2012 Bargaining Facts

• Verizon Communications announced that its 45,000 wireline employees in nine Northeastern states and the District of Columbia who are represented by the CWA and IBEW returned to work beginning Monday night, Aug. 22, without new collective bargaining agreements. Verizon and the unions have made headway in negotiating a number of local and regional issues, and the parties have agreed on a process for moving forward to negotiate the major issues regarding benefits, cost structure, work flexibility and job security. Read More.
• Verizon's contract covered approximately 45,000 wireline employees represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. The contract expired at midnight on Sunday, August 7, 2011.
• Today, most union-represented employees pay nothing for health insurance premiums at Verizon. The company is proposing that its union-represented employees pay a portion of their health care premiums, much like the majority of other Verizon employees. This graphic provides a brief summary of the realities Verizon's wireline business faces with health care costs.
• DID YOU KNOW that, in certain markets, Verizon technicians earn as much as $91,000 a year with overtime and more than $50,000 in benefits?
• Verizon Statement on Recent Strike Disciplinary Actions: We respect the rights of our employees to peacefully picket and protest during a strike. However, the actions of some individuals during the August strike violated our code of conduct and in some cases, violated the law. This has nothing to do with their rights to peacefully picket. Our action comes as a result of certain individuals making threats of violence, engaging in physical violence, running people off the road, making outrageous profane or racist comments and more. A handful of these striking workers engaged in egregious and unacceptable conduct. As a result, we've taken appropriate action.

Read Full List

Issue Accuracy

• Verizon has laid out for the CWA and IBEW the current state of the economy and the challenges facing Verizon’s wireline business.
• As consumers continue to cut the cord or choose competitors' wireline services, the company must make meaningful changes to its wireline cost structure. Changes to the business require the company and the unions to make tough choices that reflect new business realities.

• Verizon Corrects Inaccurate CWA Press Releases
  Recent CWA Press Releases Have Contained a Number of False Statements Against Verizon. Follow the link above to view the claims, with corrections in red.

Learn More