Posted on 04/13/2016 3:27:35 PM PDT by matt04
36,000 Verizon workers have walked off the job Wednesday after failing to reach a new labor agreement.
This is the largest strike in the United States since Verizon workers last walked off the job in 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That strike involved 45,000 workers.
Most of the striking workers service the company's landline phone business and FiOS broadband network -- not the much larger Verizon Wireless network. They have gone without a contract since August, and their union, the Communication Workers of America, says it is fighting to get Verizon to come to the table with a better offer.
The union's list of complaints is a long one: Verizon has outsourced 5,000 jobs to workers in Mexico, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic. Verizon is hiring more low-wage, non-union contractors, the union says.
"The main thing is that's it's taking good-paying jobs and taking them away from the American public," said Ken Beckett, a technical telecommunications associate for Verizon and union board member with 1101 CWA, as he picketed with colleagues outside a Verizon office in Manhattan.
The union also claims Verizon won't negotiate with people who work in Verizon stores and is closing call centers. And Verizon is asking workers to work out of state, away from their homes, for months at a time.
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Verizon said that it is prepared to serve its customers despite the strike. It said that thousands of non-union workers have been trained to cover new assignments in the event of a strike.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
I have been saying that it is more important to know how to do something than it is to know something. Auto mechanics and barbers cannot be outsourced. Yes, companies can bring in foreigners, but it is less likely in a skilled hands-on occupation than in a white collar job. Just sayin.... I wish I had become a speech pathologist or a court reporter. :-)
Americans don’t want to accept that globalization means you’re basically in school for all of your working life - and once you stop learning you stop earning.
I don’t think a “good-paying job” indicates being overpaid; it just means a job with skills not easily acquired that are in demand. Once companies can do an end-run around that by dissolving borders, the Americans are screwed.
There is a fairly good chance that Red China & India have enough qualified people to take every one of our jobs - and “our” companies seem determined to give it a try.
Rich companies are outsourcing a lot more than a hole union people. Look at what Disney did to it’s top IT guys.
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I know someone who works for Verizon. They stink at the way they treat their employees, especially when it comes to outsourcing, whether they are union or not. I imagine the union does get treated better, because Verizon is the type of company where a union is needed.
Having said that. These union employees are in a part of the company that isn’t very profitable. They should be reasonable about what they want.
And Verizon is about to purchase Yahoo.
Damn-—my son is management and this is a pain in the a**.
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You actually go out and pay a bill?
I haven’t done that in years——wouldn’t even know where to go to do it.
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did I put a hint out there that i’m an old guy
“did I put a hint out there that i’m an old guy”
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Yes,you did but I’ve probably got you beaten in the age department.(83)
I’m just lazy.
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