February 22, 2005

This flyer is being distributed to Verizon Wireless workers, who are continuing to fight for a voice at work.  Verizon insists that Wireless is a separate operation and walls us off from wireless workers who want to join the union, but tears the wall down for executives who want to up their compensation.

Even the CEO Doesn't Like the Benefits at Verizon Wireless!

For 2003, Verizon Wireless CEO Denny Strigl got a $875,000 salary, a $3,293,600 bonus, and $1,005,400 in perks including personal use of company jet, car and chauffeur, New York City apartment, golf club memberships, and his free cell phone. That's a total of $5.2 million -- not including $12.6 million in stock options.
Verizon Wireless offers "high earnings potential" and "terrific" benefits. It's so terrific, in fact, that Verizon Wireless CEO Dennis Strigl is going back onto the Verizon Communications payroll.

So benefits at Wireless are good enough for workers, but not the CEO?

The company said the change was necessary "in order to align Mr. Strigl's benefits as CEO of Wireless with those of other executive officers of Verizon." Top execs at Verizon Communications are making out better than Dennis Strigl so it's only natural that he wants his too.

Verizon executives can negotiate legally binding contracts with the company. Contracts guarantee their terms of employment, retirement and severance. Mr. Strigl's benefits "package" is worth $5.2 million not including $12.6 million in unexercised stock options — $875,000 salary, $3,293,600 bonus, $1,005,400 in perks including personal use of company jet, car and chauffeur, New York City apartment (eliminates the commute from his New Jersey residence), golf club memberships, and his free cell phone.

Why doesn't the company improve all employees' benefits at Verizon Wireless? Verizon Wireless insists that it is a separate company from Verizon Communications, so Wireless employees shouldn't expect the same benefits as their union-represented coworkers at Verizon Communications.

The truth is, Verizon Wireless tries to distance itself from Verizon Wireless when it comes to workers having rights, but when it comes to executive compensation it's all one big, happy family. At Verizon, 66,000 workers are members of the Communications Workers of America, and they are covered by a contract — something Verizon doesn't want its Wireless workers to have.

The moral of the story? Verizon Wireless employees cannot count on executives to give them better benefits. Joining together and getting a union contract is the key.

CEO Dennis Strigl has a contract. 
Verizon Wireless employees need one too!

Joining CWA is the only way to get fairness and better treatment.

To find out more about union representation with CWA, contact us at 800-424-2872 or organize@cwa-union.org.

Verizon-MCI Acqusition Still Up in the Air

Even though the MCI Board of Directors has accepted Verizon's bid to buy MCI, Verizon's acquisition of the company is by no means certain.

First, Qwest is still trying to win MCI by sweetening its bid, and some of MCI's top shareholders think Qwest is offering a better deal.

Among the 4 key individual shareholders is Mexican billionaire and telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu, who owns more than 13% of MCI. Another shareholder has already field suit to block the transaction.

Second, even if Verizon ultimately prevails in the bidding war, the deal will have to pass muster with state, federal, and international regulators. (MCI operates in 140 countries.)

In 2000, CWA, along with European telecom unions, helped to scuttle MCI WorldCom's (as it was called then) attempt to take over Sprint. CWA had strong concerns about the effects for consumers and workers. Among other issues, CWA argued that WorldCom simply couldn't deliver the financial results it was promising -- which was proven when WorldCom's massive accounting fraud was uncovered in 2002.

President Bahr has made it clear to Verizon exectives that in order for us to support its takeover of MCI, the deal must provide new opportunity for workers and a renewed commitment to customers. That means the creation of quality jobs to ensure that workers and American communities also will benefit from this merger, as well as continued support for universal service, as technology changes the tools we use to communicate.

Stay tuned.

Correction
In our last issue, we mislabeled a photo of practice picketing during North Central bargaining. The hardy souls picketing outside in the snow were from CWA Local 4378.

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