RI Verizon Workers Strike

RHODE ISLAND—Nearly 40,000 Verizon workers—including about 800 in Rhode Island—went on strike Wednesday morning at 6 a.m., which could mean delays of weeks to reconnect many of the company's 140 million customers who lose cable television or their internet connections and even longer waits for new subscribers wanting its FIOS and mobile services.

It's the largest work stoppage of any U.S. Industry in years and workers across Rhode Island formed picket lines in front of Verizon stores and facilities across the state.

The Communications Workers of America and the Brotherhood of Electrical Engineers began their strike at 6 a.m., intent on gaining job security from a company raking in billions of dollars in profits a year.

"Extremely on," Rob Master, a CWA spokesman, told Patch Wednesday morning by e-mail.

New Jersey-based Verizon says that it has hired thousands of non-union, replacement workers to cover striking employees and is prepared for however long is necessary.

When 45,000 Verizon workers went on strike in 2011, though, customers complained of going without internet service and cable television for two weeks or longer.

"We’re standing up for working families and standing up to Verizon’s corporate greed,” CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor said in the union statement released this week. “If a hugely profitable corporation like Verizon can destroy the good family supporting jobs of highly skilled workers, then no worker in America will be safe from this corporate race to the bottom.”

Rob Master, a CWA spokesman, told Patch that there will be "old-school picket lines" at "every Verizon location," and that "a couple" of big events during the day are planned as well, though specifics were not immediately available.

Verizon representatives said that the company is “fully prepared to serve its customers” in the event of a strike.

A company statement said it has trained thousands of non-union Verizon employees to carry out “virtually every job function handled by our represented workforce,” from making repairs on utility poles to responding to inquiries in its call centers.

“Let’s make it clear – we are ready for a strike,” Bob Mudge, president of Verizon’s wireline network operations, said in the statement. “With any sort of job action or disruption to our business, our primary goal is to ensure our customers can count on the critical communications services that they pay for and we provide. I want them to know that will happen.”