintz was appointed counsel for the Communication's Worker's of America. He will be representing our brother's and sister's in their upcoming arbitration case against Verizon for unjustly laying them off last year. At this time, they are in the process of picking an arbitrator, and feel very confident we will prevail.
Rally at City Hall for Prevention of Layoffs 11/12/09
September 17, 2009
Verizon Boss Hangs Up on Landline Phone Business By Saul Hansell, New York Times
Roll over in your grave, Alexander Graham Bell.
That was in effect what Ivan Seidenberg, the chief executive of Verizon Communications -– one of the largest descendants of the old Bell System — declared this morning.
Speaking to a Goldman Sachs investor conference, Mr. Seidenberg said Verizon was simply no longer concerned with telephones that are connected with wires.
All traditional phone companies are suffering because many customers are canceling their landlines in order to use phone service from their cable companies or simply to rely on their cellphones. Speaking earlier at the Goldman conference, Randall Stephenson, chief executive of AT&T, and Ed Mueller, head of Qwest Communications, both talked about seeing a day when their landline businesses would stop shrinking.
Mr. Seidenberg said that his “thinking has matured” and that trying to predict when the company would stop losing voice landlines “is like the dog chasing the bus.”
In other words, that snipping sound you hear around copper phone lines is just going to get louder.
This prospect, however, doesn’t rattle him.
Not only does Verizon control the largest mobile phone company in the country, it has also largely moved away from copper wires. Verizon is selling off most of its operations in rural areas and is spending billions to wire most of the rest of its territory with its fiber optic network, or FiOS.
FiOS, of course, offers voice calling as well as video and Internet service, but from now on, traditional phone service will be more of an add-on than the centerpiece of Verizon’s offerings to consumers (much as voice service is treated today by cable firms).
“Video is going to be the core product in the fixed-line business,” Mr. Seidenberg declared. And the focus will move from selling bundles of video and landline to video and cellphones, he added.
By converting most of its landline operation to FiOS, Mr. Seidenberg said Verizon had a new opportunity to cut costs sharply. FiOS uses the decentralized structure of the Internet rather than the traditional design of phone systems, which route all traffic through a tree of regional, then local offices.
“We don’t look any different than Google,” he said. “We can begin to look at eliminating central offices, call centers and garages.”
Mr. Seidenberg said that he was just beginning to work through the implications of this and that he planned to reorganize the company in order to emphasize this strategy. He told investors it may take a year or two for the financial impact to be apparent.
Mr. Seidenberg criticized himself for not seeing this sooner. “I could have done a better job of accelerating the idea that fiber creates productivity opportunities,” he said.
But Mr. Seidenberg also talked of the psychological lift he had gotten from finally escaping from the shadow of the legendary Bell.
“Once I shed myself of the burden of chasing the inflection point in access lines and say ‘I don’t care about that anymore,’ I am actually liberated,” he said.
