Last week, we announced the next stage in the fight for middle-class jobs at Verizon and Verizon Wireless – joining our brothers and sisters at CWA for our nationwide iWon’t Campaign, asking Americans to delay upgrading to the new iPhone on Verizon Wireless until the company stops trying to downgrade middle class jobs.
The iWon’t campaign, which is backed by an impressive coalition including MoveOn.org, USAction, Jobs with Justice, and National People’s Aciton and other groups, will feature advertising, grassroots outreach and leafleting at hundreds of Verizon Wireless stores.
Throughout the CWA / IBEW strike earlier this year, Jobs with Justice stood with hundreds of thousands of Americans who are sick and tired of profitable companies like Verizon and Verizon Wireless showering millions on their CEOs while taking away good jobs.
Now we are asking everyone who cares about the future of the middle class to help us fight back: Upgrade to the new iPhone on Verizon Wireless only when the Verizon companies stop trying to downgrade their workers and give them a fair contract.
Verizon and Verizon Wireless jump through hoops to avoid paying federal taxes, dole
CWA & IBEW’s two-week strike in August showed Verizon and Verizon Wireless that it could not keep stonewalling at the bargaining table. Several concessionary demands have been removed from the table, including their demand to slash MLK Birthday and Veterans Day as holidays and to eliminate the special city allowance.
Now workers are bargaining from CWA’s proposals to save money on health care without premium sharing and preventing unilateral management changes in health care at Verizon Wireless. And union members are forcing management to focus on our demand to bring thousands of outsourced and off-shored jobs back into the bargaining unit.
There has been progress, but Verizon is still insisting on hundreds of millions in concessions.
It’s time to step up the pressure.
We’re ramping things up with Days of Action next week:
Sept 28th: A national media conference call announcing the escalation of our campaign and our plan to open a new front by focusing on the iPhone 5 release.
Sept. 29th: A day of workplace picketing and rallies to show that we are still angry, still strong, and ready to do whatever it takes.
Sept. 30th – October 1st: Working with allies inside and outside the labor movement,
In Springfield, Massachusetts, over 30 JwJ activists spent Labor Day outside a Verizon Wireless store with a giant rat. Around the rat’s neck: “Don’t Shop @ Verigreedy Wireless.”
In addition to leafleting customers and getting our message to the media and passers-by, JwJ activists committed to stand with Verizon workers until their fight is won.
Chants included, “Hey, Verizon, you can’t hide! We can see your greedy side!” and “Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes!”
IBEW 2324 Business Manager John Rowley exhorted the crowd, “This isn’t just about Verizon. This isn’t just about IBEW and CWA. … We cannot lose sight of what this movement is about. Jobs with Justice says it all!” In Western Massachusetts, JwJ activists will continue leafleting at 4 stores on Wireless Wednesdays and Saturdays, and will add other fun solidarity activities soon!
CWA and IBEW are set to meet today to reconvene bargaining with Verizon. This “reset” of the company’s bargaining position was made possible by the tremendous strike and mobilization efforts of union members and allies like you across the country.
Jobs with Justice coalitions, union members, and allies continue to leaflet at Verizon stores across the country to let Verizon know that we won’t let them get away with gutting good jobs — especially on the heels of news that Verizon pays their CEO more than they pay in U.S. taxes!
But this fight is far from over. Verizon workers need OUR SUPPORT to keep the pressure on!
How you can help:
LEAFLET: There is a new leaflet available for download & distribution at your local Verizon Wireless store. Download a new flyer and organize a group to leaflet. We are particularly focusing our efforts on Wireless Wednesdays from 12-2pm and 5-7pm and Saturdays.
ADOPT A STORE: Can you commit to coordinating activities at a store near you? Can you commit, at a minimum, to activities on Wireless
45,000 Verizon workers went on strike on Sunday, August 7th. On Saturday, August 20th, CWA and IBEW announced that they had reached an agreement on bargaining with Verizon.
The unions did not agree to any of the company’s concessionary demands to reach agreement. Instead, it was the solidarity we all showed that created the opportunity for progress. The strike brought Verizon to their knees and brought the company back to the table negotiate in good faith.
Verizon workers need your help to keep the pressure on to help win a fair contract with decent wages, good benefits and job security. Mobilization continues. We will continue to keep the pressure on until a fair contract is won!
How you can help:
LEAFLET: There is a new leaflet available for download & distribution at your local Verizon Wireless store. Download a new flyer and organize a group to leaflet.
ADOPT A STORE: Can you commit to coordinating activities at a store near you? Can you commit, at a minimum, to activities on Wireless Wednesdays from 12-2pm and 5-7pm and/or Saturdays? Adopt a Store!
