The strike over the next few weeks is as good a reason to begin the clock on how long it will take to get high-speed service following the completion of the AKNA end of the process. The main question is simple. How long will it take? The clock is ticking.
By The Associated Press:
April 11, 2016, 3:42 P.M
NEW YORK — Unions representing more than 36,000 Verizon landline phone and cable workers threaten a strike starting Wednesday morning if the company doesn’t agree to a new contract.
The unions, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, say Verizon wants to freeze pensions, make layoffs easier and rely more on contract workers. Verizon says health care issues need to be addressed for both retirees and workers as medical costs have grown, and it wants “greater flexibility” to manage its employees. The latest contract had expired last August. Both sides say negotiations have been unsuccessful.
Verizon Communications Inc. says it has trained thousands of non-union employees to fill in if the strike occurs in nine Eastern states and Washington, D.C. The company had 178,000 employees as of December.
The last Verizon strike was in 2011 and lasted for two weeks.
Inside Information? In March 2016, the following letter portended the Verizon strike. Please read it for the exquisite use of political sentiment that suggests inaction on their part while pointing out their $39 billion profit.
“It is our understanding that the [CWA and IBEW] have offered to negotiate substantial savings in health care for the wireline workforce, but there are additional areas of concern for your workers, including job security, the treatment of sick and injured workers, pensions and the contracting out of work. While we recognize that changes in technology and customer preference have led to a decline in landline service, driving the need for some contract changes, we also want to be sure that Verizon preserves good, family-supporting jobs in our region.” Click to read.\
