CWA District 4 Reach Settlement on New 5-Year North Central Contract

Communications Workers of America and Verizon North Central reached an agreement at 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning (January 30^th) on a new 5-year contract. The contract covers about 2,000 members who work in states across District 4.

Upon ratification, the new contract will be effective from January 30, 2005 through February 13, 2010. The agreement will mark the first five-year labor contract for Communications Workers of America District 4 and Verizon.

Highlights of the tentative agreement include:

Wages and Compensation:

Enhancements:

The equivalent of a 10.5% general wage increase (GWI) over the term of the contract through a combination of GWI, lump sum payments, and market adjustments, as follows:

1% effective January 1, 2005;

2% effective February 5, 2006;

2.5% effective February 4, 2007;

2.5% effective February 3, 2008; and

2.5% effective February 1, 2009.

Uniform wage rates and progression levels (By February 1, 2009) for equivalent job titles across the contract.

The new Fiber Network Field Technician (FNFT) job title, which will be utilized in FTTP/FIOS provisioning, will be placed on wage schedule group O.

Associated with the business attire proposal, the company will provide those employees involved with Verizon FTTP/FIOS provisioning an annual allowance of up to $240 for the first year and up to $180 per year thereafter, for the life of the contract, for the purchase of approved, Verizon-branded business attire.

Continuations:

Retail Sales Incentive Compensation Plan

National Sales Incentive Compensation Plan

Team Performance Award

Benefits:

Improvements in VEBA (Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association) retiree medical caps for retiree health care.

Listed below are the current premium caps, followed by the new premium caps, effective 1/1/06; which could affect 42% of the membership immediately and 55% by the end of the contract.

Retiree only (primary coverage):

$6,314 – through 12/31/05;

$11,500 – as of 1/1/06 82% increase

Retiree plus one dependent:

$12,628 – through 12/31/05;

Family coverage:

$14,144 through 12/31/05;

The current caps would have likely maxed out by approximately 2006.

Medicare covered retiree (per eligible life)

$1,642 – through 12/31/05;

Current caps have already been exceeded. This benefit will immediately affect approximately 400 of our retired members.

Long-term care is a new insurance plan which helps defray the costs associated with nursing home care and long-term, in-home health care costs

Supplemental Term Life Insurance, which is replacing Group Universal Life and Living Benefit Rider benefit plans, offers increased coverage levels from those plans being replaced.

Aunts and uncles have been added to the list of immediately family members for whom employees are allowed excused paid bereavement absence.

Continuations: Adoption Assistance

Flexible Reimbursement Plan

Group Universal Life*

Living Benefit Rider*

Personal Lines of Insurance

Retiree Life Insurance

Group Universal Life and Living Benefit Rider will be replaced with Supplemental Term Life effective 1/1/06.

Personal Holiday"

Enhancement:

An additional personal holiday will be added effective 1/1/08, bringing the total number of annual holidays to 14 (7 personal holidays and 7 designated holidays).

Pensions:

Enhancements:

Pension minimums will be increased by 5%.

The Pension Plan survivor benefits are increasing from 55% to 65% for spouses and beneficiaries less than 25 years younger than the employee.

Health

Enhancements:

Point of Service Medical Plan currently available in Ohio and Michigan is expanded to Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Also, the opt-out payment for employees and their families choosing not to participate in the plans will be increased from $500 to $700 per year; if the employees’ spouse elects not to enroll for coverage, the opt-out payment would be $350.

A spousal surcharge may also be added when employees elect to cover their spouse where the spouse is eligible for medical coverage from his/her employer and does not enroll in the employer’s plan.

Continuations of MOA’s

Dental

Hearing Aid Benefit

Long Term Disability

Mail Order Prescription Plan (expanded to include Ohio and Michigan)

Prescription Identification Card (expanded to include Ohio and Michigan)

Vision Plan

Job Titles:

Enhancements:

The Fiber Network Field Technician job title will be established in wage group O to perform Verizon FTTP/FIOS provisioning work.

Upgraded the following job classification titles:

Provided market wage adjustments effective February 1, 2009 for the following job classification titles:

The CWA bargaining committee is unanimously recommending ratification of the tentative agreement to its members. The union bargaining committee will hold meetings with its members to review the settlement and to answer questions prior to the ratification vote, which will be conducted by a ballot process. Ratification results are expected by March 7, 2005.

The bargaining committee would like to thank the bargaining unit for their support during these difficult negotiations.