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CWA Members Ratify Verizon Contract

CWA National - October 8, 2003 -- Washington, D.C. -- Members of the Communications Workers of America at Verizon Communications ratified a five-year agreement, approving the contract with an 89 percent "yes" vote.

The agreement covers 60,000 CWA workers at Verizon operations from Maine to Virginia. Another 18,000 workers at Verizon are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

"This contract is very important for our members, because it achieves their key goals of safeguarding jobs and job security, maintaining the current quality health care coverage and fully paid premiums, and improving retirement security," said CWA President Morton Bahr.

The contract retains existing provisions protecting workers against the transfer of work out of their communities and against layoffs. It provides for a compounded wage increase of at least 10.6 percent over the contract term, including cost-of-living increases, as well as an immediate 3 percent cash bonus and annual profit-sharing bonuses that will give employees a minimum of $3,000 over the contract term.

The settlement was reached Sept. 4, about a month after contract expiration. Verizon workers stayed on the job and carried out an innovative mobilization and communications program, building community, political and on-line support for labor's Fairness at Verizon campaign.

The parties also agreed to continue to work with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service director, who had helped facilitate the talks, in an effort to develop a relationship built on mutual trust and respect.

Separate agreements covering workers at Verizon Information Services, Verizon Wireless and Verizon Connected Solutions also were ratified, with approval votes of 95 percent, 96 percent and 66 percent, respectively.
 
 

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Verizon Unions Ratify 5-Year Labor Pact
 

October 8, 2003 --  NEW YORK (AP) - Two unions representing 78,000 Verizon Communications workers have ratified a five-year labor agreement.

In early September, the New York-based phone company reached a tentative agreement with the unions, who agreed to smaller wage increases and some increases in health care costs in return for job security.

The Communication Workers Of America, which covers 60,000 workers from Maine to Virginia, in a press release Wednesday said 89 percent of its members voted ``yes.''

The other union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, also ratified the Verizon labor agreement, union spokesman Jim Spellane said. The approval rate was 90 percent.
 
 

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TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Thursday, September 18, 2003

TRANSCRIPT:

 "Local 1101 Members have voted to ratify our new contract overwhelmingly, by a vote of 3,538 YES to 303 NO.

The National Union will announce the final numbers for all locals next week.

Thank you and CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!"
 

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Health premiums swell, U.S. public worried - poll
By Kim Dixon

CHICAGO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Americans fret more over soaring health costs than terrorism and consumers have more cause for anger as premiums rise at the steepest rate in a decade, a report on Tuesday said.

Health-care premiums rose 13.9 percent this year, driven by steep prescription drug costs, pricey new medical technology and insurers' profit gains, a study by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found.

That is the sharpest spike since 1990 and there is no let- up in sight, according to analysts.

The results provide a "perfect snapshot of our national schizophrenia about health care," said Gerald Shea, government affairs analyst at the AFL-CIO umbrella union.

There is a "pretty broad consensus that this is unsustainable," he said. "We can't have health inflation at five times the rate of inflation. It's going to break the bank."

The poll found that 33 percent of the insured worry that their income might not keep up with health premiums, while just 8 percent said they fear being a victim of a terror attack.

Spending on health care is set to hit 17.7 percent of U.S. gross domestic product by 2012, up from 14.1 percent in 2001, according to government estimates.

WORKERS FEEL PINCH, COMPANIES SHOP AROUND

Tussles over rising health-care costs are at the center of contentious labor talks between U.S. employers and workers, including Verizon Communications <VZ.N> and the Big Three automakers.

And as the baby boom generation retires, the numbers of people on the U.S. retirement health program, Medicare, will swell. That is fueling a congressional debate about adding prescription drugs to Medicare, which now covers 41 million elderly and disabled.

Workers are feeling the pinch. Costs paid by workers out of their own pockets for prescription drugs and doctor visits jumped by at least 50 percent in just the last three years, the report found.

For example, workers are paying an average $29 out of pocket for the most expensive brand name prescription drugs, compared with $17 in 2000, the study found.

And in a finding virtually unheard of just a few years ago, 44 percent of companies have a separate deductible or co-payment for hospital services.

Companies are scrambling for better deals. Sixty-two percent of companies are shopping around to find a better health-insurance deal.

HMO PROFITS

Premiums are rising a bit less rapidly at big companies that take on the risk of health insurance themselves, so-called self-insured employers like General Electric Co. <GE.N>

This suggests that part of the rise in health-care premiums can be linked to HMOs' expanding profits, experts said.

Nearly every publicly traded HMO posted record profits in recent quarters, as they raise premiums to cope with underlying cost drivers such as prescription drugs, hospital and doctor fees.

The Morgan Stanley Health Payor index of HMOs <.HMO> is up 43 percent this year.

