CWA 2108 Offers Peek Inside The Telecom World
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
(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.