One of the unions representing Verizon’s striking workers claims temporary employees with no training are jeopardizing the safety of themselves, their colleagues and the public.
“We’re seeing people without the right safety equipment, trying to do the job without doing the proper pre-work safety checks," said Ed Starr, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Local 2321 in Massachusetts, in a statement released Wednesday. “These are the kind of screw ups that would get any of us written up in a heartbeat. The majority of these replacements have no telecommunications training and someone is going to get hurt bad unless Verizon settles this."
The temporary workers often don’t have in-the-field experience, Starr told us in an interview.
“The people that Verizon’s training or putting out there are coming from the IT department or sales work groups …," Starr said.
Ed McFadden, a Verizon spokesman, characterized the IBEW’s allegations as “baseless."
“It’s shameful for a labor union that has spent so much time harassing … intimidating and sabotaging our networks to be claiming their colleagues are endangering the public," McFadden told us.
McFadden said Verizon has observed more than 150 acts of “sabotage" over the last 10 days, such as cuts to cable lines and wiring cut out of neighborhood boxes.
“We have had serious acts of sabotage to the networks and our operations" that could have impacted the lives of customers or their ability to communicate, he said, adding that Verizon might observe only one act of sabotage on an average week.
Safety Infractions?
But the IBEW claims Verizon’s temporary employees are endangering themselves, their colleagues and the public. In a press release, the organization has provided links to two clips on YouTube that reportedly illustrate the safety hazards. One YouTube video shot in Massachusetts “shows IBEW workers exasperated with Verizon management who are sending out untrained, unqualified workers to do dangerous jobs, just to make a buck," wrote the person who uploaded the clip.
(**Caution: The clip below contains some adult language.**)
The clip shows a technician instructing two managers on how to place a ladder against a telephone pole and climb the pole safely, Starr explained.
“We’re at least trying to help them. Tell them the right way to do things," one man can be heard saying in the video. “If they don’t want to listen that’s … their choice."
“I say let them fall on their head," chimed in another guy, who appears to be a union worker.