But it is misguided to cast HMOs as villains because they are just playing "catch-up" from an earlier period when premiums trailed cost increases, said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

When HMOs start moving into new markets, or compete by seeking new members, premiums could begin to decline, experts said. But they added there is no sign of that yet.

The poll results were based on a telephone survey of 1,800 companies, taken from January to May.

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Verizon's Pact Seen as Critical to Its Industry
By LAURIE J. FLYNN
 

Sept. 8, 2003 -- NY Times -- Verizon's unions were quite happy with the settlement they reached Thursday night with the company, but some analysts contend that the deal could make it harder for the nation's large telephone service providers to face increasing threats to their business from the cable industry and a variety of upstarts.

The settlement comes as companies in the traditional local telephone industry, like Verizon, SBC Communications and Bell South, are moving from the effective monopoly control over direct access to consumers and business they long enjoyed to a much more challenging situation contending with powerful cable companies like Cox and Comcast that are offering rival data and voice services through their own pipes into homes and offices.

The nation's wireless carriers — even though some of them are at least partly owned by regional telephone companies — represent an additional threat, as do companies that offer various telecommunications services at bargain rates because of special regulatory privileges.

Verizon executives had maintained that without the unions' allowing them more flexibility in relocating or laying off employees, the company could have trouble competing in the changing telecommunications industry, which is largely nonunionized. But Verizon mostly abandoned the effort to win greater flexibility after an arbiter's decision in a layoff dispute limited its options.

"They still have on a union straitjacket when it comes to adjusting their work force to the competitive realities of today," said Scott Cleland, chief executive of the Precursor Group, a market research company. Mr. Cleland and other analysts say the company needs to be able to lay off and relocate larger numbers of workers to adapt to the fast-changing market.

But in a concession to Verizon, the unions agreed that newly hired workers would not be covered by the provisions related to job security. That means that while Verizon may lose some flexibility in the short term, in the longer term the company might regain much of it through attrition. And the company won some concessions that might encourage more turnover.

"By the third year of the contract, we'll have plenty of flexibility to manage the force up and down," said Lawrence T. Babbio, Verizon's vice chairman, in a conference call with analysts yesterday. Mr. Babbio pointed to provisions of the new contract that allow Verizon to offer incentives to union employees to retire, including a $10,000 lump-sum payment. He estimated that roughly 12,000 employees were eligible to retire in the Northeast region.

Through the program, Mr. Babbio said, the company hoped to replace some current employees with "lower paid, nonprotected" employees as a way of keeping costs down.

Verizon executives also contended that the settlement would still do much to help it stay competitive by freezing wages and leading to savings in health care coverage. Mr. Babbio said the contract would increase Verizon's costs by an average of $240 million each year, far less than the $570 million annual cost of the contract that expired a month ago. A result, he said, is a slowing of "the rate of employee-related expense growth in our business."

Some analysts agreed. "It strikes me the company got what it wanted," said Ned Zachar, director of telecommunications research at Thomas Weisel. "As the employee base turns over, they're going to get some of the work-rules flexibility."

The agreement also calls for annual mediated talks between Verizon and the unions to assess changes in the economy and the competitive environment. While it is unclear just how those talks would lead to contract modifications, Mr. Zachar said they demonstrated "an admission by the union that the world of telecommunications is different than it was in 1997 or 1998."

Shares of Verizon fell 35 cents, to $36.30.

Verizon provides local telephone service in 29 states and long-distance and wireless service nationwide. It has a total work force of 224,000. The labor negotiations involved about 60,000 members of the Communications Workers of America and 15,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers along the East Coast who worked for Nynex and Bell Atlantic, which merged in 1997. The company adopted the Verizon name after it merged with G.T.E. in 2000.

On Tuesday, Verizon and the communications workers union negotiated a contract covering 51 workers in the wireless division, but that figure amounts to a fraction of the company's 40,000-employee wireless work force.

Unionizing Verizon Wireless is critical to the unions because as the wireless division grows and the company's traditional business shrinks, unionized workers could represent a smaller share of the overall company. Already, the cellular-phone business is the fastest-growing division of Verizon Communications, which owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless. In its second-quarter earnings release in July, the company said it added 1.2 million retail wireless customers and that it greatly reduced its churn rate, the rate at which it loses customers to competitors.

In the company's view, keeping the union out of its wireless business is critical to keeping its costs down and sustaining its growth rates.

On July 30, Verizon reported sales for the quarter of $16.83 billion, compared with $16.75 billion in the second quarter last year, helped to a great extent by the wireless division. But Verizon's local wired telephone service is already losing ground. For the second quarter, Verizon reported that revenue from local telephone service business was $9.9 billion, down from $10.25 billion in the second quarter last year.

While the new contract may help keep costs from rising too fast, Patrick Comack, an analyst with Guzman & Company, a market research firm, said it would not make it any easier for Verizon to hold its ground in the wired telephone market. "This will make it easier," he said, "for cable telephony to take a material share in 2004."
 

