CWA 2108 Offers Peek Inside The Telecom World

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)For a chilling but fascinating look behind the scenes at how technological change – and plain old greed – is affecting local telecom jobs, check out the November edition of CWA 2108’s newsletter. The cover story, “VCSI Closes Doors After 17 Years, Lays Off All Workers” exposes “Verizon’s desire to walk away from landline operations completely.” Inside, Local 2108 President Marilyn Irwin points out that “The same company that demanded major concessions from active employees and retirees during 2012 bargaining, causing a two week strike (and) over fifteen months of negotiations…has the financial means to buy out Vodaphone for $130 billion!” Verizon’s focus on layoffs and acquisitions is boosting unemployment “and pushing the U.S. further down in the world-wide internet speed rankings,” says Irwin.