Pa. Verizon Workers Go On Strike

With no negotiations scheduled, a massive Verizon strike impacting Pennsylvania and elsewhere began Wednesday at 6 a.m.

Nearly 40,000 Verizon workers began a walkout that could adversely impact the company's 140 million customers, marking one of the largest work actions in any U.S. industry in years.

Representatives of the Communications Workers of America and the Brotherhood of Electrical Engineers said the company refused to meet with the union on Tuesday and early Wednesday.

No meeting is scheduled for the near future, the union says, so the strike is on.

"The company refused to meet with us," Rob Master, a CWA spokesman, told Patch. "Our bargaining teams were available all day long to meet, and they had no interest, apparently."

Verizon representatives say that the company is “fully prepared to serve its customers” in the event of a strike.

The strike, however, could lead to delays impacting customers looking to reconnect to cable television or their internet connections, and even longer waits for new subscribers wanting its FIOS and mobile services.

When 45,000 Verizon workers went on strike in 2011, customers complained of going without Internet service and cable television for two weeks or longer.

New Jersey-based Verizon says that it has hired thousands of non-union, replacement workers to cover striking employees and is prepared for however long is necessary.

In a Monday joint statement, labor leaders with IBEW Local 827 and CWA Local 1000 said that 39,000 East Coast workers - including about 5,000 technicians and call center employees in New Jersey – plan to “stand up for working families” against “Verizon’s corporate greed.”