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2003 Verizon Bargaining Gets Underway Week of June 23
Washington, D.C.-- Contracts covering nearly 60,000 members of the Communications Workers of America at Verizon East in New York, New England and the mid-Atlantic states expire Aug. 2. Regional negotiations will get underway June 23 in New York City for New York and New England CWA represented workers, and on June 26 in Washington, D.C., for workers in the mid-Atlantic region.
CWA President Morton Bahr said the union was going into contract talks with Verizon with the goal of reaching a fair agreement, and on time.
"The success of Verizon is important to our members. They are shareholders in the company, through their 401(k) plans, and have their livelihoods and the well-being of their families invested in Verizon," he said. "I'm optimistic that we can reach a fair settlement, especially if Verizon is serious about its stated goal of working in partnership with us."
Bahr pointed out that over the decades, CWA and Verizon have worked in partnership in several areas, including creating a managed health care system that helped preserve quality benefits for workers while controlling costs, and nationally recognized education and training programs that enable workers to get the skills the industry's changing technology demands.
"What happens at Verizon is important to our members. We don't want to see service quality suffer because of a lack of investment in plant and equipment and skilled workers, and that's exactly what has been happening. Last year, Verizon cut investment by 39 percent. Ignoring and cutting back on needed repairs affects quality service, as we've seen in the New York region and elsewhere," he said.
The preservation of quality jobs and access to jobs in the new growth areas of the company are key union bargaining goals. Improvements in pensions and a wage increase that accounts for Verizon workers' increased productivity are other key issues.
Industry and Verizon Outlook
The telecom industry has been in a slump, but Verizon is still leading the industry or near the top in a number of indicators. Verizon leads the industry in 2002 revenues at $67.6 billion. It
reported the second highest profits for that year (after SBC) of $4.1 billion. It is now the third largest long distance provider.
Even in this current telecom sector slump, Verizon's productivity level – because of CWA members' skills – is more than twice the national average. The U.S. productivity rate grew 5.9 percent between 2000-2002. In that same period, Verizon's productivity, measured in revenue per employee, grew 14.9 percent.
Bargaining Information
CWA represents 75,000 Verizon workers nationwide and nearly 60,000 workers covered by the contracts expiring Aug. 2. This round of bargaining spans three CWA districts and involves two major contracts, corresponding to the former NYNEX and Bell Atlantic operations. CWA represents technicians, customer service and marketing representatives, operators and clerical workers at Verizon. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers also is bargaining for contracts expiring Aug. 2.
Verizon East – New York and New England
New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire
[Note: Connecticut service is supplied by SBC]
CWA District 1Vice President is Larry Mancino.
Total District 1 CWA-represented: 27,000
Verizon East – Mid Atlantic Region
Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia
CWA District 2 Vice President is Peter Catucci.
Pennsylvania, Delaware
CWA District 13 Vice President is Vincent Maisano.
New Jersey
(Part of District 1, but bargains with the Mid-Atlantic Region)
Total Mid-Atlantic CWA-represented: 30,000
Additional information
Issues and information about Verizon bargaining are available at ga.cwa-union.org/verizon. Media relations are handled in Washington, D.C., by Jeff Miller, CWA communications director, and Candice Johnson, associate director. We can be reached by phone at 202-434-1168 and e-mail at jmiller@cwa-union.org and cjohnson@cwa-union.org. As bargaining nears the contract expiration date, we will be providing frequent updates as events warrant. Please contact us for any information or assistance needed.
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CWA President Morton Bahr said the union was going into contract talks with Verizon with the goal of reaching a fair agreement, and on time.
"The success of Verizon is important to our members. They are shareholders in the company, through their 401(k) plans, and have their livelihoods and the well-being of their families invested in Verizon," he said. "I'm optimistic that we can reach a fair settlement, especially if Verizon is serious about its stated goal of working in partnership with us."
Bahr pointed out that over the decades, CWA and Verizon have worked in partnership in several areas, including creating a managed health care system that helped preserve quality benefits for workers while controlling costs, and nationally recognized education and training programs that enable workers to get the skills the industry's changing technology demands.
"What happens at Verizon is important to our members. We don't want to see service quality suffer because of a lack of investment in plant and equipment and skilled workers, and that's exactly what has been happening. Last year, Verizon cut investment by 39 percent. Ignoring and cutting back on needed repairs affects quality service, as we've seen in the New York region and elsewhere," he said.
The preservation of quality jobs and access to jobs in the new growth areas of the company are key union bargaining goals. Improvements in pensions and a wage increase that accounts for Verizon workers' increased productivity are other key issues.
Industry and Verizon Outlook
The telecom industry has been in a slump, but Verizon is still leading the industry or near the top in a number of indicators. Verizon leads the industry in 2002 revenues at $67.6 billion. It
reported the second highest profits for that year (after SBC) of $4.1 billion. It is now the third largest long distance provider.
Even in this current telecom sector slump, Verizon's productivity level – because of CWA members' skills – is more than twice the national average. The U.S. productivity rate grew 5.9 percent between 2000-2002. In that same period, Verizon's productivity, measured in revenue per employee, grew 14.9 percent.
Bargaining Information
CWA represents 75,000 Verizon workers nationwide and nearly 60,000 workers covered by the contracts expiring Aug. 2. This round of bargaining spans three CWA districts and involves two major contracts, corresponding to the former NYNEX and Bell Atlantic operations. CWA represents technicians, customer service and marketing representatives, operators and clerical workers at Verizon. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers also is bargaining for contracts expiring Aug. 2.
Verizon East – New York and New England
New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire
[Note: Connecticut service is supplied by SBC]
CWA District 1Vice President is Larry Mancino.
Total District 1 CWA-represented: 27,000
Verizon East – Mid Atlantic Region
Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia
CWA District 2 Vice President is Peter Catucci.
Pennsylvania, Delaware
CWA District 13 Vice President is Vincent Maisano.
New Jersey
(Part of District 1, but bargains with the Mid-Atlantic Region)
Total Mid-Atlantic CWA-represented: 30,000
Additional information
Issues and information about Verizon bargaining are available at ga.cwa-union.org/verizon. Media relations are handled in Washington, D.C., by Jeff Miller, CWA communications director, and Candice Johnson, associate director. We can be reached by phone at 202-434-1168 and e-mail at jmiller@cwa-union.org and cjohnson@cwa-union.org. As bargaining nears the contract expiration date, we will be providing frequent updates as events warrant. Please contact us for any information or assistance needed.
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