CWA & IBEW Ask for Mediation in Verizon Contract Talks

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Unable to negotiate an agreement for over a year, CWA and the IBEW have asked the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to step in to help with negotiations with Verizon Communications. "Our Bargaining Committee has tried to work out equitable compromises for thirteen months now,” said CWA 2108 President Marilyn Irwin. “We’ve tried to address the company's issues while rewarding our members for their contributions to the success of this $100 billion company. Verizon apparently wants no part of compromise, and seems determined to gut the contract we have spent 60 years building." The two unions represent approximately 45,000 workers at Verizon locations from New England to Virginia. Verizon has made more than $16.3 billion in profits over the past four years, but “continues to insist on drastic cuts in benefits and employment security,” says CWA, adding that the company’s Board of Directors approved a 200 percent increase in compensation for the CEO to $23.1 million annually. - photo of 11/2/2011 CWA/Occupy DC march by Julia Kann