March 22, 2005

 

Bring back telephone work from our competitors. Management has asked for our help in winning back customers from the cable companies and other new competitors. We too want FiOS and other services to succeed, and we're glad that management recognizes that our skills and experience are critical.

But that's not all we need to bring back . . .  

Bring back 3,000 DSL tech support jobs from contractors. The company is opening 5 new union Fiber Solutions Centers (FSCs) around the country to handle tech support for broadband customers who use fiber, but it's still sending tech support for broadband customers on DSL to contractors in the U.S. and Canada. All broadband support should be performed by union employees at the FSCs. It doesn't make business sense to contract out these jobs. To compete effectively, we've got to retain our current DSL customers and persuade them to move to fiber when it's available; we'll do this with great service and tech support, not with short-term contractors with little training and no long-range interest in Verizon's future.

Bring back real bundled services. Even though management touts Verizon's strength as an all-in-one telecom company, it doesn't offer true bundled services—because that would mean allowing union workers to sell Wireless. Separating Wireless just to keep it non-union is hurting Verizon's competitive edge. Let's focus on competing and winning against cable.

Bring back neutrality at Wireless. Ivan promised it, but never delivered. Instead, he's overseen a campaign of intimidation, captive audience meetings, and firings of Verizon Wireless workers trying to organize. It's unfair to workers, and it's a distraction from Verizon's business.

Bring Back Your Proxy by April 29th

The annual meeting will be held in Houston, TX, on May 5th. Proxies should be arriving in the mail shortly.

To have the union deliver your proxy to Verizon:

  1. 1. Vote your proxy by placing an "X" in the For, Against, or Abstain box for each proposal. Voting recommendations will be posted at www.cwa-union.org/verizon 
  2. 2. Sign and date the card where indicated.

3. Bring back the proxy card and the return envelope to your local by April 29th.

Union Truth
Squads Continue
to Dog Strigl

We've caroled outside Strigl's house for Christmas and we've stopped by his former college.  This week, CWA Local 1023 paid a visit to Denny at VZW's corporate headquarters in Bedminster, NJ, and passed out flyers to employees as they drove in.

"The corporate security guards politely kicked us out of their 'private property' and we politely refused to leave, until Bedminster's finest informed us that all of the sidewalk belonged to Verizon. The sergeant seemed bigger than all of us combined, and so we left, but not before passing out 25 or so flyers and creating a nice buzz."

"We were very clear that we will never stop until they stop union-busting"

Local 1023 also set up a great field trip for Organizing Institute attendees, bringing them to a Verizon Wireless store in Union, NJ, on busy Route 22.

Organizing Institute participants joined L.1023 at the Union, NJ, VZW store

 
"The action was excellent -- very noisy. Fifteen of us went into the store.
 
"We certainly made our point. Management asked us to leave and began giving me the corporate relations phone number. We were very clear that we will never stop until they stop union-busting.
 
"Traffic on Route 22 slowed way down as people were honking their support for us. It was great!"

"We were very clear that we will never stop until they stop union-busting." (See story at right.)

 

How Would You Like a $57,000 Paycheck?

Ivan Seidenberg made $13.1 million in 2004. That includes his annual salary, various bonuses, and perks like personal use of the company plane.  On top of that, he was given stock options which he'll be able to cash in for as much as $27.4 million. 

Let's look at in terms we can relate to.  When Ivan gets his paycheck every two weeks, the amount on the check—just his salary, leaving aside the bonuses and other extras—is $57,693.  That's some check.

 

 

 Here's how much each of Verizon's top five executives made last year:

Executive

Title

2004 Compensation

 Potential Value of Stock Options

 2-Week Paycheck (salary only)

Ivan Seidenberg  CEO & Chairman

$13.1 million

$27.4 million

 $57,693

Larry Babbio President & Vice Chairman

 $8.0 million

$13.9 million

 $41,038

Denny Strigl EVP & CEO of VZ Wireless

 $7.8 million

 $12.4 million

 $36,538

William Barr EVP & General Counsel

 $4.5 million

 $8.6 million

 $29,770

Doreen Toben EVP & Chief Financial Officer

$4.5 million

$8.3 million

$28,870

Sale of VZ's Hawaiian Lines May Not Go Through

The Hawaii Public Utility Commission (PUC) has approved Verizon's proposed sale of its operations in Hawaii, but has imposed stringent conditions that "some observers feared might cause the sale to unravel" according to Communications Daily.

Verizon wants to sell its access lines and Yellow Pages to The Carlyle Group, a private investment firm.

The Hawaiian PUC has taken a strong pro-consumer stand by imposing conditions to keep Carlyle from milking cash out of the company to pay off investors.

- Carlyle must put up more cash to reduce debt

- Carlyle is prohibited from paying dividends to investors until debt is reduced

- No increase in rates allowed until 2009

- A bill credit of $20.70  to every consumer

- Carlyle may not sell off yellow pages without PUC approval

- The PUC retains the right to investigate service quality for 6 months after deal

The IBEW represents the workforce at Verizon Hawaii.

Former AT&T Wireless Workers Joining CWA

Unlike Denny Strigl and Ivan Seidenberg, management at Cingular respect their employees' rights to make their own decisions about whether to organize their workplaces. Workers are not screened for union sympathies before they're hired. Employees are not subjected to mandatory anti-union presentations. Management doesn't run an internal website distorting the truth about unions. Employees who want to discuss with their co-workers whether or not to unionize aren't subjected to surveillance, intimidation, or retaliatory discipline. Cingular doesn't close down call centers when union talk gets too loud.

 Former AT&T Wireless workers at a Cingular Wireless call center in Jackson, Mississippi, celebrate after filing for union representation with CWA in March 2005. They are the first group of former AT&T Wireless workers to organize with CWA since their company merged with Cingular Wireless.

 Here's how workers at the AT&T Wireless call center in Jackson, MS, described the process:

"We did it. We stood up together for getting a voice in our jobs at Cingular Wireless, and soon we'll have CWA representation like 22,000 other CWA members at Cingular. More than a majority of us signed CWA authorization cards, and we'll have our union when the cards are certified by an independent arbitrator. With CWA, we'll have due process during disciplinary actions and greater job security. We'll also have a pay system that is fairly set and not based on favoritism. Most of all, we will no longer be considered 'at will' employees." 

Buy from the Only Union Wireless Company

CWA members and retirees and their families get a 15% discount off Cingular service! 

Visit CWA's website for more information or call 877-751-7257.

(The discount is not available at Cingular stores or through Cingular's regular website or 800 number.  Current Cingular customers can also receive the discount.)

Discounts for other unions are available through Union Plus or 800-356-9752.

Web Links in This Issue

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Fighting for Verizon's Future:
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