Regional Bargaining Report # 48

Thursday, October 13, 2011

CWA District 1/IBEW Local 2213 and IBEW New England Regional Committees met with the Company today to continue discussions regarding the Company’s counter proposal. After reviewing the company’s counterproposal, it became clear to your bargaining committee that the company’s commitment to the union to end the strike and to start bargaining with a commitment to work from our health plans and not theirs and to actually start bargaining our issues as well as their issues was never going to happen.

What Verizon is doing is destroying the Middle Class by moving good paying jobs with good benefits to low paying jobs with no benefits. For years, Verizon has been declaring surplus after surplus and then moving more of our work to contractors. Your Bargaining Committee told the company today that we are insulted when we propose to put back those jobs into the bargaining unit and then the Company responds by telling us that we are adding cost to this Contract. They compare our jobs to a contractor. We are insulted when they want to add over 100 million dollars to the backs of our retired members by adding premiums to their health plans. We are insulted when they want to strip away every benefit we enjoy today. This Greedy Corporation wants to destroy us and we will never allow that to happen. They want to destroy the lives of our retired members and we will never allow them to do that.

The Company walked out of bargaining today when everyone on the committee began telling them exactly what we thought of their last proposal. Everyone on your Committee spoke for every member today and told them exactly what we think of their proposal.

We also told the Company before they left today that the bargaining committee would be returning to our locals for a few days to talk to our members about this proposal. We need to begin again to mobilize our members. We will do whatever we need to do to get a fair contract.

The Occupy Wall Street group is putting the Spotlight on Corporate Greed. Americans are outraged at what Corporations are doing. The “99% group” is ready to take back our country from these Greedy Corporations. CWA and IBEW as well as all of organized labor will not allow Corporations to destroy the Middle Class. Verizon is an extremely profitable Corporation and should not be allowed to lower the standard for the Middle Class. It is time to put Verizon as the face of this Corporate Greed by making them the “Poster Child for Corporate Greed”.

We will “Occupy Wall Street” or “Occupy Any Street” to stop the Corporate Greed at Verizon.

Next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, every CWA Local Executive Board Member in District 1 will be visiting every company garage, company building and will be in the field to talk to every CWA member to tell them exactly what this company proposal would mean to their future. Every Executive Board member will be explaining what must be done to fight this Company. We need every member to tell your Executive Board Member that you are ready to do whatever it takes to fight this Company.

On Wednesday night, we will have a town hall meeting with every CWA steward in District 1 to outline our plan to fight this company.

On Thursday, every steward at every work location will be explaining to every member how we will join forces with the “99% group” and the “Occupy Work Street Group” to fight this Company. Verizon – the Poster Child for Corporate Greed – must never be allowed to destroy our future.

On Friday, CWA and the Occupy Wall Street protestors will join forces and go on a field trip. Call your Local or ask your steward to sign up for this trip. Call a retiree and get a commitment that they will join the fight by joining the trip.

We will be returning to the bargaining table knowing that our membership is 100% in support of this committee and we will continue to fight for a fair contract.

We need every retired member to call your local

and ask how to help

Contact your steward to get instructions

on our next activity

It’s time to fight back!

Remember to wear RED!!!

Now more than ever we need to mobilize!

Mobilize! – Mobilize! – Mobilize!