Workers Walk Off Verizon Lines to Form Picket Lines

At midnight Sunday morning, 45,000 unionized Verizon line workers and installers walked off the job in a strike over benefits. By daybreak, they had traded repairing utility lines for walking picket lines in states from New England to Virginia. 

Members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 13000 were picketing in front of the Verizon Wireless store at the corner of Route 1 and US 320 near the Springfield/Marple border. This was just one of hundreds of picket locations in the country today.

Striking workers say the company wants them to start paying some of the costs of benefits that have been paid by Verizon until now.

The strikers say pay rates are not at issue. Those on Route 1 Aug. 7 said Verizon is financially strong, thanks to the work the union members have done over the years to build the company. They are unwilling to give back any of the benefits they have won through previous contract negotiations.

Verizon has said it is trying to contain costs in all of its wire-line businesses which have been declining in recent years with the explosion of wireless (cellphone and Internet) businesses.

Read more background on the talks and what led up to the strike on the Huffington Post.