Verizon Communications, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) reached a tentative agreement on new five-year contracts covering nearly 79,000 employees in 13 Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. Some key points of the new contracts include:
- an immediate 3% lump-sum payment to union-represented employees in lieu of a base wage increase in the first year of the contract. Beginning in the second year, base wages will increase 2% annually, for a total of 8% over the five-year term of the contract. Verizon also agreed to cost-of-living increases if the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners rises above certain levels in years four and five of the contract.
there will be a pension-band increase of 2% effective 01-October-2004, and 3% increases annually for the remainder of the contract, for a total of 11%.
the new contracts will also give Verizon more flexibility to negotiate directly with health care vendors serving its employees. There will also be changes to employee co-pays and deductibles.
Current job security protections will remain but will not apply to union-represented employees hired after the contract takes effect. Verizon will look to enhance voluntary separation incentives to assist in reducing the size of the workforce.
