Union of Verizon Workers Authorize Potential Strike

The Communications Workers of America said 86 percent of the Verizon employees it represents voted to authorize a strike if negotiations between the carrier and both the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) aren't successful by the time the current contract expires, a CWA news release said. The current contract is to expire at midnight Aug. 1, and covers 39,000 CWA and IBEW Verizon workers from Massachusetts to Virginia, the release said. "Our members are clear and they are determined," Dennis Trainor, CWA vice president-district one, said in a statement. "They reject management's harsh concessionary demands, including the elimination of job security, sharp increases in workers' healthcare costs and slashing retirement security." "Saturday's union vote was predictable and achieved nothing," a Verizon spokesman told us Monday. "As we move closer to this weekend's contract deadline, we hope the unions work with us on ways that will continue to ensure solid, upper middle-class jobs for our employees and exceptional services for our customers."