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Trends in SMB Communications
May 01, 2008
Tempers Rise as Verizon Union Members Challenge Telecommunications Giant
TMCnet Editor To repair what they’re calling a poor governance model at one of the nation’s telecommunications giants, union members today are delivering two critical votes at Verizon’s (News - Alert) annual meeting in Nebraska’s capital city.
Shareholders who belong to the unions, which represent 95,000 Verizon workers – or about 30 percent of the company’s workforce – are voting to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive officer and to pass a “no confidence” measure against election of a board of directors.
The unions are the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW, and Communications Workers of America, or CWA.
According to Ed Starr, business manager at IBEW Local 2321, Verizon Chairman Ivan Seidenberg shouldn’t also serve as the company’s CEO.
“How can he be his own boss?” Starr said. “The chairman should be an independent director.”
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>Verizon could not be reached for comment.
Starr and other unions members say they’re delivering thousands of proxy votes to the meeting in Lincoln. The meeting was held last year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Union members say the company made this year’s location more remote in order to thwart picketing efforts.
Disagreements between the unions and company have been flaring up for at least one year, as contract negotiations have broken down and restarted. After preliminary talks were suspended in December, Verizon initiated another round in February, according to the unions.
The unions have complained about contract workers performing what they describe as union jobs, about Verizon selling off its access lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and about job losses in certain service lines.
According to the unions, Verizon’s efforts to please investors by cutting 7 percent of jobs in the wireline force are effectively undermining employment security.
Verizon workers say the company is interfering with the union’s efforts to unite members in the wireless and business segments.
“Management has made blatantly false statements to us in their so-called ‘union awareness’ materials,” said Dave Rogol, a technician with Verizon Business (News - Alert). “All we are asking is that the company drops the intimidation and honors the neutrality and union recognition procedure that other Verizon employees have benefited from.”
Michael Dinan is a TMCNet Editor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
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