Last week we noted that things
were getting heated between union workers and Verizon, the employees not happy about health care reductions in a an upcoming contract renewal. This morning finds 45,000 Verizon employees
officially on strike; members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America busily picketing this morning in states ranging from Massachusetts to Virginia. As an insider told us last week, Verizon had prepared for the possibility by bringing in more than 10,000 replacement employees who normally work in other Verizon business sectors:
Verizon has a plan in place to replace striking workers temporarily with salary employees from VZB and VT (business, telecom). Hotels, flights, and rental cars are booked, and have been for awhile, it's just been kept quiet. Workers are coming from Texas, Florida, and as expected, the east coast. The numbers are over 10,000. I don't think Verizon is messing around this time and wants to break the union (just my personal opinion).
Verizon, which saw earnings of $3.6 billion on overall revenues of $27.53 billion last quarter alone, says that a tough economic climate, increased competition and the death of landline service has contributed to their tougher stance. The company insists that the strike will not impact service; you can let us know if that's true in the comment section below. There's also some additional discussion with Verizon employees in our
Verizon forums for those interested.
