CWA, Baltimore Community Members Rally Against "Job-Killing" Verizon-Big Cable Deal

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)More than 100 members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and concerned Baltimore citizens rallied at Baltimore’s City Hall last Thursday to urge city officials to oppose a “job-killing deal” they say Verizon Wireless and big cable companies are pushing. “We are calling on Mayor Rawlings-Blake and other city leaders to take a stand for jobs and economic development in Baltimore City,” said CWA Chief of Staff Ron Collins. “It’s time for Baltimore City leaders to support a deal that would bring Verizon’s FiOS service to Baltimore City, bringing much-needed jobs and higher-quality broadband service to the city.” CWA says that the deal would cause Baltimore to lose thousands of jobs and remain “on the wrong side of the digital divide, as Verizon loses incentives to bring its world-class all-fiber FiOS network to Baltimore City—even as six wealthier suburban counties enjoy it.” With regulators expected to make a decision on the deal later this summer, protestors called on city officials to tell the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) that the agreement should not move forward without conditions to promote job growth and protect competition. - photo courtesy of CWA District 2-13