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Verizon shares rise slightly after labor deal

CHICAGO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. <VZ.N> rose slightly on Friday, a day after the largest U.S. telephone company and two unions representing about 35 percent of its work force reached new tentative labor contracts.

The New York-based company's stock rose 21 cents to $36.86 in early morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Verizon and the two unions, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, signed tentative five-year contracts late on Thursday that would boost wages but still save "significant" costs compared to previous contracts.

The agreement, which came after more than two months of wrangling, also gave the company greater flexibility to deal with competitive and economic changes by including a provision for annual talks on job security and wages. The unions were able to keep language that protects workers.

Analysts called the contract a win-win for both sides.

"It just looks like both sides got enough to close a deal," said Jeff Kagan, independent telecoms analyst. "The important part is that it's over and they can get back to the business of doing business rather than doing battle."

The current employment contracts, which cover 79,000 workers in 13 states from Maine to Virginia, expired on Aug. 2, but the two sides agreed to continue talking and avert a strike. They used a mediator to work out differences and avoid a work stoppage.

Contract negotiations began in June, with health care costs, job security, and employees' absentee rates among the most contentious issues.

"The settlement removes any last vestiges of investor fear that a union strike would disrupt operations," said Bear Stearns analyst Robert Fagin in a research note.

Verizon has been pressured to cut costs to offset weak customer demand and a shift to cell phones and e-mail. The company also has had to compete with long-distance and cable rivals who have smaller, and in some cases no, union representation.
 
 

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Verizon Communications Vice Chairman Babbio To Discuss Labor Agreements On Sept. 5

NEW YORK, Sep 4, 2003 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) will webcast a presentation for the investment community at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, Sept. 5. Lawrence T. Babbio, Verizon vice chairman and president, will discuss the recently announced tentative agreement on five-year contracts with the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Access instructions and presentation materials will be available by 9:30 a.m. on Verizon's Investor Relations Web site, www.verizon.com/investor.
 
 

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Verizon, CWA and IBEW Reach Tentative Agreement

WASHINGTON, Sep 4, 2003 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Verizon Communications, Inc. and its employee unions, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), have reached tentative agreement on five-year contracts applicable to all Verizon facilities in the company's Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, according to the federal mediator in the negotiations, Peter J. Hurtgen, Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).

The contracts cover approximately 79,000 technicians, service representatives and operators in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Company and union representatives disclosed details of the agreements today (September 4, 2003) after negotiating for more than a month with the assistance of FMCS mediators.

"I want to commend all the parties involved in these difficult negotiations. I think everyone was mindful of the enormous stakes, not just for labor-management in this situation, but for its potential effect on telecommunications in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic," Hurtgen said. "I think everyone involved recognized how vital it was to reach agreement, and all the parties conducted themselves accordingly. The parties came to the table in good faith, and dealt responsibly with some very complicated issues on both sides, and they are to be commended for it."

Hurtgen quoted estimates by independent economists Tom Kochan of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harry Katz of Cornell University that a strike would have cost a minimum of $16 million a day in lost wages. In 2000, an 18-day strike led to a backlog of 250,000 repairs and new phone orders that took months to process, the FMCS Director said. "It's very hard to quantify what the total impact of a work stoppage would be, but clearly, this is a situation that we wanted to avoid," he said.

"These are challenging times for both labor and management, and I can't say enough about the willingness of both sides to look for solutions to the tough issues that we see in telecommunications as well as other high-tech industries," Hurtgen said.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, created in 1947, is an independent agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with five regional offices and more than 70 field offices, the agency provides mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies and communities.

Your Bargaining Team is proud to present a summary of the tentative agreement with Verizon. Full details will be made available as soon as possible. It should be remembered that the company wanted major givebacks, and they were ALL beat back, while our primary goals of preserving our job security and no premium shifting in medical benefits were achieved.

Term of Contract: 5 years – August 3, 2003 through August 2, 2008

Wages: 2003 – 3% Lump Sum

Third Medical Opinion: Independent vendor will provide for third medical opinions, and union has to agree to vendor.

Safety Committee: Established regional and local safety committees to ensure the safety for all members.

Ergonomics Committee: Established ergonomics committee to ensure well being of members, and speed up implementation of ergonomic changes.

Commuter Advantage Program: Similar to current pre-tax commuter savings program, but, eliminates need for receipts and vouchers, and provides mass transit tickets.

