TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Thursday, August 28, 2003

TRANSCRIPT:

 "The Union Bargaining Team continued reviewing language submitted by the Company late yesterday.

In addition, the Wireless Table met today.  There is still no progress being made at those negotiations.  The Company won't even agree to basic Union Protections including layoff procedures that honor seniority and a fair compensation package.

After today's session, the Federal Mediator recommended that the parties adjourn for the Labor Day holiday and resume talks next week.

Meanwhile, CWA Members throughout the Country rallied and leafleted 100 Verizon Wireless stores.  Management shut Verizon Wireless stores in Burlington, Vermont and Washington, DC rather than face CWA Members rallying in support of our Wireless brothers & sisters.

CWA and other unions will utilize the upcoming LABOR DAY events to pressure both Verizon and Verizon Wireless to DO THE RIGHT THING & AGREE TO A FAIR CONTRACT!

Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes."
 

NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release CWA Communications, 8/28/2003
 

In nearly 50 locations, from New England to Virginia, workers rallied and leafleted, calling on Verizon Wireless management to drop its anti-union stance and reach a fair contract. The contract covering 51 Verizon Wireless workers in New York expired Aug. 1; contract talks are continuing with the involvement of a federal mediator.

At a lunchtime rally in Washington, CWA President Morton Bahr promised the crowd of about 100 that CWA would keep up the fight for fairness as long as it takes to reach a just settlement for the 51 Verizon Wireless workers.

"For 14 years, Verizon Wireless has tried to bust this union, but we're stronger than ever. We are in this fight until Verizon Wireless stops treating union workers like second class citizens," Bahr told the crowd. Verizon Wireless is even trying to deny workers something as basic as seniority rights, so it can use favoritism, not fairness, when it comes to layoffs and recalls, he added.

"Verizon's arrogance has elevated the issue to the presidential campaign," Bahr said, noting that several candidates have expressed their support for workers and have urged Verizon to settle a fair agreement.

While actions went on in Washington and other communities, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean joined a rally outside a Verizon Wireless store in Burlington. Dean said he was supporting workers' efforts to secure a fair contract. "What you are standing up for is what my campaign is all about," he said.

At CWA's convention in Chicago on Aug. 25, Dean presented CWA President Morton Bahr with a carrier switch pledge as part of CWA's Fairness at Verizon campaign and said his campaign also would encourage his 329,000 supporters to do the same.

Bahr pledged that the rallies and the Fairness at Verizon Campaign (see www.FairnessatVerizon.com for more information) will continue until CWA achieves fair contracts for all workers at Verizon – the 78,000 at the core company, and workers at Verizon Wireless, Verizon Information Services and Verizon Connected Solutions.

As part of the fairness campaign, union members and supporters pledge to switch their local or long distance service from Verizon to another union carrier if negotiations fail to produce a fair contract.

Verizon, unions to take a break in contract talks

PHILADELPHIA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc. <VZ.N> and two unions representing 35 percent of its work force, will take a four-day break and resume contract negotiations after the Labor Day holiday, the mediator said on Thursday.

At the conclusion of discussions on Thursday, both sides agreed to a hiatus until Tuesday, Sept. 2, according to Peter Hurtgen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, who has been overseeing the protracted negotiations.

About 80,000 technicians and telephone operators from Maine to Virginia have stayed on the job for four weeks without a contract as negotiations crawled along.

Although some union officials expressed optimism last week that an agreement could be near, bargainers continued to lock horns over controversial issues such as layoffs, the transfer of work to low-cost regions and health care and pension benefits.

Verizon <VZ.N>, the largest U.S. telephone company, and the two unions -- the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America -- began contract negotiations in June. The labor contracts expired Aug. 2.

Shares of Verizon closed at $35.60, up 53 cents, or 1.5 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.
 

TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Thursday, August 28, 2003

TRANSCRIPT:

"Bargaining continued as sub-committees continue to meet.  We will update you further as news develops.

The BLACKOUT imposed by the mediator, Peter Hertkin, is still in effect, so no further information is being made available at this time.

There is still no progress at the Verizon Wireless negotiations.  CWA members continued to rally and leaflet Verizon Wireless stores throughout the region.  Management actually closed its Verizon Wireless store at Verizon Headquarters in Manhattan rather than face CWA Members rallying in support of our Verizon Wireless Brothers & Sisters.  Hundreds of CWA Locals from around the Country will participate in similar events tomorrow.

We will continue to keep these tapes updated as information becomes available.

Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes."
 
 

CWA BARGAINING UPDATE

Arbitrator Denied Bid by Verizon Wireless to Block CWA's Ads, Actions

August 27, 2003 - 7:00 P.M. -- Verizon Wireless's bid for a temporary restraining order to block the Communications Workers of America from advertising in the media and holding public demonstrations to support its collective bargaining goals was denied by Arbitrator Edwin H. Benn.

Verizon Wireless sought the temporary restraining order under a contractual organizing neutrality agreement between CWA and Verizon Wireless. Benn determined that Verizon Wireless was not entitled to a temporary restraining order because that agreement applies to organizing campaigns, not bargaining activities.

A reading of the newspaper advertisement shows that the Verizon Wireless activities targeted by CWA are not in the context of organizing, but "are the result of perceived mistreatment of CWA represented employees by Verizon Wireless at the bargaining table," Benn said.

He also stressed that granting the company's request for an injunction now could prevent CWA from carrying out lawful economic activity to support the Verizon Wireless workers in their bid for a new contract.

"It would be against the public's interest of seeing the parties to those negotiations work out the terms of their collective bargaining agreements for me to upset the balance of power in those negotiations by imposing injunctive relief," Benn added.
 

Verizon Wireless wanted to stop CWA from calling attention to the company's "shameless" treatment of union workers at Verizon Wireless by blocking the union from running ads in major newspapers and from holding public events and rallies outside Wireless stores.

CWA ran newspaper ads on Aug. 26 and 27, criticizing Verizon Wireless for treating union workers like second-class citizens and refusing to provide equal benefits. The company also cited a demonstration held in conjunction with CWA's convention in Chicago, where delegates rallied in support of the 51 Verizon Wireless workers who are fighting for a fair contract. Similar actions are being planned to show support for Verizon Wireless bargaining.

Five Democratic presidential candidates also expressed their full support for Verizon Wireless workers seeking a fair contract.

VERIZON'S OWN
BARGAINING NEWS

CWA Attack Ads Continue Amid Bargaining

Aug. 27 (10:45 a.m.): The Verizon negotiating team remains in Washington, D.C. today and continues to work toward the signing of a settlement.

Verizon is abiding by the request of the federal mediator not to discuss the content of the negotiations. As a result, there are no specific details to report.

However, employees may have heard or read reports in the press with union representatives saying that progress has been made and that an agreement is near.

Verizon agrees with those comments, and we believe that this could be resolved quickly.

However, the CWA continues its campaign against Verizon Wireless, where separate negotiations are ongoing for a bargaining unit of 51 employees in Wireless in the New York area.

The CWA took newspaper ads out yesterday in a number of markets, and has plans for a number of rallies in front of Wireless retail stores. It is expected that they will continue this effort over the Labor Day Holiday. Verizon Wireless said they remain committed to working with the union to reach a new contract for these 51 workers which can only happen at the negotiating table.