Workers and activists got on the bus June 30th to support workers’ rights all over the Portland area. In a meticulously planned and executed all day bus tour, supporters went to seven actions to support workers’ rights. June 30th was important because thousands of workers had collective bargaining agreements expiring that day.
150 union members and community supporters boarded three buses at 9:30 am. We joined other workers at each of the seven stops along the way. Every action had its own unique flavor and creative twist. In between stops, participants were briefed on the next struggle and got a chance to practice chants and songs.
The buses’ first stop was a Georgia Pacific facility, represented by the Inland Boatman’s Union/ILWU where contract talks have been stalled. The owners are the infamous Koch brothers, so a piece of the action was singing “I’d Like to Buy the Kochs a World”, as well as a delegation to the employer.
Stop 2 was the Vancouver, Washington Hilton hotel, across the river, where workers are trying to raise
On March 15, AEEF/CWA Local 1300 and Massachusetts Jobs with Justice staged a rally at WGBH’s Brighton headquarters. About 100 union members and community supporters chanted slogans like “Shame on you, Channel 2, we expect more from you!” and “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, that’s what a fair contract means to me!” Many angry and frustrated union members gave speeches about the contract WGBH plans to enforce upon their workers.
At WGBH, the public television station known for producing shows such as Curious George, Antiques Roadshow, and This Old House among others, union workers have been trying to reach an agreement with management since August.
WGBH recently presented a “final offer” to the union which includes proposals for outsourcing and for allowing T.V. and radio personalities to be terminated without cause. On March 12, the union voted not to accept the agreement by an overwhelming 93%.
The goal of the March 15 rally was to get management to postpone imposing its final offer and instead return to the bargaining table with AEEF/CWA Local 1300.
Members of the rally had bull horns, whistles, and homemade signs and
The Long Island Jobs with Justice Workers’ Rights Board, in collaboration with and the student group the Social Justice Alliance and the Research Assistants Union at Stony Brook University, organized a Hearing yesterday to investigate the negotiating strategies of the Stony Brook Research Foundation, the employer of 740 Research Assistants at Stony Brook University who are members of CWA Local 1104. Initially, the Workers’ Rights Board extended an invitation to the Research Foundation to present their case, but the RF declined, stating that they would rather not negotiate in public.
A day before the Hearing was scheduled to take place, Stony Brook Administration informed the student group that their Room Request, which was approved a month earlier, was revoked. Outraged, one of the students, along with members of the union, met with Associate Dean Dr. Susan DiMonda to demand that they have access to the space. Armed with fallacious excuses and weak rationale, Dr. DiMonda claimed that it was clear that this was a “labor event” and it had to be approved through Human Resources, not student activities.
“As a social justice student group, this Hearing is obviously a concern to us, and we have proof that we are co-sponsoring
As President Obama announced in Tampa that High Speed rail jobs were coming to Orlando, local community and labor activists came together to understand the uphill battle for workers accessing these jobs. Central Florida Jobs with Justice along with the Central Florida AFL-CIO hosted a townhall to discuss how this economic crisis will impact the city’s outlook for jobs.
A diverse panel of speakers responded to these reports based on their experiences throughout this economic recession. Paul Wilson, President of Amaglated Transit Union local 1596 representing Lynx, MV and Grant bus operators, spoke on how local counties use the stimulus dollars on things besides operating costs, resulting in no wages increases for bus drivers. David Fernandez, an undergraduate senior at the University
Twenty years ago, 60,000 workers from New York City to Maine rallied against healthcare cost-shifting at the telecom giant then known as NYNEX (since “rebranded” as Verizon).
NYNEX was a very profitable, multinational company seeking to capitalize on a demoralizing decade of lost strikes, contract givebacks and widespread unionbusting. At a time when many workers were forced to make concessions, NYNEX strikers held the line for four months and emerged victorious. They successfully resisted the company’s demand that they pay hundreds and eventually thousands of dollars a year for medical benefits. But this singular union win didn’t come cheap. Customer service was disrupted by the work stoppage, resulting in tens of millions of dollars worth of lost wages. Hundreds of strikers were arrested, fired or suspended–and one, Gerry Horgan, was killed on a picket line in Westchester County.
In every other advanced industrial nation, the contentious issue of who pays for medical care was taken off the bargaining table long ago. And no worker would ever lose his or her life defending job-based private health insurance.
To this day, members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Last week, we announced the next stage in the fight for middle-class jobs at Verizon and Verizon Wireless – joining our brothers and sisters at CWA for our nationwide iWon’t Campaign, asking Americans to delay upgrading to the new iPhone on Verizon Wireless until the company stops trying to downgrade middle class jobs.
