| COLA Increase Due Under VZ-East Contracts The VZ-East contracts negotiated in 2003 include Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) payable in 2006 and 2007 if inflation rises above a certain rate. The 2006 increase will be 1.5%. This is in addition to the scheduled 2% base increase in August. An additional COLA could be paid in 2007 if the CPI increases by more than 2% from May 2006 to May 2007.
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| IBEW & CWA Fight Telecom Redlining in New England and North CentralCampaigning Against "Rural Redlining"
Seventy-five IBEW and CWA mobilization activists met in Manchester, N.H., in late May to launch their fight against Verizon's abandonment of northern New England. Aided by state and local AFL-CIO labor bodies in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire, the four locals involved are contacting elected officials, utility regulators, and consumer groups to explain why VZ's access line sell-off would be bad for labor, consumers, the regional economy, and the future of high-speed broad band access in rural areas. Maine Gov. John Baldacci has already responded by writing to Verizon about his concerns, as has Maine Representative Thomas Allen, and the entire Vermont delegation to Congress, Representative Bernie Sanders, Senator Patrick Leahy, and Senator Jim Jeffords. The "Stop the Sale" campaign will be gaining visibility and momentum over the summer, at public events and with a new website.
In the Fall, the unions plan to introduce bills that would expand regulatory review of access line sales. If VZ finds a buyer before then, CWA and IBEW will
immediately intervene in PSB/PUC proceedings to oppose the deal.
CWA and IBEW locals in the North Central region are also working
on a strategic plan. There is a Better Alternative! Two years ago, Verizon tried to sell off all of its holdings in upstate New York--a $7 billion dollar deal that would have affected 2.5 million access lines and 5,500 jobs. Labor and the community rallied against this scheme, generating thousands of letters and phone calls to state legislators and the chairman of New York's Public Service Commission.
Locals in New England and North Central are adapting New York's successful strategies in their own campaigns.
| CWA Technician Brent Cheney Killed on the JobThe electrocution death of a Verizon technician in Indiana, a member of CWA Local 4773, is being investigated by the state's Occupational Safety and Health authorities, as well as by the union and company.
Brent Cheney, 35, was working on the mainframe inside the Elkhart office, trying to fix a customer's cable problem, when he died May 26. Other workers were in the office but no one was in the area with him at the time of the incident. Local 4773 President Ed Lowdenslager said it appears that Cheney was on a moveable ladder along the mainframe, holding a high-voltage meter in one hand that helps determine trouble spots in pairs of cable. The electrocution may have occurred when Cheney reached for the cord that releases the ladder's brake. Lowdenslager said the cords used to be made of nylon but are now braided metal with plastic insulation. However, parts of the insulation had worn off. After Cheney's co-workers found him and called for help, he was taken to Elkhart General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Cheney had worked for Verizon and been a Local 4773 member since August 1999. He was a former Navy Seal who loved diving and other sports. His survivors include his wife, Christine, and their 5-year-old daughter, Kaia. At CWA's July convention, Local 4773 President Ed Lowdenslager told Brent's story to the delegates, who collected donations for Christine and Kaia. The precise cause of the accident is still under investigation. The company has not released its report to the union. The CWA is very concerned with recent electrocutions and near misses. Besides the electrocution of Brent Cheney, this year, there have been electrocutions in California and West Virginia. The CWA Occupational Safety and Health Department, along with staff in the districts, is looking into the reasons for these near misses and electrocutions and plans to release a report in the near future.
| Retirees Continue Fight for Pension Increase[Edited version of RMC Chair Ed Creegan's
reply to Verizon VP Marc Reed]
To: Marc Reed, Vice President for
Human Resources, Verizon
From: Ed Creegan, National Chairman, CWA
Retired Members Council
Thank you for taking the time and effort to respond to my
latest email to you and Chairman Seidenberg.
In the 13 years that I have been involved as a CWA Retiree
leader for all Verizon Union retirees (I also speak on behalf of
IBEW retirees with their permission), my number one comment has
been and will continue to be that I find two attitudes most
offensive to retirees and all seniors. Those two attitudes are
always taken by Chairman Seidenberg and his spokespersons such
as you. You clearly assume that all retirees and seniors
are absolutely stupid and you address and treat us accordingly,
including me as their leader. The other attitude is that
you and chairman Seidenberg are totally disrespectful of all
Retirees including me as their leader. That is the main
difference between when I was a Union officer with the ability
to give the company grief when they were unreasonable to us and
now as a Retiree leader when the company has no fear or concern
about retirees
I do not know if you have ever been involved in the bargaining process but I have on eight different committees. It was almost comical how the company would open their bargaining process. They would always give a detailed speech, similar to yours, filled with unsubstantiated facts and half-truths. They treated us as if we had no knowledge of their business so they thought they could say whatever they wanted to convince us that they were in deep financial trouble. At the first day of each new bargaining session, I would offer to take up a collection so they could survive another day. I will respond to some of the comments you made that were mostly inaccurate or half truths.