Dean and Lieberman Add Their Voices of Support

August 27, 2003 -- UNITY AT VERIZON -- Just like presidential candidates Dick Gephardt and John Kerry yesterday, Howard Dean and Joe Lieberman told the CWA convention today that they support our struggle with Verizon.

Governor Dean signed a "Fairness At Verizon" pledge (see below) and also said he would join the demonstration at a Verizon Wireless store in Burlington, VT, on Thursday.

Support has also been voiced by both Rep. Dick Gephardt and Sen. John Kerry.

"I support you fully in what all of you have done to get a good agreement with all of your employers, especially in the last days at Verizon."  -- Rep. Dick Gephardt

"I have a message for Verizon: Settle the contract with the 51 Verizon Wireless technicians in New York. That's the way to honor Labor Day. That's the way to keep faith with the American working people."  -- Sen. John Kerry
 
 
 

Verizon-East Barg. Update, Aug. 26, 8:30p.m.

Negotiations on the contracts for wireline, Verizon Wireless, Verizon Connected Solutions, and Verizon Information Services continued Tuesday. We are still exchanging, hammering out and carefully reviewing language in a number of areas. Health care issues will be discussed in a subcommittee tomorrow.

 There is still no progress at the Verizon Wireless negotiations. The company won't even agree to basic union protections, including layoff procedures that honor seniority and a fair compensation package.

The blackout imposed by the mediator, Peter Hurtgen, is still in effect, so no further information is being made available at this time.

Verizon, Two Unions Are 'Very Close' to Contract Agreement

Aug. 26-- The Baltimore Sun -- After months of intense bargaining, Verizon Communications Inc. and unions representing 78,000 of its workers from Maine to Virginia are close to agreement on a new contract, sources close to the negotiations said.

Verizon and the two unions, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, have been in contract talks since June.

Verizon's unionized employees, including 7,200 in Maryland, have been working without a contract since their old agreement expired at midnight Aug. 2.

"I can confirm that the talks have progressed, and we are very close to an agreement," IBEW spokesman Jim Spellane said yesterday. But "there are still some final details to be worked out."

CWA spokesman Jeff Miller said "important unresolved issues" remained yesterday afternoon. Talks were expected to continue today, the union said.

One key piece of the expected five-year contract is an agreement for no increases in health care premiums for Verizon's unionized workers or retirees, according to a source close to the negotiations.

Those groups contribute co-payments for doctor visits and prescriptions but pay nothing toward health care premiums under the old contract.

Job security and health care benefits have been important issues in the negotiations. The details have been kept behind closed doors since federal mediator Peter Hurtgen joined the talks July 29.

Verizon spokeswoman Sandra Arnette would neither confirm nor deny yesterday that an agreement was imminent. The company said in a statement that "there is no specific new information to report at this time."

CWA spokeswoman Candice Johnson said earlier yesterday that the two sides had made significant progress over the weekend.

"There are still some issues that we're working to resolve, and at the same time, you're going over the language and going over the contract details, and that takes time," she said in a phone interview from CWA's annual convention in Chicago.

"These are better sounds than we've heard for a while, but until we have a deal, all it is, is backroom whispers," said Scott Cleland, a telecommunications analyst and CEO of Precursor, a Washington research firm.

Both Verizon and the unions have described the negotiations as crucial to the fate of the company and its workers.

Verizon has said it needs more flexible work rules that will allow it to move workers from job to job or state to state to compete in the fast-moving telecommunications industry. The company is also seeking to cut what it describes as high benefit costs.

Union leaders have said their ability to protect members' jobs and benefits is facing a crucial test. The unions' bargaining power in future negotiations and the outlook for organized labor will be affected by the outcome of these negotiations, labor experts said.

Despite the showdown, the unions and the company have said throughout the negotiations that they hope for a speedy resolution.

"Both sides, I think, were feeling economic pressure to work this out without a stoppage," said Charles Craver, a labor law professor at George Washington University Law School and author of The Intelligent Negotiator.

The mood among Verizon workers has been tense in recent weeks, with many union members wearing red shirts and buttons and rallying outside their offices to show solidarity.

At a rally outside Verizon's Hunt Valley office last week, Larry Vick, executive vice president of CWA Local 2101, pumped up a group of about 20 workers as he stood in front of a pile of tchotchkes that were once gifts to employees. Pointing to the mound of Verizon hats, clocks and mugs that the union was planning to return to the company, Vick shouted: "Is integrity in that pile? Is job security in that pile?"

"No!" the workers yelled back.

A strike had appeared to be likely when the previous contract expired this month. The unions accused Verizon of seeking a walkout, and some industry analysts theorized that a monthslong work stoppage might actually benefit the company financially.

But with the stakes high for both sides, negotiators sidestepped a walkout and began the federally mediated negotiations behind closed doors.
 
 
 
 

TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Monday, August 25, 2003 -- 11pm

TRANSCRIPT:

"Negotiations on the contracts for wire line, Verizon Wireless and Verizon Information Services continued Monday. We are still exchanging language in an effort to resolve outstanding  issues, and continue to review all language carefully.

Negotiations for the 51 Verizon wireless workers are not progressing. These workers are seeking basic union protection, such as seniority rights and protection against management policies that deal with unionized workers as second class citizens.

Beginning Tuesday 100's of Verizon workers will rally and leaflet at Verizon wireless stores though out the region to show support for their Verizon wireless brothers and sisters.

Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes."
 
 

August 25, 2003 - 8:30 P.M. - Verizon-East Barg. Update
-- Talks Continue Tomorrow --

Progress Made, But Hangups Remain; Verizon Wireless Still Trying to Bust Tech Unit Intensive negotiations continue on the contracts for wireline, Verizon Wireless, Verizon Connected Solutions, and Verizon Information Services. Significant progress has been made over the past week, but we are not done. Major problems still exist in some areas. At the Wireless table, the company is flat-out trying to bust the union and refusing to engage in meaningful bargaining on the issues.
 

The Federal Mediator's "bargaining blackout" unfortunately still prevents us from making details of the negotiations public. However, even in areas where the parties have moved closer together, negotiators continue to exchange proposals on specific contract language. In just the last few days, we've exchanged many proposals on health care alone, with dozens of language changes, in order to try to reduce to writing some of the key contract provisions that have been discussed.
 

Unfortunately, our past experience with this company has taught us that every word of contract language must be scrutinized thoroughly. Verizon has a battalion of high-priced lawyers who appear to earn their money by the word, and it could take days and even weeks for our lawyers, bargainers, and committees to work through all the language until we are satisfied that it will protect our rights and benefits as intended.
 

The contract for 51 Verizon Wireless technicians who belong to CWA Local 1101 continues to be a major problem. In Ivan Seidenberg's speeches and in Verizon's ads, the company professes to be union- and worker-friendly. Then why is Seidenberg, as Chairman of the Board of Verizon Wireless, permitting Wireless CEO Dennis Strigl to engage in vicious union-busting? Wireless refuses to agree to such basic issues as seniority protection and to stop treating unionized workers as second-class citizens. This must end.

Presidential Candiates Voice Support for Verizon Negotiatons

At CWA's Convention in Chicago today, presidential candidates Dick Gephardt and John Kerry voiced their support for our Verizon negotiations in their remarks. (Other candidates will address the convention tomorrow.)