Verizon East Wage Increase Calculator

Download  BARGAINING SUMMARY in Text Format (.doc)

CWA/Verizon
2003 Negotiations
Final Offer Comparison


	Company Demand November 13,2002	Company Demand June 23,2003	Final Agreement September 4, 2003
Duration of Contract	August 6, 2005 2 Year Contract	July 29, 2006 3 Year Contract	August 2, 2008 5 Year Contract
Wages	0% Base Increase over life of contract.Lump Sum payout based on Service Measurements	No Wage offer made across table	2003 - 3% Lump Sum 2004 - 2% Base Increase  2005 - 2% Base Increase  2006 - 2% Base Increase Minimum  2007 - 2% Base Increase Minimum 2006 & 2007 Have Cola Formula that could raise percent increase if inflation reaches certain levels
Pensions	Lump Sum Cash out period extended to December 31, 2005 Increase in Pension Bands: August 8, 2004 – 2%	Lump Sum Cash out option not renewed. No increase in bands offered	-Lump Sum Cash out window October 1, 2003 thru December 31, 2003 window includes 5% increase in bands -Lump Sum Cash out option returns November 1, 2004 for life of agreement.  -Increase in Pension Bands: November 1, 2004 – 2% October 1, 2005-3% October 1, 2006-3% October 1, 2007-3%
Voluntary Termination Pay	Layoff allowance $10,000	1 weeks pay for each yr of svc up to 5 yrs 2 weeks pay for each year of svc. up from 5 to 10 years  3 weeks pay for each yr of svc over 10 yrs	Voluntary Termination Pay of $10,000 plus Enhanced IPP plus medical benefits for 6 months if surplus declared.i.e. $10,000 + $66,000 + medical for 6 months



 
	Company Demand November 13,2002	Company Demand June 23,2003	Final Agreement September 4, 2003
Corporate Profit Sharing	Effective January 1, 2003 eliminate CPS	Eliminate CPS	CPS minimum payout: 2003 - $500 2004 - $550 2005 - $600 2006 -$650 2007 - $700
Job Security	Job Security Letter (external event) eliminated Arbitration (external event) resolved (dropped)  Force Adjustment Plan Eliminated Employees hired before 4/3/94 will not be laid of for life of extension (2yrs)  No Layoff through 8/2/03 (9 mo’s)  Effective 8/8/04 employees hired after 4/3/94 subject to layoff at company discretion	Job Security Letter (external event) eliminated Arbitration (external event) resolved (dropped/vacated)  Force Adjustment Plan Eliminated  Employees hired before 4/3/94 will not be laid of for life of contract (3yrs)  Effective 8/3/03 employees hired after 4/3/94 subject to layoff at company discretion  Company to protect up to 10% of title (no seniority on lay-off)  Layoffs by specific title	External Event Language – renewed intact for life of contract (5 yrs) Arbitrator’s decision stands  Force Adjustment Plan – renewed intact for life of contract (5 yrs)  All current employees protected for life of contract (5 yrs)  New Hires not covered by “External Event” provisions of the force adjustment plan.i.e. can be transferred beyond 35 miles and are subject to layoff.
Transfer of Work	Company may transfer up to 8% of work out of Bargaining Unit to other States or Countries Annually	Company may transfer up to 8% of work out of Bargaining Unit to other States or Countries Annually “Net” applied	Maintained current language limiting company to no more than .7% of the work can be transferred out of Bargaining Unit to other States or Countries for life of contract (Renewed intact). No “net”
Green Circling		Eliminate Green Circle Protection and downgrade protected members	Preserved current Language intact protecting affected members



 
	Company Demand November 13,2002	Company Demand June 23,2003	Final Agreement September 4, 2003
Absence	FMLA incidental absence will be unpaid – Employees shall first use all their vacation and personal time and then remaining time will be unpaid Non FMLA incidental absence:  <3 Years Svc. No pay  <5 Years Svc. No pay 1st 3 days  < 10 Years Svc. No pay 1st 2 days  < 20 Years Svc. No pay 1st day	No pay for elective procedures, self inflicted injuries, injury during participation in felony, injury while self employed Incidental Absence Maximum Days Paid annually:  <3 Years Svc. 0 days Paid  <5 Years Svc. 2 days Paid  < 10 Years Svc. 4 days Paid  < 15 Years Svc. 6 days Paid  > 15 Years Svc. 8 days Paid  Disability absence 26 weeks max pay  Six months to recycle disability benefits	Established Absence Advisory Committee Maintained current benefit  Incidental Absence - remains intact more than 2 Years Svc. all days paid  Disability absence – remains intact up to 52 weeks pay
Medical Premium / Cost Shifting	Establish Committee to develop changes to MEP (cost shifting) if no agreement, company can implement. Union would have no right to strike.	-Cost shifting – members to pay 7% of gross monthly premium -No new Class II dependants  $100 per person annual deductible for prescriptions plus co-pays of 20-50%  -Eliminate Stop Loss Caps (Max OOP)  -Annual deductible $300 for individual, 3 time for family	-No Premium Cost shifting for Retirees -No Premium Cost Shifting for Active Employees  -Preserved Stop-Loss  -Annual deductible $150 until 2006 then $200 and 2008 $250 for individual 2.5 times for family  - Active PPO as “In-Network” that will cover  - Doctor’s office Visit - $10 co-pay 2004 $15 2005  - Obesity treatment  - Infertility treatment – up to $20,000  - Well Baby Care (with immunizations)  - Routine Physical  - Wellness benefits (including PAP, PSA, FOB, colonoscopy at 100%)  Surgery and anesthesia 100% if in network



