Did you know that you can help out the Verizon strikers by bringing them water, coffee, ice, snacks or stuff like that?
Asked by
jca (
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May 15th, 2016
As you may or may not know, Verizon workers are currently on strike. Over 30 days without pay, and now without health benefits. You may see them picketing outside Verizon stores nationwide. They’re wearing red shirts, and when there’s a rally, they may have the rat (the big inflatable rat).
They’re in a real struggle for keeping jobs in the US and good benefits, more than wages.
Did you know that you can stop by the picket line and walk with them, if you choose to? You can also bring them bottles of water, coffee, ice (for their ice chest), donuts, snacks or anything else you want. They’d appreciate it.
I walked the picket line with them the other day and participated in their rally, as I work for a nationwide organization that advocates for employees of the type that are striking for Verizon. Out there in the heat, glaring sun and walking up and down, they need all the help they can get.
Please consider helping out the strikers next time you see them.
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19 Answers
Haven’t seen them but will keep it in mind if I do.
As a retired CWA member, I would support the strikers, even though I was working for AT&T.
Why would I want to?
I’m in favor of unions and organized labor in general. But going on strike is voluntary. They weren’t laid off; they chose to go out on strike.
Strikes as a labor tactic only work when the employees have the company backed into a corner. That’s why they were effective in the 30s, 40s, and 50s (and before). Verizon can find and train techs now – non-union- at 70% of the pay of the strikers. The employees have no leverage – what’s going to happen is that VZ is going to lay them all off (or something similar) as a result of this shenanigan.
So why should management give a a hoot about the strikers?
Strikes are effectively obsolete as a tactic. Unions are getting that way. Most blue collar people do NOT work in unions and don’t like paying union dues. So unions are far less sympathetic than they used to be.
Whoever is running the Verizon employees union hasn’t realized how little leverage he has.
My advice: go to management settle.
Thanks for the notice.
I’m going to pick up a 6-pack of water for them. There’s a V’zon store near the OSH to where I’ll be going.
Good idea, thanks. I haven’t seen any Verizon strikers but there is another group downtown that I passed the other day.
I’m confused. They want to keep jobs here, but they’re striking? That seems counterproductive and maybe counterintuitive.
@JLeslie: They are fighting for a fair contract. Verizon wants the call centers to go to India – I know that’s one issue.
@jca But, if they are striking, and being a pain in the neck, why wouldn’t Verizon just go to India? I’m not against employees organizing, and demonstrating, I’m just confused about how striking helps their cause? This particular cause.
Remember, I’m the one who said retail employees should organize (I was not suggesting unionize at the time) and refuse to work the Eve of Thanksgiving at midnight if their store typically is not 24 hours. All employees just say no. What is the store going to do? The employees have some power in that situation. I don’t see how the verizon employees have power.
@JLeslie: They’d put it in their contract that Verizon can’t outsource the jobs, must keep the jobs in the US, etc. Their power is in numbers just like anything else. Granted, unions’ powers are weakening but they can’t just fold. They’re going back to the bargaining table Tuesday, from what I just read.
@jca I see. So, what happens if Verizon does outsource? Does the contract stipulate they would have to pay the US workers a significant severance? Or, the company could be sued? I don’t know what those contracts look like.
There’s no contract at present, so whatever would happen would depend on the writing in the contract. I am not really sure – I’m not a labor relations expert so I’m not sure if it would be rectified with a grievance or a suit.
The strike is also a potential PR blackeye for Verizon.
@Yetanotheruser – getting a black eye has never been much of a concern for Verizon.
They could also go back to work, either for Verizon or somewhere else, and pay for that stuff themselves.
If I didn’t despise Verizon as much as I do because of the monopoly they hold where I live I might consider it, but there are no strikes in our area anyway.
I switched to prepay Tracfone and gave the middle finger to both Verizon and US Cellular.
One issue is healthcare and pension costs which Verizon is keen to reduce as stated in its annual report.
“With approximately 177,700 employees and approximately 203,000 retirees as of December 31, 2015 eligible to participate in Verizon’s benefit plans, the costs of pension benefits and active and retiree healthcare benefits have a significant impact on our profitability. Our costs of maintaining these plans, and the future funding requirements for these plans, are affected by several factors, including the continuing implementation of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, increases in healthcare costs, decreases in investment returns on funds held by our pension and other benefit plan trusts and changes in the discount rate and mortality assumptions used to calculate pension and other postretirement expenses. If we are unable to limit future increases in the costs of our benefit plans, those costs could reduce our profitability and increase our funding commitments.”
I’m sure the pension and healthcare provision for Verizon’s management will not be affected.
Verizon just sold all its interests in Florida to some clusterfuck of a company called “Frontier”. Their website doesn’t work, their billing system is screwed up, you can’t speak to a human being on the phone, and several of my friends have gone for days or weeks without service without being able to contact this company.
It sounds to me like Verizon is slowly “nope-ing” out of being a company entirely.
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