"I support you fully in what all of you have done to get a good agreement with all of your employers, especially in the last days at Verizon." -- Rep. Dick Gephardt

"I have a message for Verizon: Settle the contract with the 51 Verizon Wireless technicians in New York. That's the way to honor Labor Day. That's the way to keep faith with the American working people." -- Sen. John Kerry

Verizon 'Close' to Contract Deal Negotiators Working to Resolve Health Care, Other Issues

By Yuki Noguchi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
 

Negotiators for Verizon Communications Inc. and unions representing more than 78,000 workers are close to a conract agreement, two of the three parties said yesterday.

"We are painfully close, I believe," said Eric Rabe, a spokesman for the nation's largest phone company. "We'd like this to wrap up as soon as we can, but sometimes these things take longer."

"The same hurdles exist, but it's a matter of going the last few yards," said Jim Spellane, a spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents more than 18,000 Verizon workers.

However, Jeff Miller, a spokesman for the Communications Workers of America, said, "There are still some tough issues to be resolved. I don't think a settlement is imminent."

The negotiators have been meeting since June to work out a new contract. The old one expired at midnight on Aug. 2, but workers have continued to work while negotiators try to resolve differences over job security and benefits. Key issues remaining include the unionization of Verizon's wireless unit, some health care provisions and several local issues, one negotiator said.

Verizon, the CWA and the IBEW negotiated by phone and fax Saturday. The meetings with federal negotiators took place in Washington until Sunday, when the talks were moved to New Jersey to accommodate various representatives' schedules, said Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service spokesman John Arnold.

Peter Hurtgen, director of the mediation service, rejoined the face-to-face negotiations Sunday. Those talks lasted until 3 a.m. yesterday, resumed before noon yesterday and continued into the night.

Hurtgen "is hopeful and encouraged by the tenor of the talks in the last few days," Arnold said.

In an opening speech at the CWA's national convention in Chicago yesterday, union President Morton Bahr characterized the negotiations as intense and vowed to continue long hours of negotiations until a "fair contract" is reached.

All sides have a great deal at stake in this year's negotiations. Verizon said it is losing increasing numbers of customers to competitors in its traditional local phone business and therefore needs the flexibility to manage its costs through workforce reductions, relocations or benefit cuts. Workers said they face a tough job market and need assurance that they will not lose their jobs or health care benefits.
 

Verizon, Unions Near Contract Agreement
By LEIGH STROPE
.c The Associated Press

August 25, 2003 -- WASHINGTON (AP) - Unions negotiating with Verizon Communications said Monday that talks were focused on a few remaining issues, even as one labor leader blasted the company's ``vicious management.''

Morton Bahr, president of the Communications Workers of America who was in Chicago for the union's national convention, criticized the company in his opening speech, saying that in his 41 years in the labor movement he has never dealt with ``more vicious management'' than Verizon's.

About 78,000 East Coast telephone operators and technicians entered their fourth week on the job without contracts, which expired Aug. 3.

Rather than striking, Bahr said the unions' strategy has been to stay at the bargaining table and force Verizon to keep on the payroll tens of thousands of replacement workers trained to take over in a walkout.

Negotiators met again Monday with federal mediators trying to broker a deal. After intense bargaining over the weekend, a few issues remain on the table, but neither side would say what they were or discuss what had been resolved.

``The parties are close to an agreement,'' said Jim Spellane, spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which also represents some of the Verizon employees.

``They're working on final details and hopefully those can be resolved quickly,'' he said.

Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe was more cautious. ``How much longer it will take, how close we are remains to be seen,'' he said.

Talks were to resume Tuesday.

The two unions have been negotiating with Verizon since June. Government mediators joined the talks in late July to successfully avert a strike planned for Aug. 3 that could have affected service from Virginia to Maine.

A strike in 2000 lasted 18 days, causing a backlog of about 250,000 repair requests and new orders.

Verizon's local phone service business is shrinking, while growth areas are in wireless and high-speed Internet, separate divisions of the company that aren't highly unionized.

Negotiations have focused on rising health care costs, how future layoffs will be handled and whether those workers can take jobs in other parts of the company.

Verizon cut 18,000 jobs in 2002, primarily through attrition and voluntary buyouts.

Verizon shares were down 42 cents to close at $34.80 on the New York Stock Exchange.
 

TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Sunday, August 24, 2003 -- 11pm

TRANSCRIPT:

"Intensive negotiations continued throughout Sunday between CWA, IBEW and Verizon on the contracts for wire line, Verizon Wireless Verizon Connected Solutions, and Verizon Information Services.
Though we have made some significant progress over the past week, we are still exchanging language in an effort to resolve outstanding  issues, and continuing to review all language carefully.
Unfortunately, our past experience with this company has taught us that every piece of language must be scrutinized thoroughly.

The blackout imposed by the mediator, Peter Hurtgen, is still in effect, so no further information is being made available at this time.
 

Please stay tuned to this tape for further information."
 

Verizon, unions work into the night
By Jessica Hall

PHILADELPHIA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc. and two unions will negotiate into the night on Saturday to finalize details of a labor contract for 80,000 technicians and telephone operators from Maine to Virginia, union representatives said on Saturday.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union said a foundation for an agreement was in place, and negotiators were debating nuances of the contract language.

Talks were expected to last late into the night on Saturday, following round-the-clock bargaining on Friday, the IBEW said. Still, despite some optimism that an agreement could be near, the union cautioned that the talks still could break down.

Verizon <VZ.N>, the largest U.S. telephone company, and the Communications Workers of America union declined to comment on the status of the talks.

"We're going to keep at it until we get a contract," said Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe.

The two unions, which represent 35 percent of Verizon's work force, have stayed on the job for 20 days without a contract as negotiators hashed out differences over hot-button issues such as layoffs, the transfer of work to low-cost regions, and health care and pension benefits.

The contract talks, which began in June, come as New York-based Verizon wants to cut costs to offset slack demand and increasing competition as local and long-distance carriers cut into each other's markets.

The company has been trying to offset weakness in its core local telephone business by pushing into newer markets such as long-distance. It has aggressively promoted discounted packages combining local, long-distance, wireless and high-speed Internet services to attract and retain customers.

Meanwhile, the unions want to preserve existing jobs and benefits, and get an opportunity to land jobs in the faster-growing parts of the company, such as wireless and data services.

The negotiations have been complex because so many of the issues -- such as shifting work to low-cost regions and job security -- are intertwined, the company has said.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an independent agency that assists in resolving labor disputes, has been overseeing the talks.
 

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Verizon Makes Case to Senators CEO Says Firm Offered Unions a Layoff Delay
 
By Yuki Noguchi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 22, 2003
 

Verizon Communications Inc. proposed not to lay off workers before October 2004 and not to relocate jobs for five years if its unions accept an increase in health care costs, the company's chief executive told a dozen U.S. senators in a letter this week.

The local phone giant, in the midst of contract negotiations with two unions that represent 78,000 workers and about 60,000 retirees, said it has asked workers to shoulder "modest increases" in some co-payments and deductibles, and offered not to increase health care insurance premiums, according to the letter, which was signed by Verizon chief executive Ivan Seidenberg.

