Verizon Strike Nears End, Unions Release Contract Terms: 2016 News Update

Editor's Note: This article is part of an ongoing series. Catch up on the latest news about the Verizon strike here.

By ERIC KIEFER (Patch Staff)

May 31, 2016 – Almost 40,000 striking Verizon workers are expected to return to the job on Wednesday, ending one of the largest labor stoppages in modern American history.

Employees with evening shifts that go past midnight on June 1 will be back on the job at the beginning of their shifts on Tuesday, May 31, according to representatives with the two striking unions, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Engineers (IBEW).

On Memorial Day, Verizon reported that the company has signed tentative agreements with the CWA on new contracts covering CWA-represented East associates.

The company expects to sign agreements with the IBEW “shortly,” according to its corporate website.

• See related article: Verizon, Unions Reach Agreement, Strike May Be Over

Marc Reed, Verizon’s chief administrative officer, released the following statement about the tentative agreement on Monday:

“Verizon is very pleased with this ‘agreement in principle.’ The agreement is consistent with our objective of creating high quality American jobs and achieving meaningful changes and enhancements to the contracts that will better enable our wireline business unit to compete and succeed in the digital world.”

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Verizon also reached an agreement in principle on contracts for about 165 Verizon Wireless employees, Reed added.

“In the meantime, we look forward to having all of our employees soon back at work in their regular positions and doing what they do best – serving our customers,” Reed concluded.

The striking workers still need to ratify the proposed contracts following their return to work, union leaders stated.

“The addition of good new jobs at Verizon is a huge win not just for striking workers, but for our communities and the country as a whole,” said CWA President Chris Shelton. “This contract is a victory for working families across the country and an affirmation of the power of working people. It proves that when we stand together we can raise up working families, improve our communities and advance the interests of America’s working people.”

“Because we fought together as a union, my kids will be able to see me at night,” said Christina Martin, a Verizon call center worker in Pennsylvania. “We were all so worried about the potential of transfers and more offshoring, but now Verizon is going to bring more jobs back.”

CONTRACT TERMS

CWA spokespeople claimed major gains from the company’s “final offer” tendered on April 28.

• See related article: Verizon Strike 2016 Update: Unions Decline Company's 'Final Offer'

According to union leaders, highlights from the proposed contract include:

• A 10.9 percent raise over the next 4 years with compounded interest, including 3 percent upon ratification and 2.5 percent on each anniversary of the contract
• A $1,250 signing bonus in the Mid-Atlantic and a $1,000 signing bonus plus $250 healthcare reimbursement account in the Northeast, and a minimum of $700 in corporate profit sharing payments in each of the next four years
• The first contract for nearly 70 Verizon Wireless retail store workers in Brooklyn, NY, and Everett, MA
• A “guarantee” that an increased percentage of customer service work will be handled by unionized workers (Verizon will add 1,300 call center jobs, 850 in the Mid-Atlantic region and 450 in the Northeast)
• Existing job security language will be preserved, as will existing language on transfer and seniority protections for retirement incentives
• All of the company’s proposals on forced interstate transfers of technicians were withdrawn
• All proposed reductions of pensions were withdrawn by the company, and there will be three, 1 percent increases in the defined benefit pensions over the life of the agreement
• Proposed cuts in accident and disability benefits were withdrawn, and the parties have agreed to changes to active and retiree healthcare that generate savings to the company while protecting excellent plan designs for medical care

In addition to the above gains, all call centers that had been threatened with closure in the Mid-Atlantic region will remain open, union leaders stated.

According to the CWA, three of the five “threatened” call centers in upstate New York will also remain open; the six workers affected in the other two centers will be offered jobs locally in the company.

“Several major contracting initiatives will be reversed, sustaining work for union members in their communities and returning a significant amount of pole maintenance work to the unionized workforce in New York State,” union leaders stated on Monday.

This stipulation will lead to a 25 percent increase in the number of unionized crews doing pole work in New York State, CWA leaders stated.

The proposed agreement also addresses another major issue for NYC-based technicians, as the company has agreed to terminate a performance supervisory program known as “QAR” in effect in the five boroughs of New York City that workers found “extremely abusive,” CWA leaders stated.

Learn more about the 2016 Verizon strike here.

Photo courtesy of CWA Local 13000

Send news tips to eric.kiefer@patch.com