How dumb are Verizon union workers to go on strike?

Pretty damn dumb if you asked me.



45,000 union workers for Verizon’s Wireline division think it’s a good idea during these tough economic times to go on strike because they don’t wanna contribute a dime towards their health care benefits.



Union leaders think since Verizon is a multibillion company, they should provide free health care for their members for life. It’s that kind of thinking that destroyed the U.S. car industry providing generous and hugely expensive benefits packages for their legacy employees into their retirement.



The car industry went bankrupt because of it. But, Verizon union workers don’t care about that because they want what they want like spoiled children.



Of 196,00o workers that work for Verizon, 135,000 are non-union. If I were running Verizon, that percentage would go up overnight when 45,000 pink slips are sent out in the mail. With millions of people out of work, there wouldn’t be a problem find 45,000 replacements.



New York Post



Stalled contract negotiations led thousands of workers in Verizon Communication Inc.'s wireline division to go on strike today, potentially affect landline operations as well as installation of services like FiOS, its fiber-optic television and Internet lines.



The contract for the 45,000 employees from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., expired at midnight Saturday with the company and the workers unable to come to terms on issues including health care costs and pensions.



The dispute does not affect the company's wireless division. Verizon is the nation's largest wireless carrier.



Verizon employees who are members of the Communication Workers of America union picketed headquarters in New York City on Sunday morning, wearing red and holding signs with messages including "CWA on strike for middle-class jobs."



Vinnie Galvin, 56, said he and his fellow workers are the backbone of the industry. "Everybody needs to be wired and we're the people who do that," said the three-decades-plus veteran of the company.



"They're trying to bust us. ... This is stuff that it took us 40, 50 years to get."

The affected workers are responsible for maintaining and repairing traditional landlines, as well as installing FiOS, union spokesman Bob Master said.



Workers covered by the expired contract also include 10,000 represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who serve as telephone and repair technicians, customer service representatives, operators and more. Contract negotiations began June 22.

New York-based Verizon has 196,000 workers; 135,000 are non-union.



The company is asking for changes in the contract because it says its wireline business has been in decline for more than a decade as more people switch to using cellphones exclusively. It had 25 million landlines at the end of the second quarter, down from 26 million at the end of 2010. It has been selling off some of its landlines to other phone companies.



"It's not reflective of today's marketplace," Verizon spokesman Rich Young said of the contract. "Our union employees pay nothing toward their health care premiums. That's virtually unheard of."



More here







It’s time to increase the unemployment rate by 45K. If I gotta pay for my health, why makes these union workers so damn special?