Vol. 80/No. 22 June 6, 2016
(front page)
Unions striking Verizon broaden labor support
1,700 CWA members also strike AT&T in Calif.
In Rockland County, north of New York City, the strike has elicited sustained support, and strikers have lent their solidarity to other fights in the county. Passersby frequently honk their horns and give a thumbs-up to the picket lines of more than 60 strikers at the new Verizon store in the Nanuet Mall. On May 12 teachers and other unionists joined a solidarity action there.
On April 19 Verizon strikers had joined a rally in support of teachers at Felix Festa middle school in West Nyack. Teachers in the Clarkstown school district there have been working without a contract since August 31, 2015.
National actions May 21
May 21 was a national “Kids and Families Day of Action” for the striking members of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Verizon’s landline, internet and television divisions. Activities took place at Verizon Wireless stores, both in states affected by the strike and in other parts of the country. The majority of workers in the wireless section are not unionized. The store pickets build public awareness of the strike and ask people not to patronize Verizon.
In Philadelphia, more than 75 strikers and supporters rallied in front of the Cottman Ave. Verizon Wireless store. Among them were Ray Applegate, 19, and Dylan Hargrove, 20, who are part of the growing “term” workforce there — workers hired for up to 36-month terms. Verizon can end their employment any time after six months, they told the Militant. No term goes past 36 months. No regular full-time workers have been hired in over 10 years in the area, they said.
“A big part of the fight is to end the ‘term’ category,” Applegate said. “Verizon is using it to try and break the union. But of the 30 term workers at my garage — about half the workforce — only one has crossed the picket line.”
“They aren’t proposing cutting the payouts for retirees,” Chris Wackerman, CWA unit 15 president told Ginny Port, a CWA member who retired from Verizon in 1996. “But they want retirees and active workers to pay over $100 a month for medical coverage, and to pay deductibles of several thousand dollars, which will cut your retirement money overall.” One striker, on hearing that a retiree was at the rally, called out, “You fought for us — now we’re fighting for you. We’re all in this together.”
The courts are on the bosses’ side. Eighteen union members had been picketing this large store, six at each entrance, Wackerman said. “But Verizon lawyers convinced the judge they only use one door, so the sheriff’s department cut us down to six pickets, even though we see them using all three doors.”
In a related struggle, 1,700 AT&T workers organized by CWA Local 9509 in the San Diego area launched a “grievance” strike May 19. The union contract for 15,000 AT&T West workers in California and Nevada expired April 10. They face concession demands similar to those the Verizon strikers are opposing — increased medical costs, a wage increase that doesn’t meet the rising cost of living and job security. CWA District 9, which includes the AT&T workers, is encouraging members to donate to the Verizon Striking Families Fund.
Send donations to the Verizon Striking Families Solidarity Fund, c/o CWA, 501 3rd Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001, or go to http://www.cwa-union.org/ to make an online contribution.
Duane Stilwell in Nyack, New York, and John Staggs in Philadelphia contributed to this article.
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BY JAMES HARRIS
WASHINGTON — In a day of action called by Communications Workers locals here, nearly 1,000 Verizon strikers and supporters picketed the F street Verizon Wireless store May 19, virtually closing the store. After the picket, red-shirted strikers marched to the White House, then held a rally across street in Lafayette Park.
Unions participating included SEIU 32BJ, UNITE HERE, the Amalgamated Transit Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the American Postal Workers Union, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Office and Professional Employees International Union.
“Many workers are forced to work 12-hour days plus weekends and holidays, because there aren’t enough technicians,” striker Michelle Carter, who has worked for Verizon and its predecessors for 43 years, told the Militant. “They should hire more.”
“We just want to keep what we have, our retirement benefits and health care,” service technician Ronald Leatherwood said. “A few people have crossed the picket line, but this strike is really strong.”
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On the Picket Line
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