Thomson ReutersA “Now Hiring” sign is posted on a Verizon store in Manhattan in New York(Reuters) – Verizon Communications Inc has agreed to add 1,300 new jobs on the U.S. East Coast and provide 10.9 percent in pay raises over four years under a tentative deal between the company and unions, the Communications Workers of America said on Monday.
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One analyst called the deal “very rich” for workers at Verizon, the No. 1 USA wireless provider, which reached the tentative pact with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) on Friday.
New York-based Verizon said the company will achieve cost savings and avoidance through healthcare plan design changes, adoption of Medicare Advantage plans for the company’s retirees and increased flexibility in call sharing.
As the number of organized workers shrinks, union fights in recent years have tended to be defensive, aimed at holding the line for their members rather than winning new benefits, said Jake Rosenfeld, sociology professor at Washington University, in an interview before the agreement was announced.
A massive strike conducted by 36,000 unionised Verizon workers that has been ongoing since April should come to an end this week, with workers due to return June 1, the Associated Press has revealed.
Marc Reed, Verizon’s chief administrative officer, said in a statement that the company was pleased with the tentative deal. The previous contracts included a provision requiring that a certain percentage of customer calls originating in a state be answered by workers in that state – ranging from just over 50 percent for some types of calls in some states to more than 80 percent in others.
“That is an option available for Verizon”, said Jim Patterson, CEO of Patterson Advisory Group. It also includes a first-ever contract for wireless retail store workers, affecting 70. Verizon workers have walked off the job after contract talks hit an impasse.
Verizon deployed thousands of non-union workers and contractors during the almost six weeks strike to ensure that customers continue to receive services.
“Together, we are turning the tide from cutbacks against working people to building a stronger labor movement and strengthening the power of working Americans”, said Dennis G. Trainor, vice president of the union’s District 1, which includes New York, New Jersey, New England and eastern Canada.
U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez had to intervene as the dispute dragged on.
Since late last August, workers have worked without any contract.
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In this April 13 photo, Verizon workers picket outside one of the company’s facilities in Boston.
