Issue Accuracy

This page confronts false statements and common misperceptions regarding Verizon's 2011 union contract renegotiation.

CLAIM: Union Benefit Changes Are Not Necessary

• 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 cost structure. Changes to the business require the company and the unions to make tough choices that reflect new business realities.

CLAIM: Verizon's Proposal Will Cost Each Union Worker $20,000 Per Year

• FALSE
• The unions are misleading the public by combining the value of their annual pension accrual with the value of their entire health care plan.
• In other words, the unions are irresponsibly claiming that Verizon is trying to eliminate all union health care coverage and contribute nothing toward their retirement. This is not the case.

CLAIM: Verizon Insists on "Gutting" Health Care

• Verizon's health care proposal ensures that its employee benefits remain near the top of those offered by comparable companies.
• The company is proposing that union workers begin contributing as little as $1,380 a year to their health care premiums.
• These contributions are similar to those made by the company's 135,000 non-union employees.

CLAIM: Verizon is Neglecting the Wireline Business

• Verizon is committed to the success of its wireline business.
• Verizon invested $16.2 billion in its wireline network infrastructure in 2009-2010.
• The company continues to invest heavily in its landline network in an increasingly competitive environment.
• Verizon has upgraded its network with fiber optics directly to homes while continuing to serve customers over its copper/fiber infrastructure.
• The company provides reliable, quality service to customers whether they're served by our core (copper/fiber) or all-fiber infrastructure.

CLAIM: Verizon Doesn't Pay its Fair Share of Taxes

• Verizon fully complies with all tax laws and pays its fair share of taxes.
• In 2010, Verizon's tax bill was $2.5 billion on total income of $12.7 billion, compared with taxes of $1.9 billion on total income of $13.5 billion in 2009.
• Over the last five years, Verizon has paid out more than $7.5 billion in income taxes.

CLAIM: Verizon is Diminishing the Union and has Eliminated Tens of Thousands of Union Jobs Over the Past Few Years

• Like every business, Verizon must adjust its workforce depending upon the needs of the business. Fortunately, Verizon has not had significant layoffs in any one area.
• The overwhelming number of union employees who've left the company over the past three years have departed through normal attrition, the spin-off of certain Verizon wireline assets and/or a generous enhanced buyout offer.

CLAIM: Verizon Executives Earn More than they Should

• Verizon's executive compensation practices have been approved by approximately 90% of shareholders in votes over each of the past three years.
• Executive compensation policies promote a performance-based culture that links the interest of management with our shareholders.

CLAIM: Verizon Provides Free Health Care for Retired Executives

• This is false. Neither active nor retired Verizon executives receive free retiree health care.
• More than 135,000 current Verizon employees including all executives contribute to their health care premiums.

CLAIM: Verizon is Eliminating Veterans Day and Martin Luther King Day as Paid Holidays

• Union employees will still receive the same number of paid holidays.
• Verizon proposes adding personal days in place of these holidays. This will give union workers the freedom to choose for themselves whether to use this day on the holiday itself, or any other day of their preference.

CLAIM: Verizon is Deliberately Trying to Keep Verizon Wireless Workers from Unionizing

• Absolutely not. For a number of years, the CWA has been engaged in a targeted campaign against Verizon Wireless (VZW). VZW employees have made their own decision not to organize, and that decision is based on a thoughtful analysis of the facts. It was entirely their decision.
• The CWA acknowledges that the vast majority of the wireless industry is non-union with the exception of one provider (AT&T).
• The absence of unions in the rest of the wireless industry, in the cable industry that fiercely competes with Verizon for landline services, and in high-tech industries in general, is a reflection of employee free choice, not employer coercion.

CLAIM: Verizon Relies too Heavily on Contractor Workers

• The changing environment of Verizon's wireline business dictates when and how contractors are needed to support the company.
• Verizon abides by collective bargaining provisions currently in place regarding the use of contractors.

Verizon Corrects Inaccurate Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Release
A recent Pennsylvania AFL-CIO news release contains a number of errors and misrepresentations regarding Verizon. Follow the link above to view the news release, with corrections in red.

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 news release, with corrections in red.