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CWA Authorizes Strike at Verizon Information Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Following a strike authorization vote by employees, the executive board of the Communications Workers of America has approved strike action against Verizon Information Services (VIS), Verizon's yellow pages directory sales operation on the east coast.
The board vote clears the way for CWA's president to call for a walkout at any time. It would involve 1,700 employees – sales representatives, graphic artists and support personnel -- working out of 19 VIS offices in states from New York through Virginia. VIS publishes more than 360 separate yellow pages directories throughout the region, many of them now in production.
The VIS employees, who won union recognition last March and have been bargaining for a first contract since May, charge that VIS management has dragged its feet in negotiations while unilaterally changing job conditions and conducting a campaign of intimidation against the workers.
The National Labor Relations Board is investigating numerous CWA unfair labor practice charges against VIS including firing employees for union activity, destroying union literature in the workplace, denying the union access to company premises, harassing and coercing workers through supervisory one-on-one meetings, and refusing to bargain in good faith.
The company has failed to address key employee concerns centering on the sales commission program and the VIS performance evaluation plan, according to CWA. Further, without consulting CWA, management changed the commission structure in a manner that drastically slashed the income of sales reps and also imposed harsh new disciplinary standards, the union charged.
The VIS employees work in the following locations: Albany, N.Y., Baltimore, Md., Bethlehem, Pa., Buffalo, N.Y., Chadds Ford, Pa., Fairfax, Va., Greenbelt, Md., Harrisburg, Pa., Lake Success, N.Y., Long Island, N.Y., Marlton, N.J., Monroeville, Pa., New York City, Norfolk, Va., Paramus, N.J., Philadelphia, Pa., Richmond, Va., Somerset, N.J., and Westchester County, N.Y.
CWA has represented another 1,100 VIS workers in New England and other areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey for several years; they would not be involved in the strike. CWA represents 80,000 Verizon workers overall.
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The board vote clears the way for CWA's president to call for a walkout at any time. It would involve 1,700 employees – sales representatives, graphic artists and support personnel -- working out of 19 VIS offices in states from New York through Virginia. VIS publishes more than 360 separate yellow pages directories throughout the region, many of them now in production.
The VIS employees, who won union recognition last March and have been bargaining for a first contract since May, charge that VIS management has dragged its feet in negotiations while unilaterally changing job conditions and conducting a campaign of intimidation against the workers.
The National Labor Relations Board is investigating numerous CWA unfair labor practice charges against VIS including firing employees for union activity, destroying union literature in the workplace, denying the union access to company premises, harassing and coercing workers through supervisory one-on-one meetings, and refusing to bargain in good faith.
The company has failed to address key employee concerns centering on the sales commission program and the VIS performance evaluation plan, according to CWA. Further, without consulting CWA, management changed the commission structure in a manner that drastically slashed the income of sales reps and also imposed harsh new disciplinary standards, the union charged.
The VIS employees work in the following locations: Albany, N.Y., Baltimore, Md., Bethlehem, Pa., Buffalo, N.Y., Chadds Ford, Pa., Fairfax, Va., Greenbelt, Md., Harrisburg, Pa., Lake Success, N.Y., Long Island, N.Y., Marlton, N.J., Monroeville, Pa., New York City, Norfolk, Va., Paramus, N.J., Philadelphia, Pa., Richmond, Va., Somerset, N.J., and Westchester County, N.Y.
CWA has represented another 1,100 VIS workers in New England and other areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey for several years; they would not be involved in the strike. CWA represents 80,000 Verizon workers overall.
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