 
	Company Demand November 13,2002	Company Demand June 23,2003	Final Agreement September 4, 2003
Prescription Plan		$100 Deductible 21 day supply w/2 renewals  Retail – Generic –20% of Discounted Network Price (DNP)  Mail Order - Generic 20% DNP $100 Max)  Brand w/no generic 20% DNP $100 max plus any cost difference between brand/generic  Brand w/no generic 30% DNP no max plus any cost difference between brand/generic  Company determines if medication is appropriate and required and is the most cost effective	No Deductible 30 day supply unlimited renewals  Retail – Generic –15% of Discounted Network Price (DNP) $25  Brand w/no generic available 20% DNP  $40 Max  Brand w/generic But no DAW 30% DNP $50 Max  Mail Order - Generic $8 or DNP (Whichever lower)  Brand w/no generic $12 or DNP (Whichever lower)  Brand w/generic but no DAW $20 or DNP (whichever lower)  Out of Pocket Maximum  2004 - $200  2006 - $250  2008 - $300



 
	Company Demand November 13,2002	Company Demand June 23,2003	Final Agreement September 4, 2003
Dental		Premium “contribution” of$5-15 per month – recalculated each year	No premium shifting Added Implant coverage  Added Finishing Crown
Third Medical Opinion Process	No Proposal	Eliminate County Medical Board for selection of TMO provider Use MetLife to hire third party provider  MetLife has influence over TMO	Contract with a neutral vendor to administer TMO as well as select TMO provider. MetLife removed from entire process except to provide TMO provider with medical information.  Defined process now in place
Short Notice EWD’s	Add protections which include notice requirements, the number of employees that can take SNEWD’s, ability of company to designate certain number of days unavailable to deny all requests if service emergency exists.	A supervisor will, upon the proper request of an employee, grant one short notice request in that employee’s work group for each regular workday from Monday through Friday.	SNEWD provisions remain intact without restriction to number of employees allowed off or what days are available for selection of SNEWD
Tuition		Cut entire tuition assistance program and pay only for classes directly related to current job.  Limit tuition to $4,000 a year	Maintained current language



 
Plant Contract	Company Demand November 13,2002	Company Demand June 23,2003	Final Agreement September 4, 2003
Contracting		Effective August 3, 2003 all letters and language dealing with contracting initiatives to be removed, company would have unlimited right to contract out	Maintained all language, letters, and limitations on contracting
Overtime	No proposal	Straight time for Saturday Straight time for Sunday  Eliminate Double time  Remove overtime caps (10/15)	Maintained current language
Differentials		Eliminate Night, Saturday differentials	Maintained current language
Tours		Introduce split tours, not necessarily of equal lengths	No split tours
Transfers		Eliminate DTA for transfers up to 20 miles Increase mileage for room and board from 35 miles to 50 miles  Increase mileage for home relocation from 35 miles to 50 miles	Maintained current language
Technology Change Notice		30 Days notice if affect 50 or more employees Delete All requirements for notice of 6 months  Vacate any arbitrations limiting company’s rights, or requiring longer notice	Maintained current language
Download Final Offer Comparison in Text format (.doc) 
Download Final Offer Comparison in PDF format (.pdf)

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UNITY AT VERIZON
September 4, 2003 - 9:30pm

Thank You!
To the hundreds of thousands of you who supported our campaign for a fair contract at Verizon, thank you!

Thank you for your letters to the company and politicians, your pledges to switch your phone service or drop your enhanced services, your presence at rallies, your messages of solidarity, and every other way that you let Verizon know that you would not accept its corporate greed and attacks on workers.

Pressure from customers, elected officials, student groups, religious leaders, community organizations, labor allies, and all our other supporters made the difference. With your help, we were able to achieve our two critical goals: protecting hometown jobs and preserving full coverage of health care premiums. Our families will have the peace of mind of knowing that our jobs will not be shipped somewhere else to save a few dollars. Our communities will continue to benefit from the presence of good, stable jobs.

Sometimes we all feel outmatched in the battle against corporate greed, but, we have demonstrated that, together, we can win jobs with justice for our communities.

In solidarity,
Unity@Verizon
 

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UNITY AT VERIZON
September 4, 2003 - 9:30 p.m.
Tentative Agreements Reached at All Tables!

We Did It!

