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CWA Launches Latest Radio Ads in Eight Regions Slamming Verizon?s Failure to Develop FiOS Broadband

07 Aug, 2015

Despite $18 Billion in Profits in Last 18 Months, Verizon Still Insisting on Slashing Job Security, Health Care, and Retirement Security Union Stands Ready to Bargain; Workers Prepared to Strike if Needed New York – The Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced today a series of eight radio ads slamming Verizon’s failure to build out universal FiOS broadband across the East Coast as it outsources jobs and cuts workers’ pay. The 30-second ads are scheduled to begin running Friday across New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Washington D.C. [full scripts below and audio files can be heard here]. The ads come after Verizon allowed its labor contract to expire on Aug. 1 at midnight, leaving 39,000 CWA and IBEW represented telecom workers from Massachusetts to Virginia without a labor agreement. The company has demanded harsh job security, health care and retirement security concessions from its workers, despite making profits of $28 billion over the last five years and paying its top five executives $249 million during that time. “Verizon continues to play games with its workers and its customers. Despite our best efforts, the company refuses to engage in a serious negotiation towards a fair contract for its workers. At the same time, its customers continue to suffer because of decaying infrastructure and poor service quality. Verizon has earned $1billion each month in profits for the last 18 months, while steps to build its high-speed FiOS network into low-income cities like Baltimore, Buffalo and Bethlehem, PA have yet to be seen,” said Bob Master, Legislative and Political Director for CWA District One. “Enough is enough. It’s time for Verizon to give their workers a fair deal and give their customers the service they deserve. It’s time for them to come to the bargaining table and negotiate.” Verizon has not significantly moved off its outrageous initial bargaining demands, made on June 22nd, which includes the following proposals: Completely eliminating job security and gaining the right to transfer workers at will anywhere in the company’s footprint. Increasing workers’ health care costs by thousands of dollars per person, despite the fact that negotiations in 2011-2012 have cut the company’s health care costs by tens of millions of dollars over the life of the past contract. Removing any restrictions on the company’s right to contract out and offshore union jobs. This comes on top of Verizon’s outsourcing of thousands of jobs in recent years. Slashing retirement security. Reducing overtime and differential payments. Eliminating the Family Leave Care plan, which provides unpaid leave to care for sick family members or care for a newborn. Eliminating the Accident Disability Plan, which provides benefits to workers injured on the job. At the same time, Verizon refuses to build out FiOS to many underserved communities up and down the East Coast, and has abandoned upkeep of the traditional landline network, leading to extensive service problems for consumers. In these negotiations, the union members’ interest is linked directly to the public interest, since their jobs involve maintaining quality service on traditional landlines and building and servicing Verizon’s state of the art FiOS broadband network.

CWA announced today a series of eight radio ads slamming Verizon’s failure to build out universal FiOS broadband across the East Coast as it outsources jobs and cuts workers’ pay. The 30-second ads are scheduled to begin running Friday across New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Washington D.C. [full scripts below and audio files can be heard here].

The ads come after Verizon allowed its labor contract to expire on Aug. 1 at midnight, leaving 39,000 CWA and IBEW represented telecom workers from Massachusetts to Virginia without a labor agreement. The company has demanded harsh job security, health care and retirement security concessions from its workers, despite making profits of $28 billion over the last five years and paying its top five executives $249 million during that time.

“Verizon continues to play games with its workers and its customers. Despite our best efforts, the company refuses to engage in a serious negotiation towards a fair contract for its workers. At the same time, its customers continue to suffer because of decaying infrastructure and poor service quality. Verizon has earned $1billion each month in profits for the last 18 months, while steps to build its high-speed FiOS network into low-income cities like Baltimore, Buffalo and Bethlehem, PA have yet to be seen,” said Bob Master, Legislative and Political Director for CWA District One. “Enough is enough. It’s time for Verizon to give their workers a fair deal and give their customers the service they deserve. It’s time for them to come to the bargaining table and negotiate.”

Verizon has not significantly moved off its outrageous initial bargaining demands, made on June 22nd, which includes the following proposals:

Completely eliminating job security and gaining the right to transfer workers at will anywhere in the company’s footprint.
Increasing workers’ health care costs by thousands of dollars per person, despite the fact that negotiations in 2011-2012 have cut the company’s health care costs by tens of millions of dollars over the life of the past contract.
Removing any restrictions on the company’s right to contract out and offshore union jobs. This comes on top of Verizon’s outsourcing of thousands of jobs in recent years.
Slashing retirement security.
Reducing overtime and differential payments.
Eliminating the Family Leave Care plan, which provides unpaid leave to care for sick family members or care for a newborn.
Eliminating the Accident Disability Plan, which provides benefits to workers injured on the job.

At the same time, Verizon refuses to build out FiOS to many underserved communities up and down the East Coast, and has abandoned upkeep of the traditional landline network, leading to extensive service problems for consumers. In these negotiations, the union members’ interest is linked directly to the public interest, since their jobs involve maintaining quality service on traditional landlines and building and servicing Verizon’s state of the art FiOS broadband network.

CWA Verizon FiOS Radio Scripts Text

A. NEW YORK