August 28, 2006 - Please post & share

North Central Members and Customers Sound Off About Verizon's "Fire Sale"

	"How do our kids get a decent education if we go back to using a cup and string?"

IBEW and CWA mobilized hundreds of members and customers in the Midwest to contact their state legislators about Verizon's proposed sale of 3.4 million access lines in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois.

Many who wrote emphasized the need to protect good jobs and to make sure that rural residents aren't left behind in technological development:

Over 3,000 good, union jobs would be directly affected.  We do not need this. Good jobs are getting harder to find. We need good telecommunications, not cheaper so the corporation can make a profit at the consumer's expense. We have enough to deal with the cost of gas, etc., going up, but not our wages.

What's next? Is AT&T to sell off the 'non profitable' parts of Wisconsin and the rest of the Midwest? How do our kids get a decent education, including internet service availability, if we go back to using a cup and string? Maybe I should buy stock in Dixie cups.

This assault on skilled union workers, retirees and their benefits, along with the total disregard for the American public must not go unaddressed. It should appear quite obvious that this action would not be in the best interest of the American public.

Verizon is a multi-billion dollar company that is making profits. It should not be allowed to have a 'fire sale' of an area that it has been involved with for many, many years and has been providing a middle-class income to 1000's of employees and retirees.

I'm tired of seeing nothing but low-paying jobs in my community.

I have seen over the past 30 years how jobs are moving overseas, are becoming automated or just plain eliminated. There seems to be no job security, and the middle class is becoming the working poor. If we lose the middle class, this country will be in big trouble.

Rural residents deserve quality service as much as anyone.

Rural areas still have not gotten the high-speed internet yet or a lot of other services that should have been given to us. We pay the same rates as all other users.

If you live in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, or Michigan, click here to send your own letter.

In This Issue

Sounding Off on VZ's "Fire Sale"
New England Fights Access Line Sell-Off
Locals Mobilize to Keep the Pressure On
D.C., Philly Hang Up on Verizon Wireless

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The more Verizon members we have on our list, the quicker we can share information and take action when it's needed.

Ask your co-workers to visit our subscription page or collect a list and fax it to Beatriz Woods at 202-434-1201.

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Join with us and protect wages, benefits, job security, and working conditions for all Verizon workers.

To learn more, visit us at www.cwa-union.org/verizon or contact us at
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New England Continues to Fight Access Line Sell-Off

More state officials express concerns to Verizon; CWA & IBEW launch new "Stop the Sale" website

	Mike Spillane, IBEW L. 2336 Business Manager; VT Gov. Jim Douglas; Mike O'Day, CWA L. 1400 DVP; Darlene Stone, CWA L. 1400 Chief Steward

New England members continued their mobilization against Verizon's proposed sale of all its lines in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

CWA and IBEW representatives continued contacting state officials, this month meeting with the governors of Vermont and New Hampshire and Vermont legislative leaders.

At the meeting with Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, union reps raised issues like jobs, whether smaller companies are able to repond effectively to emergencies (such as the ice storm of 1998), and the effects on customers. They pointed out that ratepayers financed the creation of the phone infrastructure in Vermont, as in all other states, and for Verizon to sell off Vermont in order to raise cash to build a fiber network in Massachusetts would be shorting Vermont ratepayers. Why let VZ sell VT to benefit MA?

	After meeting with union members, NH Gov. John Lynch wrote to Ivan Seidenberg with his conerns about a possible sale.

Following the meeting, Gov. Douglas sent a strong letter to Ivan Seidenberg, stressing that his administration would "vigorously oppose" any sale that would not promote the public good. This would include being "able and willing to make investments in infrastructure that provides high-speed services," "service quality," and "a commitment to the employees who make these things possible."

Broken Promises?
Rich Smith, Vermont Dept. of Public Services Deputy Commissioner, who also attended the meeting, recalled how Ivan Seidenberg presented his case to allow the NYNEX-Bell Atlantic merger to then-Governor Howard Dean.

"If Verizon were to walk away, then the information superhighway in New Hampshire would be a dirt road." -- Glenn Brackett, business manager, IBEW L. 2320

Dean asked why a big company like Bell Atlantic would be interested in a rural state like VT. Seidenberg responded that there were lots of opportunities for growth because so many other companies were trying to cherrypick customers in the metro areas. How ironic is it that Ivan wants to do just that, now? Exit the rural states to cherry pick customers in the Boston market?

Get Involved!

Locals Mobilize to Keep the Pressure On

	Members of CWA L. 13500 tear down the wall!