In these negotiations with Verizon, we had two paramount goals: to protect our job security and to preserve our health benefits with no premium sharing. After one of the toughest rounds of negotiations in recent memory, we have reached a tentative agreement that achieves both. Verizon went into these negotiations determined to shift health care premium costs onto retirees and active employees, to take back the "external event" language on layoffs, and to make its ability to move work nearly unlimited.

The company also demanded concessions in many other areas of the contract, including overtime and sick pay, shift differentials, two-tier benefit levels for new hires, and work rule changes. In the end, these regressive demands were withdrawn.

The agreement preserves our most cherished goals of employment and health security. All job security protections continue for current employees. No employees and no retirees will be required to make premium contributions. Other health care improvements will save money for both members and the company. Pension bands will increase 11.46% over the contract.

We achieved all this without members losing one day of pay, without suspension of health care benefits, and without risk of permanent replacement. With unprecedented unity between CWA and IBEW, East and West, and North and South, we followed a strategy one newspaper called "a labor version of rope-a-dope, the brilliant Muhammad Ali boxing tactic of covering up and burrowing down while your opponent uselessly flails about, unable to land a solid blow."

Verizon carried a double payroll while we continued to mobilize. Members and locals creatively demonstrated their commitment to resist Verizon's corporate greed and unfair practices. In many work locations, members endured abusive levels of forced overtime and increased monitoring and discipline while management frantically searched for ways to make us either walk out or concede to its terms. Our strength and solidarity made that impossible. Our creative, persistent resistance prevailed.
 

Congratulations to us all.
 
 

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Verizon Northeast Bargaining & Mobilization
Northeast Regional Bargaining - Report #25

CWA District One
Thursday, September 4, 2003, 9:00 p.m.

Your CWA Regional Bargaining Team is very proud to announce that we have reached a contract settlement with Verizon that achieves the union's most important goals for this round of bargaining-protecting the job security and health care of our members.

There will be no changes whatsoever to the "external event" language of the Job Security Letter for all members currently on the payroll over the life of the new contract, which will be five years. The contract also leaves unchanged for the life of the contract the "movement of work" language that prevents Verizon from shifting more than .7% of our work out of the region per year.

In addition, there will be no health care premium shifting for active and retired workers during the life of the contract.

This great victory means that once again we have fought off Verizon's demand that we pay for our health care. It also means that have protected the jobs, families and futures of our 3400 laid off brothers and sisters who returned to work on July 30th. The extraordinary achievement of winning these members' jobs back and guaranteeing all of our members' job security for the life of this five-year contract will stand out as one of the great victories of labor history!

The contract provides for cash bonus of 3% for every member in October. There will be annual base wage increases of 2% per year from 2004 through 2007. In addition, there is a new cost-of-living provision that will increase wages by 50% of whatever increase takes place in the CPI over 4% between 2004 and 2006, and over 2% in 2007. And there will be annual profit sharing cash bonuses from 2004 through 2008 that will give employees a minimum of $3,000.

The contract also increases pensions by 11% and preserves a lump-sum cash out option.

Your Regional Bargaining Team believes this contract represents a tremendous victory for our members and our union. It was your mobilization efforts-your discipline, your workplace demonstrations, your support for carrier switch, your rallies at Verizon Wireless, your unity and your determination-that made this victory possible. We tried a new strategy in 2003, and it worked, proving to be a powerful new contract mobilization tool. Every CWA member at Verizon should feel proud of this tremendous accomplishment.

However, we must keep in mind that despite our accomplishments, there is still unfinished business. We must continue fighting to ensure that CWA members perform all telecommunications work in the fastest growing part of our industry-for example, DSL tech support work. And we must rededicate ourselves to organizing the 40,000 unorganized workers at Verizon Wireless, most of whom do exactly the same work as we do, only for less money, worse benefits and with no job security. Verizon Wireless' anti-union behavior during this contract fight shows us what we are up against, but if we all commit ourselves to this task-we will win!

In closing, your Bargaining Committee would like to thank you-and congratulate you on a tremendous victory for every one of us! And we urge each and every one of you to attend the Labor Day Parade in New York City on Saturday, September 6, to celebrate our victory, as CWA leads the Parade up 5th Avenue. Solidarity Forever!
 
 

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VERIZON BARGAINING UPDATE

Landmark Five-Year Agreement Reached

Sept. 4 (9 p.m.): Leaders from Verizon, the CWA and IBEW announced a tentative agreement late Thursday evening as a result of a series of mediated sessions in Washington, D.C., guided by Peter Hurtgen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

"This landmark agreement is fair for employees and at the same time helps Verizon remain competitive in these very challenging times," said Larry Babbio, vice chairman and president, Domestic Telecom. "It achieves a creative solution to all major economic issues so that employees continue to receive industry leading benefits and wages, and Verizon can better control its costs, especially when compared with past contracts.