The Communications Workers of America, which represents about 60,000 Verizon workers, said the letter does not reflect Verizon's current positions at the bargaining table.

Seidenberg's missive was mailed in response to a letter signed by the 12 Democratic senators that appeared in newspaper advertisements sponsored by the CWA earlier this week. It offers more detail than has been disclosed about proposals that have been on the table since the parties started negotiating a contract in June.

The old contract expired at midnight on Aug. 2, but workers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions have been reporting to work as scheduled. Meanwhile, officials from Verizon, CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers continue to meet in Washington with federal negotiators to resolve their differences, particularly over job-security concerns and health care. The parties met yesterday and are expected to resume talks today.

In the letter, Seidenberg said the company also offered to negotiate future wage increases and job-security issues next October, and make a lump-sum payment when the contract is signed.

"What Seidenberg put out there does not reflect what's being discussed today," said Jeff Miller, a CWA spokesman. A spokeswoman for the IBEW said she was not familiar with the letter, and she declined to comment on negotiations.

In an internal memo circulated to its members, the CWA accused Seidenberg of circulating the letter to managers in violation of a "blackout" imposed at the federal mediator's request on all details of bargaining. The union accused management of trying to confuse union members and influence bargaining.

"Some of the ideas that he mentions as part of the company proposal have in fact been discussed in bargaining," the CWA memo said. "But most of them -- for example, the commitment to no health care premium shifting and to no movement of work for five years -- never came across the bargaining table as formal proposals."

Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe confirmed that Seidenberg mailed the letter to the senators' offices in Washington "to give them better information" but declined to comment on its contents or the status of negotiations. "We are really trying not to comment on the negotiations in deference to the process."

A spokeswoman for Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), one of the senators who signed the letter that appeared in the CWA's advertisements, confirmed that the senator's office received Seidenberg's letter, but she declined to comment on it or the negotiations.

In a copy of the letter, first reported on by Bloomberg News and obtained by The Washington Post, Seidenberg defended the company's positions, stating that Verizon pays its employees better than some of its nonunion rivals and more than other highly skilled workers like teachers.

"We have been extremely fair in these negotiations," Seidenberg wrote. "We believe the union is attempting to extract guarantees for employment that are unreasonable for any company in today's business environment.

". . . Our goal is to preserve good jobs for as many of the current employees as possible. Without that flexibility we will not survive."

Verizon apparently backed off a plan to go public with the details of Seidenberg's letter after federal mediators reiterated to the parties that they should not court the media during negotiations.

An e-mail circulated to senior executives prefacing Seidenberg's letter said: "As you'll see, the letter provides details on the offer we are prepared to make. Since this may likely become public, we are prepared to release this information to our employees and the media later today."

TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Friday, August 22, 2003 -- 10pm

TRANSCRIPT:

 "Intensive negotiations continued throughout the day Friday between CWA, IBEW & Verizon at the offices of the Federal Mediator and at Regional tables.

Progress was made in some areas.  Mediator, Peter Hurtkin, has imposed an iron-clad information blackout on the progress of bargaining, so no further information is being made available at this time.

Please stay in touch for furhter details.

Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes."
 

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Union Workers for Verizon Stage Colorful Demonstration in Harrisburg, Pa.

Aug. 22--The Red Shirts are coming!

About 150 Verizon employees who are members of Communications Workers of America Local 13000 rallied Thursday in Harrisburg and watched some street theater aimed at pressuring the company to give them a new contract.

Most of the employees, who have been working without a contract since the old one expired on Aug. 2, wore the traditional red shirts of their union. On Fridays, they wear black.

Key issues in the negotiations are job security and health-care insurance costs. Verizon is seeking health-benefit co-payments by active employees of $100 a month and $300 monthly from retirees. The company also wants the right to move more call center jobs to nonunion contractors, including some in foreign countries.

Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell said negotiations on a new contract with the CWA continue in Washington, D.C.

"Verizon is focused on getting a fair contract in order to eliminate the uncertainty now faced by all of our employees," he said.

Some of the signs that local union members carried appeared to be recycled "No Split" signs from when the union successfully helped Verizon defeat a state Public Utilities Commission plan in 2001 to separate the company into two units. They chanted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Ivan's got to go," referring to Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg.

The CWA promised street theater and delivered. A Rolls Royce -- yes, a real one -- arrived bearing "Mr. Corporate Greed," who looked much like the little man from the Monopoly game. "I am Corporate Greed. I want it all!" he said.

Employees came up to Mr. Corporate Greed to plead, for example, to keep their no-premium health benefits. But Mr. Corporate Greed rudely rebuffed them, saying he would have to give up his huge annual bonus to avoid having the employees pay for health insurance. He threw the employees to the ground and walked over them.

"You can't keep us down," cried CWA representative Lisa Murphy, who was filling in for appendicitis-stricken Elizabeth Denn, the unit president. "Because we're union."

Dick Johns, executive vice president of the Local 13000 Western Region, said morale among employees remains high.

"Solidarity is growing bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger every day," he said. "We're as strong now as we've ever been."

Johns said Verizon still has 20,000 replacement workers standing by for a strike that was expected when the contract expired. He said the union had calculated that the telephone company was spending more than $1 million a day to feed and house the replacement workers.
 
 
 
 

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release, CWA Communications
8/21/2003

Update on Verizon Bargaining for Thursday, Aug. 21

Washington, D.C. – Talks continued throughout the day today between CWA, IBEW and Verizon at the office of the federal mediator. Tomorrow, negotiations also will resume at regional tables as well. Union negotiators at all levels continue to work hard to reach a settlement.

TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Thursday, August 21, 2003

 "At 11:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, top officials of the CWA, IBEW and Verizon met with the Federal mediator.  No specifics of the discussions were released, but CWA's overriding objective remains guaranteeing real job security for all of our members.

Talks with the federal mediator are scheduled to resume onThursday morning, and we will update this tape if Verizon finally comes to its senses at the bargaining table.

In the meantime, we must continue to escalate the Community Campaign Against Verizon Corporate Greed.  CWA met today in New York with representatives of the national AFL-CIO, NYS AFL-CIO, the NYC
Central Labor Council, and NY Jobs with Justice, to develop a systematic outreach plan to community, labor, religious and political leaders to support the Fairness at Verizon campaign.

Every member must make the pledge to switch carriers to AT&T if the company refuses to address the needs of our members, and to recruit friends, family, neighbors and everyone else you know to join the campaign.

Finally, to Ivan Seidenberg, who keeps writing fairy tale letters to members and to our elected leaders.

Get your head out of your ass and look at what is really going on in the once proud company you are helping to destroy.

Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes."

August 20, 2003

  To:CWA Members and Supporters
Re: Community Campaign Against Corporate Greed
 

I am writing to urge you to participate in a critical effort against corporate greed at Verizon.

As you know, more than 75,000 workers at Verizon are fighting for a fair contract. We have set up a special website where you can go to show your support for good hometown jobs with good benefits -- www.fairnessatverizon.com .

This fight is of course important to our members at Verizon, but it is also important to our entire union and to the labor movement. If an employer like Verizon -- a Fortune 10 company with over $4 billion in profits -- can get away with shifting health care costs onto members and retirees and devastating our job security protections, the ripple effects will be felt throughout the country. Recognizing the importance of these negotiations, the AFL-CIO is spearheading the "Fairness at Verizon" campaign. Other unions and community groups such as Jobs with Justice and United Students Against Sweatshops are actively supporting it by recruiting their members to join the campaign.

