Members of the Communications Workers of America working at Verizon Communications voted overwhelmingly to give CWA leaders authorization to call a strike if they deem it necessary. The CWA said 92% of its Verizon members voted in favor of the strike authorization. Negotiations with Verizon are underway. The current collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight on 02-August-03. For a strike to take place, the next step would be for CWA's 20-member executive board to authorize President Morton Bahr to set a strike date.
In a press statement, CWA President Morton Bahr pointed out that Verizon is the most successful U.S. telecom firm and the biggest in market capitalization in the U.S. and 3rd largest in the world -- also boasting the greatest revenues ($67 billion) and largest profits (over $8 billion in 2002 before one-time charges for accounting reforms and bad investments, leaving over $4 billion in net profits). He noted that last year Verizon spent over $500 million in special stock deals for its management team.
http://www.cwa-union.org
- The CWA represents some 60,000 employees at Verizon Communications.