"This five-year agreement, which is unprecedented, provides stability and certainty for both the company and our employees. In addition, the agreement maps out an annual process to balance increased wages against the company's need to manage the size of the workforce," Babbio added.

"Given the complexity of the issues we faced, we were fortunate to have the guidance of the federal mediator in these negotiations. I also commend union leaders for their willingness to work on ways to reduce the company's cost structure, which is the only way to keep Verizon strong in the years to come."

Details of the Agreement

Contract Structure: By achieving a longer-term contract, Verizon has created stability and certainty for our employees, customers and investors. At the same time, the agreement enables the company to significantly slow the rate of employee-related expense growth over the life of the contract. A key component of the agreement is the right to conduct structured discussions annually on wages and job security. This allows the parties to mutually assess changes in the economy and the competitive environment and to balance any wage increases above the level set in the contract against the needs of the company to reduce the size the workforce. If the parties do not agree to alter the contract, the terms of the five-year agreement remain in force. This means the company will not face a strike for five years, providing stability for all employees.

Wages and Pension: The agreement provides an up-front lump-sum payment to associates of 3 percent of salary. Each year thereafter, base wages will be increased 2 percent, for a total of 8 percent over five years. The company 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. In addition, there will be a pension band increase of 2 percent effective October 1, 2004, and 3 percent increases annually for the remainder of the contract, for a total of 11 percent.

Health Care for Active Employees: The agreement also will enable Verizon to significantly offset rapidly rising medical costs without diminishing the quality or range of services offered to employees. Verizon gained greater ability to negotiate directly with healthcare vendors, giving the company more leverage and flexibility in designing health plan offerings to manage costs overall. Additionally, the company can now offer features such as a preferred provider network and better discounts for prescription drugs, with incentives for employees to choose less costly options. The agreement also calls for some increases in employees' co-pays and deductibles. As a result, Verizon is able to preserve zero-premium policies while achieving a sizable economic benefit to the company.

Healthcare for Retirees: Verizon will continue to offer no-premium healthcare for associate retirees for the term of the contract. Other than increases in co-pays and deductibles, retiree benefits will remain essentially unchanged.

Job Security: Current job security protections will remain, but will not apply to associates hired after the contract takes effect. In addition, the current provisions regarding the company's ability to move work will remain in effect for the duration of the five-year agreement. To assist in reducing the workforce, the company will enhance voluntary separation incentives. For employees who volunteer to leave the company as the result of surplus declarations, the employees will be paid a one-time bonus of $10,000 in addition to their severance package, and six months continuation of medical coverage. In addition, the agreement will establish a window for associates who retire in the fourth-quarter of 2003 to receive a 5 percent pension band increase and the ability to take their pension as a lump sum. Current interest rates are at a historically low level. Since an increase in interest rates lowers the amount of the lump sum, the company expects significant numbers of employees to take advantage of this short-term opportunity while rates are low. Under the terms of the new contract, the ability to take a lump sum pension payment will not be available again until the fourth quarter of 2004, and pensions for the following 12 months will be increased by only 2 percent at that time.

Absenteeism: The agreement calls for joint CWA/ IBEW/Verizon Committees to be formed to address incidental absence. The committees will be established on a geographic basis and will develop plans to reduce absence and improve administration, with particular attention to those employees with a record of excessive incidental absences.

Verizon believes the agreement successfully balances employee issues with our need for efficiency and affordability. It will significantly slow the rate at which costs are increasing while maintaining excellent wages and benefits for associates.

In addition, the parties agreed to continue to meet with the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to improve the collective bargaining process and union-management relationships.

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TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Thursday, September 4, 2003, 9PM

Your CWA Regional Bargaining Team is very proud to announce that we have reached a contract settlement with Verizon that achieves the union's most important goals for this round of bargaining-protecting the job security and health care of our members and retirees!

There will be no changes whatsoever to the "external event" language of the Job Security Letter for all members currently on the payroll over the life of the new contract, which will be five years. The contract also leaves unchanged for the life of the contract the "movement of work" language that prevents Verizon from shifting more than .7% of our work out of the region per year.

In addition, there will be no health care premium shifting for active and retired workers during the life of the contract.

This great victory means that once again we have fought off Verizon's demand that we pay for our health care. It also means that our 3400 laid off brothers and sisters who returned to work on July 30th have their jobs & their futures guaranteed in tact for the life of this contract! The extraordinary achievement of winning these members' jobs back and guaranteeing all of our members' job security for the life of this five-year contract will stand out as one of the great victories of labor!

The contract provides for an immediate lump sum of 3% for every member at the signing. There will be annual base wage increases of 2% minimum per year from 2004 through 2007. In addition, there is a new cost-of-living provision that will increase wages by 50% of whatever increase takes place in the CPI over the 4% between 2004 and 2006, and over the 2% in 2007. And there will be annual profit sharing cash bonuses from 2004 through 2008 that will give employees a minimum of $3,000.

