Verizon And Unions Reach ‘Tentative Agreement’ To End Strike

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Verizon And Unions Reach ‘Tentative Agreement’ To End Strike

The largest strike in five years may soon be over.

05/27/2016 01:57 pm ET

Dave Jamieson
Labor Reporter, The Huffington Post

Labor Secretary Tom Perez said Friday that telecom giant Verizon and two unions representing its workers reached a tentative agreement that will end a massive, six-week strike.

In a statement, Perez said the parties had resolved their remaining issues “in principle,” but were still hammering out the contract language. Once that is done, the unions — the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — will submit the contract to membership for ratification.

“This tentative resolution is a testament to the power of collective bargaining,” Perez said. “I commend the leadership of Verizon, CWA, and IBEW for their commitment to resolving these difficult issues in the spirit of constructive engagement.”

Verizon technicians and customer service reps on the company’s wireline phone business first walked off the job in mid-April. By modern U.S. standards, the work stoppage is massive — including some 37,000 workers, stretching from the Northeast through the mid-Atlantic. It is the largest U.S. strike in five years and has begun to hurt business for Verizon, which owns AOL, The Huffington Post’s parent company.

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/verizon-unions-strike-end_us_57488844e4b03ede4414ba35

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1. After Six-Week Strike, Verizon Workers Claim Major Victory as Deal Reached

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/27/after-six-week-strike-verizon-workers-claim-major-victory-deal-reached

After a nearly six-week strike, Verizon workers are celebrating a huge victory on Friday after a deal was reached in principle with the telecom giant that will bring gains for union members and end one of the nation's largest work stoppages in recent history.

The deal, announced Friday afternoon by U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, reportedly includes a four-year contract between Verizon and its two biggest unions, CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Between the two labor groups, nearly 40,000 workers have been on strike since mid-April over charges that Verizon was refusing to grant basic protections such as fair contracts, stopping pension cuts, and preventing the offshoring of jobs.

CWA president Chris Shelton said Friday that the "addition of new, middle-class jobs at Verizon is a huge win not just for striking workers, but for our communities and our country as a whole. The agreement in principle at Verizon is a victory for working families across the country and an affirmation of the power of working people."