The Communications Workers of America said Thursday Verizon Communications Inc. leads the industry with revenue and profits despite a slump in the telecommunications industry. The union underscored the financial performance of Verizon, the No. 1 local phone company, as it prepares to negotiate a contract on behalf of 60,000 employees.
Verizon and the two unions -- the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers -- will be negotiating a total of 27 contracts in 13 states and the District of Columbia on behalf of 80,000 employees.
The CWA said today it will kick off regional negotiations June 23 in New York City on behalf of New York and New England employees, and commence talks three days later in Washington, D.C., on behalf of workers in the mid-Atlantic region.
Preservation of good jobs and access to positions in new growth areas at Verizon are essential goals, the CWA said. Pension improvements and wage increases representing workers’ increased productivity also are fundamental issues, the union said.
The productivity level of Verizon, measured by revenue per employee, grew 14.9 percent between 2000 and 2002, according to the union. That compares to a 5.9 percent spike in the U.S. productivity rate between those same years, the CWA said.
The CWA also said Verizon led the industry with $67.6 billion in revenue last year and generated $4.1 billion in profits, representing the second most profitable company in the industry behind SBC Communications Inc.
“What happens at Verizon is so 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,” CWA president Morton Bahr said in a statement released Thursday. “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.”
The current contracts affecting nearly 60,000 CWA members in New York, New England and the mid Atlantic states expire Aug. 2.
