More than 100,000 individuals have signed a petition that has asked Verizon Communications to return to the bargaining table in negotiations with two unions representing about 45,000 workers on strike, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) said Tuesday.
The petition asks Verizon to “drop your unfair demands and return to the bargaining table to negotiate a new contract in good faith." The CWA, which represents about 35,000 Verizon employees who have been on strike for more than a week, says students, families, unions, progressive groups as well as civil rights and community organizations have signed the petition.
CWA’s petition is part of a broader effort to facilitate negotiations between the union and Verizon. Last week, the CWA announced filing charges against Verizon with the National Labor Relations Board, an independent federal agency that acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices. The CWA has asked the NLRB to order Verizon’s management to act in good faith. Verizon also has reportedly lodged NLRB complaints against the union.
"Despite the inaccurate hyperbole on the part of the union, discussions between the two sides continue," Verizon spokesman Rich Young told Multichannel News.
Clearly, the stakes are high in an employment dispute that involves one of the largest and most powerful telecommunications companies in the world.
If an agreement cannot be reached soon, tens of thousands of employees could lose more than their pay. Verizon has been telling union members it will suspend basic health insurance and medical benefits on Aug. 31 for all workers still on strike at that time, MarketWatch reported.
Verizon is legally entitled to suspend the benefits, but companies rarely do so during a labor strike, according to Gary Chaison, a Clark University professor of industrial relations. "It tells the workers that management has the upper hand," Chaison told MarketWatch. "But it can have the unintended effect of getting the workers to dig in their heels even further and fight."
Greed or Economic Reality?
The unions have portrayed Verizon as a gluttonous company that is flush with cash yet unwilling to share the wealth with its employees other than the top brass.
“Over the last few years, Verizon has made $19 billion in profits while paying its top five executives $250 million in compensation and bonuses. With middle-class families already struggling, it’s time for Verizon to share its success with the hardworking Americans who made it possible," the CWA petition states. “This is not a time for corporate greed. It is time to do the right thing."