If you are a Verizon customer, we are asking that you pledge to switch your local and long distance phone service to AT&T, another unionized carrier, when the time is right in the fight with Verizon. AT&T offers local service in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virginia. When it's time, your name will be forwarded to AT&T and AT&T will contact you to walk you through your service options.

If you do not live in an area where AT&T offers local service, we're asking you to pledge to cancel your "enhanced" services with Verizon -- home voice mail, caller ID, call forwarding, etc.

And if you're not a Verizon customer for local or long distance service, we're asking you to pledge to support the campaign with e-mail and other actions from time to time.

Details on how to participate are available at www.fairnessatverizon.com .

Switching or cancelling services -- call it a "virtual strike" -- would directly impact the company's revenue stream, which is what a traditional labor walkout is meant to do. Your pledge of support gives us more leverage at the bargaining table, along with other CWA community and political outreach efforts and worksite mobilization.

Please take just a minute to sign up right now. I thank you for your support.

In Unity,

Morton Bahr
President, CWA

p.s. If you have already pledged your support, please tell your friends about this campaign by entering their e-mail addresses at http://www.cwa-union.org/FairnessAtVerizon/Pledge/TellAFriend.asp .

Message from VZ-East Vice Presidents

August 20, 2003
To: All CWA Verizon Members

Dear Colleagues:

Yesterday CWA filed a lawsuit in New Jersey U.S. District Court against Verizon. Our complaint charges two Verizon executives with violations of the Omnibus Crime and Safe Streets Act by unlawfully and secretly accessing a private CWA conference call that was by invitation only.

Verizon then used the information they illegally obtained to file a contempt of court action against CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen because in this private connection, they allege he said: I hope Verizon can hear us now.

Verizon's wiretapping of a CWA conference call is corporate conduct as low and disgraceful as it gets. It was a common practice 65 years ago before the National Labor Relations Act. In our court case, we have asked for a jury trial. It would be immediate discharge for any employee who accessed a management call and used the information publicly. The company has violated their own code of conduct in this matter.

So, it was kind of interesting that the management, instead of commenting on being caught committing disgraceful and illegal acts, issued a press release in which they expressed their concern that CWA's strategy of the potential customer carrier switch could jeopardize our good union jobs.

It would be a laugh if it wasn't our jobs and our members' lives they were toying with.

What is really at stake?

Last December 3,400 sisters and brothers, men and women with spouses and children, were laid off. We had offered to discuss giving the company concessions to save their jobs.

This same company that now expresses concern for our jobs, in the person of its vice chairman to our president, said: "The bodies must go."

So 3,400 "bodies" went -- and for seven months, most lived a life of hell. Until on July 11, Arbitrator Das ruled that Verizon violated our contracts and the 3,400 must get their jobs back with full back pay. And, they returned to work on July 30.

The day following the arbitrator's decision, the company -- a really graceful loser -- demonstrated their compassion by demanding a change in our job security language so they could once again lay off these same members plus thousands of others.

Your committees have steadfastly refused. We contend -- and the company finally admitted that there is enough work contracted out to eliminate any surplus if brought in-house.

But what did they offer us?

The company will bring in 2,500 DSL jobs now contracted out, but the union has to give up our job security and permit the company to lay off.

Obvious question: Why would there still be a need for layoffs with these new DSL jobs?

The company's bargaining chair said these DSL jobs would not be covered by our contract terms; would be a low rate of pay with few benefits. And, where would these jobs be? All we were told was there would be two centers, one on the East Coast and a second "in another time zone." And, under the company's proposal, the 3,400 were not enough. Large numbers of other members also would be at risk.

The company also made no bones about wanting to have the right to consolidate call centers around the country.

Management is in disarray. Their year-long strategy, developed by outside consultant Dr. Manheim, is not working. It is not working largely because we did not act as Dr. Manheim predicted we would.

We did not strike, costing the company $5 million each day to maintain the scab standby workforce.

They believed the unity of CWA and IBEW would fall apart. It is stronger than ever.

They believed our unity would weaken; that longer service employees would abandon less senior workers; that techs wouldn't worry about service rep and operator services work being consolidated anywhere management saw fit; and no one would care about retirees.

That's what Mr. Seidenberg and company were told would happen. They do not have the slightest understanding of trade union solidarity.

They also did not expect us to make competition work for us. These are the first negotiations where customers have a choice. So, unlike the past, if we went on strike -- and we, of course, still may, customers will find it easy to go elsewhere as soon as service deteriorates.

If we have the ability to better control the customer movement from Verizon while our members continue to work, it makes good sense to do so.

And, it is working. The company's attack on our strategy is evidence of the pressure they are feeling.

Your committee has only a single objective -- a contract that provides you with job security, continuation of our hard-won benefits, and a retirement with dignity. All of your Vice Presidents are committed to be available anytime anywhere -- including through Convention -- to get this job done.

With your continued unity and support, we will succeed.

In Solidarity,

Pete Catucci Vice President District 2
Larry Mancino Vice President District 1
Vince Maisano Vice President District 13

The Truth About Bargaining
August 20, 2003 - 10:00 p.m. (http://www.cwa-union.org/verizon)

In some company work locations on Wednesday, management circulated a copy of a letter written by Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg to 12 United States Senators whose names appeared in a CWA ad against Verizon (click here to see ad) in The New York Times on Monday.  The letter contained information about supposed company contract offers that had not previously been made public.
 

First, every member must understand that Federal Mediator Peter Hurtgen imposed an information blackout on all parties to the negotiations when he became involved in bargaining on July 29th.  That's why CWA has been unable to put out more details about what's happening at the bargaining table, much to everyone's frustration.  Seidenberg certainly knew about this "blackout," and his Lotus Notes letter to managers on Wednesday was a devious attempt to circumvent this agreement.  He undoubtedly knew that the specifics in the letter would be given out in work locations in an effort to confuse our members and influence the course of bargaining.
 

Second, Seidenberg's letter tells only part of the story.  Some of the ideas that he mentions as part of the company proposal have in fact been discussed in bargaining.  But most of them--for example, the commitment to no health care premium shifting and to no movement of work for five years--never came across the bargaining table as formal proposals.
 

Third, the bottom line is that CWA and IBEW's overriding issue in these negotiations has been ensuring our members' job security.  None of the other issues--wages, movement of work, or health care--matter much if you don't have a job.  And the company has continued to demand--despite its billions in profits and hundreds of millions in executive compensation--that we give back the "external event" language as the price of whatever they have offered in bargaining.  Your bargaining teams have categorically rejected that demand.  We will not give back the language that saved the jobs--and livelihoods and families--of 3400 of our members, for any price.
 

Ivan, half-truths don't cut it.  Don't try to mislead or divide our membership.  Honor the agreements we have all made with the Federal Mediator.  And negotiate in good faith to bring this contract dispute to a conclusion, so we can all work together to ensure that CWA and IBEW members share in the future success of Verizon.

