Locals strike as talks break down

SCRANTON – Local employees of Verizon Communications, Inc., were among the 45,000 workers on strike across the country when negotiations for a new labor contract broke down, demonstrating downtown on Monday with signs accusing their employer of “corporate greed.”

The contract, which expired at midnight on Aug. 6, covers workers in Verizon’s wireline division, which includes local-phone operations, services for businesses and governments, and long-haul wholesale traffic. Verizon is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, and the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre offices handle customer service and operator assistance.

“Nothing was moving. They’ve been bargaining since June (22) and there was no leeway. Nothing was being resolved. There was no compromise. It was at a standstill,” strike captain Julie Brominski said while picketing behind the Verizon customer service center at 121 Adams Ave. in downtown Scranton.

“A lot of this is just job security. We want to keep our jobs, keep them here, and keep good jobs with health care. We want to protect the middle class because collective bargaining, it seems, is going away, and we want to keep it.”

Workers and supporters wearing red shirts gathered for a demonstration on Courthouse Square and walked with protest signs in front of and behind the Adams Avenue location. A Verizon employee for 20 years, Brominski believes that she and her co-workers are only asking for what they deserve after years of dedication.

“I feel that we all work very hard…. We’re not asking for anything crazy – a nice wage, good benefits, and to keep our jobs here. A lot of it is being outsourced,” she explained.

“We’re bringing money into the company. We’re the front line as customer service. We’re the ones selling the products and bringing in the income. It’s only fair.”

Don Engleman, president of Communications Workers of America Local 13000 Unit 34, told The Times Leader that he and the 147 other members of the local bargaining unit would continue demonstrating outside the Verizon office on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre “as long as it takes” and until the strike is over, though they are “ready to go back to work as soon as progress is made at the bargaining table.” Another Courthouse Square demonstration was held on Friday by Scranton employees and members of Northeast Pennsylvania Area Labor Federation and NEPA Citizens in Action.

The CWA contends that talks in Philadelphia and New York broke down after Verizon demanded over 100 unjustified concessions from workers regarding health care, pensions, and work rules, citing the company’s $27.5 billion second quarter profit. Engleman said top Verizon management was paid about $268 million of that amount.

Workers covered by the expired contract include 10,000 employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, serving as telephone and repair technicians, customer service representatives, operators, and more.

“Even at the 11th hour, as contracts were set to expire, Verizon continued to seek to strip away 50 years of collective bargaining gains for middle class workers and their families,” the CWA said in an Aug. 7 statement.

With its headquarters based in New York, Verizon employs nearly 196,000 workers, 135,000 being non-union, and provides more than 106 million total connections nationwide.

On their website, Verizon claims their technicians, in certain markets, earn as much as $91,000 a year with overtime and more than $50,000 in benefits. The company said that they are proposing that union employees pay a portion of their health care premiums, as most “pay nothing” for these premiums while the majority of employees do.

According to an Aug. 7 press release, Verizon has a contingency plan in place to ensure customers experience limited disruption in service during the strike. Thousands of “management employees, retirees and others” will take on the responsibilities of the union workers until an agreement can be reached.

GL News

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