You stated that I did not recognize the special payments made to retirees in the year 2000. Wrong again: I thanked Chairman Seidenberg on numerous occasions at shareholders meetings and in writing for the 2000 special payments to retirees. However, I did not feel that we should remain on our knees thanking the company for the remainder that the average received by retirees was $7,500 is a total distortion, because obviously you included top-level management who received significantly more than Union retirees. Your comment on increased minimum pension increases was also a mistruth and a distortion. I did thank the company for that change, although you as usual left out an important point: that the $700 minimum applied to retirees with over 30 years of service. Of all of the Verizon retiree groups I have addressed since the increase in minimum pensions I have not met anyone it affected. I am sure it affected a few retirees who retired many years ago. As to your comments on medical which you and Mr. Seidenberg imply we should be so grateful that we should never think about asking for a pension increase for the remainder of our retired lives -- which I am sure that you and Ivan hope will be very short -- so as to do the only thing you live for: "Saving the company money."
One final misleading insult. You as a company totally discriminate against retirees on Medicare by forcing most of us now and all of us in the future to pay for most of our Medicare part "B" coverage and recently hired and future employees to pay for all of their Medicare part "B" coverage. You try to take credit for removing most of the Medicare part "B" total repayment as if we should be grateful that we got anything. Rather than taking credit, you and your greedy partners should be totally ashamed. Medicare part "B" costs are now $170 a month for a couple and will increase to $190 a month in January. Oh, I forgot to mention that most of us will be getting $27.90 a month from the company so it will only cost us an additional $162 a month. So let's see, a retiree who should continue to have total medical coverage reaches age 65 with an $7,000-a-year pension will be charged about $1,944 a year more that when he/she was paying at age 64 with a resultant pension after the medicare part "B" deductible of $5,056. Well below the poverty line and falling. Aren't you and Ivan very proud of yourselves and your heartless board of directors? Even Lucent with its unbelievable financial problems far exceeds your reimbursements for Medicare Part "B". Verizon East also has gone the longest without a pension increase for Retirees. I assure you and Mr. Seidenberg and his board of Union and Retiree haters that I will do whatever I can to stop the sick, heartless abuse of your retirees and our Unions, both CWA and IBEW, will totally support whatever action we feel is appropriate.
| Cable Telecom Workers Win Contract After Hanging Tough for Five Years"One Day Longer" Verizon's not the only anti-union company in telecom. Comcast, the country's largest cable company and now a provider of cable telephony, has fought viciously against its workers' efforts to organize and to bargain contracts.
Five years of solidarity, persistence and community support have led to three groundbreaking contracts for embattled Comcast workers near Pittsburgh. Over the past two weeks, workers represented by CWA Local 13000 have ratified contracts covering 350 technical unit employees in the South Hills, East Hills and Corliss bargaining units. The victories follow CWA contracts ratified last fall by South Hills service representatives and Westmoreland technicians and warehouse workers. CWA's hard-won success against Comcast in western Pennsylvania has given the area the country's largest number of organized workers at the notorious union-busting cable company. "We could not be prouder of our members at Comcast, our Local 13000 leaders and our staff for never backing down even as Comcast illegally fired workers, mounted decert campaigns and tried every other trick in the book to keep CWA out," CWA President Larry Cohen said. "These contracts represent an historic victory for us." "Congratulations to every person involved with these wins, from the membership, local officers and the executive board of Local 13000 to all of the District 13 staff involved, especially Administrative Assistant Marge Krueger," said District Vice President Jim Short. "These workers truly wanted a say in their workplace and were willing to outlast Comcast one day longer." Said Krueger, the chief organizer and negotiator, "one day longer" was the mantra that symbolized the workers' determination throughout the long fight. The contracts have different expiration dates between two and three years from now. Krueger said they all include an initial wage increase of 2.5 to 3.5 percent and a $700 signing bonus, and a second-year raise of 2.6 percent. While health care costs for workers will rise in two increments, they will be offset in part by additional wage increases of .5 percent. Workers will maintain their paid time off and won a provision that the company can't schedule shifts after 7:30 p.m. The CWA-represented units were first organized and certified in 2001, when they were owned by AT&T. A year later, AT&T Broadband merged with Comcast and the battle for recognition and a contract became even tougher. "We have had seven different company attorneys who tried to start bargaining from the beginning each time there was a change," Krueger said. "Bargaining only occurred in between four elections, layoffs and numerous unfair labor practice charges." CWA-sponsored radio ads, public support from the Pittsburgh City Council and other political leaders, AFL-CIO support and a town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) all helped increase pressure on Comcast to bargain. CWA members of Locals 13000 and 13500, as well as other locals around the country, lent their support, even making home visits to Comcast workers to help them understand the benefits of joining the union. Krueger said she's been bowled over by the workers who fought so hard for union representation and contracts. "I felt it was a privilege to work with people like that," she said. "I've been doing organizing for 20 years and to see people just keep fighting and fighting, even though the company tried to beat them down so much -- I just can't say enough positive things about them." 
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