Verizon Northeast Bargaining & Mobilization

Northeast Regional Bargaining - Report #22 Tuesday, August 19, 2003

CWA District One

Tuesday, August 19, 2003, 9:00 p.m.

Last night, the true character of this rotten company was once again revealed. On the eve of yet another meeting with the federal mediator, with the parties still working hard to reach a contract agreement, Verizon Wireless filed a federal lawsuit against CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen for alleged violation of a federal court injunction. Larry's supposed crime: uttering the words, "Verizon, can you hear us now?" during the national conference call last week unveiling CWA's Campaign Against Verizon Corporate Greed.

And how did Verizon know what Larry said on the call? By illegally eavesdropping on the invitation-only press conference. So today, CWA filed suit against Verizon Communications, Verizon Wireless and two Verizon officers charging that the company officials violated federal anti-wiretapping laws by getting on the conference call. "This is an outrageous throwback to the old days of labor turmoil before the Wagner Act of 1935 finally outlawed the practice of management infiltration and spying on union activities," said CWA President Morton Bahr. "Such behavior by senior management officials at a critical time in our negotiations is not helpful to the process. It's an insult to all of our members at Verizon and cannot be tolerated." So instead of bargaining with the assistance of the federal mediator today, we spent two hours explaining to him, with company negotiators present, why we could not trust Verizon management. The mediator was shocked by the company's outrageously provocative legal maneuvering.

Our federal lawsuit was only the beginning of CWA's legal action against Verizon today. District One Attorney Gay Semel has filed several charges at the National Labor Relations Board alleging anti-union activity by Verizon in the last several days. Company violations of the Act include: declaring phony emergencies that override the contract and prevent our members from attending rallies and other contract mobilization events; increasing on-the-job surveillance of members in what amounts to retaliating against us for not going on strike; and refusing to pay the back-pay of the laid-off members until the fourth quarter of the year, thus making them ineligible to collect unemployment benefits in New York State in the event that we strike.

None of these vicious, anti-union activities will break our resolve to defeat this greedy, profitable company and win the job security and health care protections our members need and the company can well afford. We must continue our fight, stay on our strategy, and above all, build the Fairness at Verizon campaign. Everyone must make the pledge to switch carriers to AT&T if the company refuses to address the needs of our members, and to recruit friends, family, neighbors and everyone else you know to join the campaign. This is just another form of striking-of inflicting economic pressure on a company that refuses to do the right thing at the bargaining table. Just go to www.fairnessatverizon.com to get involved. Do it today!

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As Talks Resume, Verizon Argues With a Union Over an Ad Phrase
By MATT RICHTEL
 

While negotiators for Verizon Communications and its workers resumed bargaining yesterday over crucial elements like health benefits and job security, the two sides also swapped accusations over the appropriate use of the phrase, "Can you hear me now?"

At the bargaining table, the negotiators, who took a break over the weekend, discussed the central issues with a federal mediator in Washington yesterday, the 17th day without a contract. But in court, a sideshow emerged, touched off by the use, or possible misuse, of a Verizon Wireless advertising slogan.

Verizon Wireless, the cellphone company, in which Verizon holds a majority stake, asserted in court papers filed late on Monday that union officials violated the company's trademark by using the "Can you hear me now?" phrase last week during a conference call with journalists. In turn, the Communications Workers of America, one of the two unions representing Verizon workers, filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday, accusing two Verizon executives of violating federal wiretap rules by listening to the conference call.

The legal maneuvering came as the two sides reportedly made little progress on the core labor matters. And it struck some labor experts as petty sniping from people not in the middle of the core discussions. "It's sort of lame," said Harry Katz, a professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University. "The people at the real center are busy negotiating. The rest are just hanging around, with energy to burn."

Union officials said they thought a settlement was not imminent and could take not just weeks, but months, to achieve.

"These dueling lawsuits did not create a great context today for moving forward," said Bob Master, a spokesman for the Communications Workers of America.

But the character of the discussions is more collegial than in 2000, when Verizon's unions struck for 18 days, disrupting service in parts of the 13 East Coast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia where the work force is concentrated.

This year, the Communications Workers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — representing 78,000 operators and technicians — planned a walkout when their contract expired on Aug. 2. But the unions said they had postponed a strike because they thought the earlier negotiations had been fruitful and because the company had prepared well for a strike by hiring replacement workers.

Against this background, the two sides seemed to temporarily assume the roles of the comedian Al Franken and the Fox News Network, which recently accused Mr. Franken of improperly using its slogan "fair and balanced." But neither the union nor the company was laughing.

Union officials accused Verizon Wireless of being petty. Verizon Wireless counteraccused that the union was improperly using a brand name into which the company had invested millions of dollars. It is not the first time the companies have had this dispute.

The issue dates to November, when Verizon Wireless accused the Communications Workers of improperly using the "Can you hear me now?" phrase. The company uses that phrase in television, print and radio marketing to promote the clarity of its wireless connections.

The company, in a lawsuit filed in November in Federal District Court in New Jersey, said the union had infringed its trademark by using the phrase in an antilayoff campaign directed at Verizon Communications. The union used the phrase to indicate that its campaign had received the company's attention.

The lawsuit is still pending. The company said the two sides reached an interim agreement in December in which union officials said they would not use the phrase unless they first gave 30 days notice.

Last week, union officials held a conference call with journalists to announce a plan to boycott Verizon service and encourage its customers to switch to AT&T. On that call, Larry Cohen, the vice president of the C.W.A., said he thought the so-called carrier switch campaign would get Verizon's attention. In so doing, he used the phrase "Can you hear us now," labor officials said.

Jim Gerace, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, said organized labor had also violated the agreement by hiring a plane to carry an advertisement over the New Jersey shoreline that said, "Hey Babbio: Can you hear us now?" Lawrence T. Babbio Jr. is the vice chairman and president of Verizon Communications.

The union was leveling its own accusations. In a lawsuit filed yesterday, the C.W.A. said that two Verizon executives had trespassed on the proprietary call with journalists. The union said it had given the number for the call to 25 journalists and that somehow the company had obtained the number and listened in.

Jeff Miller, a spokesman for the Communications Workers, did not dispute that one of its officials used the phrase "Can you hear us now?" But he said that labor officials thought their agreement would not have covered the official's statement on the conference call.

"The agreement was not meant to bar free speech," he said.

Union sues Verizon, citing wire-tap rules

PHILADELPHIA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The Communications Workers of America on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Verizon Communications Inc. <VZ.N>, saying the telephone company improperly monitored a conference call with reporters.

The lawsuit lobbed a public complaint against Verizon as contract negotiations crawled forward. Bargainers for Verizon and two unions met in Washington to dissect details of contentious issues such as job security and the transfer of work to low-cost regions. Talks will continue on Wednesday.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the CWA contended that two Verizon executives violated wiretap laws by monitoring an invitation-only conference call reserved for reporters.

The union said it believes the executives listened to the call without announcing their presence and relayed the meeting's content to other company officials. A copy of the lawsuit was obtained by Reuters.

"This is nonsense and it's harassment," said Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe.

"The CWA put out an invitation to this conference call that was widely available. People from Verizon identified themselves when they called in and they were admitted to the call," Rabe said.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

The lawsuit also outlined some back-and-forth bickering over the use of the phrase "Can you hear me now?," which is the advertising slogan used by Verizon's wireless unit.