The contract also increases pensions by 11% and preserves a lump-sum cash out option.

Your Regional Bargaining Team believes this contract represents a tremendous victory for our members and our union. It was your mobilization efforts, your discipline, your workplace demonstrations, your support for carrier switch, your rallies at Verizon Wireless, your unity and your determination-that made this victory possible. We tried a new strategy in 2003, and it worked, far better than we could have hoped. Every CWA member at Verizon should feel proud of this tremendous accomplishment.

The Company said NEVER and NEVER JUST HAPPENNED!

In closing, your Bargaining Team would like to thank you- and congratulate you on a tremendous victory for every one of us!

TO OUR FELLOW CWA 1101 MEMBERS
FROM: ANGEL FELICIANO, EXEC. V.P., CWA LOCAL 1101
DATE: Thursday, September 4, 2003

TRANSCRIPT:

"On the day after a breakthrough contract settlement for 51 Verizon Wireless technicians, union and company bargainers continued to work towards achieving a comprehensive contract agreement for 80,000 CWA and IBEW members at Verizon Communications. All through the day, the two sides exchanged proposals on contract language in an effort to resolve the outstanding issues.

CWA leaders reported a constructive attitude on the part of the company in the negotiations, but cautioned that some tough bargaining still remained ahead.

We will keep these tapes updated as information becomes available.

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

Verizon Northeast Bargaining & Mobilization Northeast Regional Bargaining - Report #24

CWA District One
Wednesday, September 3, 2003, 8:00 p.m.

On the day after a breakthrough contract settlement for 51 Verizon Wireless technicians, union and company bargainers continued to work towards achieving a comprehensive contract agreement for 80,000 CWA and IBEW members at Verizon Communications. All through the day, the two sides exchanged proposals on contract language in an effort to resolve the outstanding issues.

CWA leaders reported a constructive attitude on the part of the company in the negotiations, but cautioned that some tough bargaining still remained ahead. Thanks to this more positive bargaining context, our mobilization activities have been put on hold for the time being.

CWA and IBEW bargainers expect to continue to meet into the evening, and negotiations will continue Thursday morning as well.

Every member should be proud of the extraordinary mobilization effort that has taken place over the last month, and the unity and determination that have brought us to this point in the bargaining. We have shown Verizon management that there is no greater force than a united and mobilized Communications Workers of America!

Verizon Mid-Atlantic Bargaining & Mobilization

CWA/IBEW – Verizon Common Issues Bargaining

Thanks to all of the hard work and dedication of every local and member, the wireless technicians in NYC have a tentative agreement. Your Bargaining committee is hopeful to report the same great news to you soon!

STAY UNITED !
"WE WON'T GO BACK"
WEAR RED TOMORROW!
WEAR BLACK ON FRIDAY!

Verizon Wireless and Workers Reach Agreement on a Contract
 New York Times, by Steven Greenhouse
 

Verizon's largest union announced a tentative agreement yesterday with Verizon Wireless for a bargaining unit representing 51 workers. Officials from both sides said the accord could set the stage for a broader contract settlement later this week involving 78,000 workers.

The union, the Communications Workers of America, said the five-year agreement would provide raises of 3 percent a year to workers at the top of the scale and 2 percent a year for most other workers. In addition, the union said, seniority steps would mean raises of at least 7 percent a year for many employees.

The agreement would for the first time give the wireless workers seniority rights for layoffs and job recalls.

For days, officials with the union and the company said negotiations over a contract for the 51 wireless technicians in the New York City area were slowing progress toward a larger agreement covering workers in 13 states and Washington.

The technicians have been unionized since 1989 when they were part of Nynex Mobile, which later became part of Verizon Wireless through mergers and a joint venture.

The union was hoping to obtain a generous, trend-setting agreement that it could use to help persuade nonunion workers at Verizon Wireless to join a union.

A Verizon Wireless spokesman, Jim Gerace, said, "We wouldn't have a tentative agreement tonight unless we were satisfied with the terms."

Contending that a seniority provision was a major goal of the union, Larry Mancino, a union vice president in charge of the Northeast, said, "This was a big issue for our members because when the company had a layoff last year, it chose to let go employees with as much as 10 years of service while keeping new hires who were still on probation."

Verizon Wireless has resisted unionization efforts for more than 20,000 employees. Verizon Communications owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, while Vodafone owns the other 45 percent.

The 78,000 Verizon employees have continued to work even though their contract expired 31 days ago. Now that there is an agreement for the 51 wireless workers, union and company officials said a broader agreement could come as early as today. But one union official said it was more likely an accord would be announced tomorrow, once bargaining committees have thrashed out remaining disputes over contractual language and revi