CWA & IBEW locals across the country continued fight the threat posed by Verizon's wall between union and non-union employees.

While the unions are pursuing grievances and continuing to discuss a solution with the company, locals are keeping the pressure on with education and mobilization.

More mobilization actions are planned for Aug. 31, Labor Day weekend, and later in September. New York City locals will be marching behind a "Tear Down the Wall" banner in the Sept. 9th Labor Day parade. Talk to your stewards about what's planned for your area -- and get involved!

	More than 300 people from CWA L. 1400, L. 1302, and IBEW L. 2222 turned out for the largest-yet of a series of noontime mobe events that began in Feb. after the MCI merger was completed.

Educate your co-workers, report info to your Local, and mobilize!

It'll Take All of Us!

Also, please identify any business process, location, CO, or customer premise where our work is co-located with VZ Business, including plant.

Send the information to unityatverizon@cwa-union.org

Hanging Up on Union-Busting in Philly & D.C.

Report from the Philadelphia Independent Media Center

	Student and community activists marched in Philadelphia against Verizon's union-busting.

Friday (August 11), over 150 protesters gathered outside the Verizon store on 17th and Market and marched to the Bell Atlantic Towers, where Verizon business offices are located, chanting the powerful message "Verizon, Union busting’s gotta go!" This was the latest installment of the Philly Jobs with Justice year-long campaign to get people to "Hang up on Verizon." JWJ undertook the campaign because, as they explain, Verizon has used "illegal tactics of harassment, intimidation and hiring" to stop their workers from forming a union. On Friday, JWJ was joined by 100 students from United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) who were in town for their annual summer retreat.

Rachael Wilson, a USAS organizer and senior at the University of Buffalo, beckoned protesters to cheer if they had a cell phone. At this, a roar erupted from the crowd. She then explained, "You ask, what can we do as students. Well, we know that marketing for cell phones are targeted at students. We need to make a pledge to give our business to those companies who are respectful of workers. Together, as workers of the world, we are bigger then any corporation. Hang up on Verizon!"

Recently, with their increased strength from the merger with MCI, Verizon has been even more exploitative of their workforce than in the past. Former MCI employees, who are in fear of being unemployed, are forced to do work that was previously done under union contracts. Tom Crawford, Vice President of Communications Workers of America's (CWA) Local 13000, challenged the anti-union attitude of Verizon and argued, "CWA built this company. It put Verizon in the position to buy out other companies like MCI." So, where is Verizon's loyalty? The workers or the bottom line?

In attendance on Friday were members of Local 13000, two local politicians running for office; Jonathan Saidel, who is running for Mayor and Maria Quinonez Sanchez, who is running for City Council 7th District. But of course the biggest presence came from the students of USAS. Over 100 students came out in support of our workers in Philadelphia. Some came from as far away as California and Texas chanting "What’s Disgusting? Union Busting!"   

	"Cingy," the D.C. Jobs with Justice union cell phone mascot, joined a downtown D.C. demonstration

D.C. Jobs with Justice Stage Demonstration Against VZW's Union-Busting

Report & photo by Jenna Brooks, D.C. Jobs with Justice

Verizon Wireless won't allow their people to organize," said former VZ Wireless employee Clyde Rucker at a noontime demonstration outside a downtown D.C. Verizon Wireless store. "They use intimidation tactics and when I worked there I was fired for organizing." The protesters, including "Cingy" the DC Jobs with Justice cell phone mascot, held "Stop Corporate Greed" signs and chanted "Tell Verizon's CEO, union-busting's got to go!" Said CWA's Gale Evans,"Workers at this store need to be treated with the same rights to unionize at any store. My problem is the core company uses its revenue to make sure it stays non-union."

Web links in this issue:

• Stop the Sale!: http://www.stop-the-sale.org
• Contact your Midwest state legislators: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/vz_d4/na97wkx6j?
• Ask your co-workers to sign up for Unity@Verizon: http://www.cwa-union.org/verizon/subscribe.html
• Philadelphia Independent Media Center: http://www.phillyimc.org/or/2006/08/27876.shtml
• Philadelphia Jobs with Justice: http://www.phillyjwj.org
• United Students Against Sweatshops: http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org
• CWA L. 13000: http://www.cwalocal13000.com
• I'm hanging up on Verizon Wireless: http://www.cwa-union.org/verizon/hang-up
• Switch to Cingular, the Union wireless company: http://www.cingularswitch.com
• Mobilization photos: http://www.cwa-union.org/verizon/photos

Visit Unity@Verizon on the web for more:

• Mobilization photos
• Past Unity@Verizon e-mail updates

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