The union previously had agreed to stop using that slogan in its public campaigns against layoffs at the company. The CWA said that the restriction did not apply to an occassional remark by individual union employees, the lawsuit said.

Verizon contended that a CWA executive had improperly used a variation of the "Can you hear me now?" phrase during the conference call. The company sought a ruling in federal court to hold the union in contempt, the lawsuit said.

The CWA denied violation of the agreement.

TALKS TO CONTINUE

Despite the lawsuit and the airing of behind-the-scenes squabbles, contract negotiations will continue under the guidance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

"If people are seriously interested in reaching a contract, we're there to talk. If the CWA leadership is going to put its effort and energy in this sort of thing rather than constructive bargaining, then it will take a lot longer," Rabe said.

Verizon has been in contract talks since June with the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represent about 80,000 telephone workers from Maine to Virginia. The union employees have stayed on the job even though their contract expired on Aug. 2.

In New York Stock Exchange trading on Tuesday, Verizon's stock fell 7 cents to end at $35.78.
 
 

Breaking News: CWA Sues Verizon Over Outrageous Privacy Violation
News from the Communications Workers of America
The Union for the Information Age
For Immediate Release
August 19, 2003
 

CWA Charges Verizon and Two Officers with Wiretap Law Violation for Spying on Union Conference Call with Reporters
 

Washington, D.C. - The Communications Workers of America today filed suit against Verizon Communications, Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) and two Verizon officers charging that the company officials violated federal anti-wiretapping laws by accessing an invitation-only CWA teleconference with reporters on August 13.
 

The complaint, filed in federal district court in the District of New Jersey, charges that Verizon Senior Vice President for Investor Relations Thomas Bartlett and Executive Director of Investor Relations Dominic Di Bucci violated Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act through their unauthorized monitoring of the call.
 

CWA had invited 27 specific journalists to hear about the union's negotiations with Verizon as well as plans by the AFL-CIO to support CWA members' bargaining efforts.  The conference call was led by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka and CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, and reporters were invited to ask questions of the two leaders.
 

After the call, CWA learned that the two Verizon executives had gained access to the toll-free call-in number, which had been provided privately to the invited reporters, and listened in without announcing their presence, subsequently reporting the content of the conference to other company officials.
 

"This is an outrageous throwback to the old days of labor turmoil before the Wagner Act of 1935 finally outlawed the practice of management infiltration and spying on union activities," said CWA President Morton Bahr.  "Such behavior by senior management officials at a critical time in our negotiations is not helpful to the process.  It's an insult to all of our members at Verizon and cannot be tolerated."
 

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the Verizon officials' actions violated the law, that Bartlett and Di Bucci be enjoined from further such conduct, and that the union be awarded punitive damages.

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TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Tuesday, August 19, 2003

 "The Federal Mediator has requested that CWA, IBEW and Verizon negotiators meet at his office at 11 AM this morning.

Once again, we will seek to impress upon the company that THERE WILL BE NO CONTRACT UNLESS OUR JOB SECURITY AND HEALTH CARE ARE GUARANTEED!

With CORPORATE PROFITS over $4 BILLION and EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION IN THE TENS OF MILLIONS, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR VERIZON'S FAILURE TO MEET THESE BASIC DEMANDS.

Members of the CWA Bargaining Team talked with company negotiators by phone over the weekend.  During the day Monday, CWA bargainers caucused over the status of the remaining issues and discussed a timetable for upcoming membership mobilization activities and the fairness of the Verizon campaign which is being rolled out to AFL-CIO members and union allies throughout Verizon.

EVERY MEMBER MUST GET INVOLVED IN THE 'FAIRNESS AT VERIZON' CAMPAIGN!  Everyone MUST make the pledge to switch carriers to AT&T if the company refuses to address the needs of our members and to RECRUIT FRIENDS, FAMILY, NEIGHBORS AND EVERYONE ELSE YOU KNOW TO JOIN THE CAMPAIGN.

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER FORM OF STRIKING - OF INFLICTING ECONOMIC PRESSURE on a company that refuses to do the right thing at the bargaining table.

Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes."
 
 
 

Blackout Could Play into Speeding up Verizon Talks

Aug. 17--Boston Globe -- Verizon Communications Inc. and unions representing 79,200 workers from Maine to Virginia canceled a planned resumption of talks Friday with a federal mediator because of continued air travel havoc and strains on Verizon operations caused by Thursday's massive power failure.

As major areas within Verizon's northeastern service territory continued to recover from power blackouts, some industry analysts said the electric grid's woes could create new pressure on the phone giant and its unions to reach a quick settlement to avoid a strike or other disruptions to the dominant phone network in the Boston-Washington region.

Members of the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have been on the job without a contract since their last three-year contract expired on Aug. 2.

Judy Reed Smith, president of Atlantic-ACM, a Boston telecommunications consulting firm, said, "I definitely think that any larger and more frightening event -- be it war, be it blackout, be it any threat of terrorism -- takes away the appetite of the public for a union-management squabble. When they're squabbling so long and hard about these issues, it makes people wonder, are they paying attention to the things that really matter to us as customers: Will these phones work when we need them?"

Neil V. McKittrick, a labor attorney with Goulston & Storrs who has represented both corporations and individuals, said: "I think it could definitely have an impact if customers are worried, if they're more concerned and attuned to issues about their utility services like electricity and phone. Verizon can't have an situation where a strike disrupts their service, because there are other competitors ready to step in."

Asked whether Verizon thinks the Thursday outage highlights the importance of resolving the labor situation soon, company spokesman Jack Hoey said, "We've always felt that way. We've felt from the beginning that it would be good for our employees, our company, the country, and the economy to get an agreement that's good for all sides as soon as possible. That continues to be our commitment and our goal."

"We expect the talks to resume soon" with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Hoey added, but did not say when.

Candice Johnson, a national CWA spokeswoman in Washington, had no comment on the status of negotiations but said, "We have been continuing talks to day with the company over the phone."

Unions are pushing Verizon to maintain health insurance plans that charge union members no weekly premium and to keep thousands of jobs in high-wage Northeastern states rather than moving them to lower cost areas where Verizon operates, such as Texas and Idaho.
 
 
 

Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association
July 30, 2003

The scheduled strike by Communications Workers of America (CWA) members against Verizon Wireless provides another opportunity for PBA members to show their solidarity with fellow unionists.

Verizon managers are attempting to hire private security and other fill-in workers in anticipation of this walkout and, as often happens, many of these targeted hires will be off-duty police officers. If you have been approached to work in any capacity in this situation or in the event that you will be, we urge you strongly not to accept that job in the context of this labor dispute. PBA members must show solidarity with other union members during labor disputes.

We must remember how strongly the CWA members supported us at our Times Square rally and at all the other events we staged to get our salary message out to the press, politicians and public.

Please don’t accept employment as security or as a replacement worker for striking CWA members. It’s time for us to repay their support in kind.

Fraternally,
Patrick J. Lynch
President
 

Wireless gets blacked out too

Trying to use your cell phone during the blackout was nearly impossible. What
went wrong?
August 16, 2003: 8:58 AM EDT
By Paul R. La Monica, CNN/Money Senior Writer
 

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The blackout of 2003 proved one thing to many cell phone users: the death of the traditional landline may be greatly exaggerated.

Many wireless customers in the New York metropolitan area, parts of the Midwest and Canada were unable to use their cell phones during the blackout, which made a frustrating situation even more annoying.

But landlines, including pay phones, (When was the last time you saw lines for one of those?) pretty much worked like a charm. So what went wrong?

In most cases, the biggest problem was a huge surge in volume (everybody all trying to make calls at the same time) that flooded the wireless spectrum, leading to many busy signals.

"Spectrum is a scarce resource and wireless companies build out their networks based on average expected usage levels," said Greg Gorbatenko, an analyst with Loop Capital Markets, an independent research firm focusing on telecom and
cable. "A spike in demand can blow up the network and most cannot handle an emergency."

To that end, a spokesman for Sprint said that its wireless division handled three times the average daily volume in New York City on Thursday and Verizon Wireless said that call volume was four times normal in all the areas affected by the blackout.

"Think of it as five thousand people trying to get through your front door at once. It's going to be slow," said Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T Wireless, which was still experiencing some cell phone service problems Friday morning.

But many had hoped that after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, wireless carriers would be better prepared for the next time there was an event that led to a substantial surge in calls.

However, the wireless telecom sector has many problems. Most carriers are faced with large debt loads. And because of intense competition (there are six major carriers nationwide) they are resorting to price wars to attract new
subscribers. All that means that it has been difficult for the carriers to upgrade their networks to handle more calls and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future.

"It will be years before wireless carriers are at a level where they can handle the type of volume that landlines can," said Allan Tumolillo, chief operating officer of Probe Group, a telecom research firm.
 

Electricity matters
Still volume wasn't the only problem. For example, while walking home Thursday, I completely lost my cell phone signal once I got into downtown Manhattan and headed over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn. The service was not restored until my power went back on Friday morning and even then it was spotty at best. Meanwhile, my landline at home worked fine the whole time.

Why was that the case? Dan Wilinsky, a spokesman for Sprint said that while wireless carriers have ample power backup to protect their switches, that is not the case for all of the cell sites, which house the antennas that transmit the calls across a network. So as power slowly comes back to blacked-out areas, so should cell phone service.

Cingular said that as of Friday about 25 percent of its cell sites in Cleveland and New York City were still not operational and that more than 75 percent were out of commission in Detroit due to power outages.

Still, it's kind of alarming that cutting-edge technology such as wireless communications can be undermined by a glitch in a nineteenth-century innovation.
 

"Wireless is too dependent on the external power supply. And since wireless phones are becoming the main phone line for many people, the industry has to make sure that customers have the same kind of reliability as with landlines,"
said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecom analyst.

At the very least the blackout should put pressure on the major wireless carriers to bulk up coverage in already high-traffic networks and take more steps to insure that wireless antennas can keep running even in the event of a power
outage.

And given the massive problems that cell phone users experienced on Thursday and Friday, this might convince some that having no landline at all is a bad idea.

"Wireless is not a failsafe. It's a telecommunications accessory," said Gorbate.
 
 

Union Threatens to Desert Verizon

Aug. 16-- Washington Times -- The largest union on the East Coast said yesterday that it would urge its members to switch their telephone service from Verizon to competitor AT&T unless Verizon workers win the job concessions they seek.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) made the announcement as labor contract negotiations stalled over issues of health benefits, job security and overtime. No talks were held yesterday because of the electrical power outage in the Northeast.

Earlier this week, union leaders representing Verizon's 78,000 employees in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast threatened a campaign to persuade Verizon's customers to switch to AT&T. The Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are trying to pressure the company to agree to their contract demands.

In announcing his support of the campaign, AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said the union representing 750,000 East Coast government workers "will do everything we can to help them win a new contract that preserves their jobs and provides the health care benefits and working conditions they deserve."

Officials at the nation's largest local phone company said any move by the unions to hurt the company's business would hurt employees worse by resulting in layoffs.

Negotiations that broke off last week resumed Tuesday with the help of federal mediators trying to avert a strike.

Verizon's management says the company could lose its competitive edge in the telecommunications market if it agrees to the union's demands.

For the unions, a primary concern is a contract provision that limits Verizon to moving no more than 0.7 percent a year of jobs in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast to other places. Verizon wants to increase the percentage to 8 percent a year.

"They want to move those jobs to lower-wage areas," said Vincent Cody, a Verizon systems technician in Warrenton, Va. "We've seen what happened with AT&T. They're moving all their jobs to India."

Verizon denies that it would move the jobs overseas.

Telephone service in 12 states and the District could be affected by a strike. The employees represented by the CWA and IBEW include repair and installation technicians, and customer service operators.

About 10,000 of the employees work in the Washington area. The two largest offices are in Arlington and Silver Spring, with dozens of smaller technical-work centers throughout the area.

Talks are scheduled to resume Monday. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service intervened in the negotiations after a strike deadline passed at midnight Aug. 2.

Verizon has said that "all the issues are connected and boil down to the company's need to create a more competitive cost structure."

Spokesmen for the unions refused to comment, saying they are following a "press blackout" ordered by the federal mediators last week until the negotiations are completed.

"We don't want the parties negotiating in the press," said Jack Toner, a spokesman for the mediators.

He would not predict when a final agreement was likely.

"I don't know," Mr. Toner said. "They're down to tough issues."

Local-phone-service business is shrinking while revenue is growing in the wireless and high-speed Internet divisions, which are not highly unionized.

Union workers said that keeping up with the demand to connect wireless customers forces many of them to work 70 hours per week.

With about $67 billion in annual revenues and 221,000 employees, Verizon's telecommunications network extends throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.
 
 
 
 

TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Saturday, August 16, 2003 3:15PM

"A scheduled bargaining session between CWA and IBEW and the federal mediator did not take place in Washington Friday morning because the blackout interfered with travel plans of the company negotiator. However the parties did negotiate for several hours by phone and exchanged  proposals about how to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Unfortunately the company failed once again to meet our demands for real job security. Health care and compensation issues are also still a matter of major disagreement.

The parties plan to resume negotiations on Monday although they are available for phone contact if necessary over the weekend.

Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes."

TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Thursday, August 14, 2003 3:15PM

"The CWA regional bargaining teams in Westchester and Washington continue to await Verizons response to the demands that were made yesterday concerning real long term job security guarantees for our members.

Specifically we have requested comprehensive information from Verizon on its out sourced and contracted work, both in new technologies areas like DSL and fiber to the home, and in traditional telephone areas such as buried cable placement.

For job security guarantees to be effective in the long run CWA must represent the workers that perform this work so that if the jobs on the wire line side continue to decline alternative job opportunities will be open to our members.

We continue to bargain over health care, pensions and compensation issues as well.

Thank you for calling and please stay in touch with these tapes."
 
 

Northeast Regional Bargaining - Report #21

The CWA Regional Bargaining Teams in Westchester and Washington continued to await Verizon's response to the demands we made yesterday concerning real, long-term job security guarantees for our members.

Specifically, we have requested comprehensive information from Verizon on its outsourced and contracted work, both in new technology areas like DSL and fiber to the home, and in traditional telephone areas such as buried cable placement. For job security guarantees to be effective in the long run, CWA must represent the workers who perform this work, so that if jobs on th