Unions urge customers to abandon Verizon

[MaineDem]

WASHINGTON -- Unions in a labor dispute with Verizon Communications Inc. are urging customers to pledge to switch their local and long-distance phone service, raising the stakes in negotiations that so far have avoided a walkout by 78,000 East Coast workers.

The new campaign, being announced Wednesday by the Communications Workers of America and the AFL-CIO, relies on support from 3.5 million union members in five states where Verizon faces competition from AT&T Corp. for local telephone service. Those states are Virginia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

"We're asking you to pledge to switch your local and long distance phone service to AT&T, another unionized carrier, if and when union leaders say it's time," CWA's Web site says.

http://business.boston.com/business/articles/2003/08/13/unions_urge_customers_to_abandon_verizon

[joeunderdog]

1. I'm pro-Union, but Anti-AT&T

AT&T is all you'd never want from corporate insensitivity towards customers. Never had a worse experience in dealing with a company in trying to get them to fix their own mistake.

On the other hand, Verizon is playing strongarm with the Union, distorting their employees salary and benefits to the public.

[qanda]

2. Sorry, no can do...

I love my Verizon Freedom Package with DSL. I hate AT&T, their prices are way too high!

[SoCalDem]

4. Where we are we have no choice..

I wanted to switch to SBC (PacBell), but we can ONLY get local thru verizon here.. :(

I hate phones, so it's no biggie to me...

They all pretty much stink.. I liked the old days when you paid $9.00 a month to rent your phone and they fixed/replaced it for FREE.. My phone bills (EVEN WITH LONG DISTANCE) back then were never more than #25.00... NOW I pay at least $45.00 , have to buy my own damned phones, and I rarely ever even make long distance calls.. :grr:

[sangha]

6. Breaking News

Sacrifice isn't free

[Aaron]

8. I think MCI has a decent DSL package

if it's available in your area you might consider it if the union asks people to dump Verizon. Then switch back when things get cleared up.

If we all sacrifice a bit it'll help the workers, it won't be great for us in the meanwhile, but if they strike or something - they'll have it a lot worse off than we will just needing to change providers even if we have to pay a bit more or suffer lousy service for a while.

[soup]

12. MCI

oh, boy.

MCI took the word of my (then) 14 year old son - over the phone - that we wanted to switch our long distance phone service to their company during a telemarketing call. They were giving away free movie rentals from Blockbuster, and my son said 'cool.'.
Yeah, cool /sarcasm and anger.

Took me literally months to get rid of them as a long distance provider. They rank right up there with problems in discontinuing AOL.

Remember one of the calls going around and around something like this:
'He had no authority to switch our service. His name is not on our service. He is a minor.'
'Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I need to speak with the person who authorized the service. Is Mr. _____ there?'
'Yes he is. But, the phone is in my name, not his. He had no authority to switch our service. His name is not on our service. He is a minor.'
'Ma'am, if you will just calm down, please and let me speak with Mr. ______ to verify that you want the service discontinued, we could resolve this.'

:bash head against wall and run from room screaming:

Maybe their practices have changed in the last couple of years, but thought I'd throw this word of caution into the thread.

[On the Road]

3. Verizon Always Works Things Out With the Union

They pay the hourly workers well and really do not take advantage of them. Why the union wants its members to switch to a less labor-friendly company is beyond me.

[Freddie Stubbs]

5. They had a strike back in 2000

I moved into town just as the strike started, and it took weeks after the strike ended for my phone to get hooked up. I no longer have a land line, but I now have a cell phone through AT&T. Verizion will never get my business again.

[w4rma]

7. I've already abandoned Verizon (as much as I can)

http://www.cavtel.com/

[Chomskyite]

9. They can afford millions of repeats of those idiot commercials

"can you hear me now? Good."

But they can't deal with a modest pay raise plan?

Screw them.

[JohnKleeb]

10. Can you hear me now give them a raise you executive fools

good heh
Yeah I agree with you, I dont have them thank god.

[uhhuh]

13. Not the same

Although Verizon communications owns a majority of Verizon Wireless, (51%, the remainder being owned by Vodaphone) the wireless company under that name operates almost completely independently from the land based services. The employees in the wireless business seem to be well compensated and have had no disputes with management over pay. ( The wireless side does not belong to CWA or any other union at this time, but I've heard there is some talk.)
Say what you will about how good or bad wireless service providers are, but recognize that most of the companies that share a name between a landline and wireless business are operated virtually independently of each other. The people I know in some relatively well placed positions in both AT&T wireless and Verizon wireless have said that things going on in the land based services with the same names have nothing to do with what goes on in the wireless divisions. In fact, the wireless operations would continue on just fine without the burden of the land based services that share their name.
James Earl Jones is the guy you should be bothered by if you are upset about Verizon's problems with labor,not the wireless guy.
The "can you hear me now?" guy is kind of annoying though.

Verizon in being run out of the former Bell Atlantic properties, and seems to be having the same disputes in had with labor as it did when it was Bell Atlantic. They should realize by now that this will continue to be a problem as long as they operate the busines a regional telecom, rather than a national company. Labor is stronger and they will eventually win. They don't have a monopoly anymore.

On Edit: To illustrate my point about the separation of the companies with the same name, if you read the article, it encourages users to boycott the use of Verizon LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE services, but does not mention the wireless business.

[OzzieNelson]

11. "We must burn this village in order to save it" n/t

[Rose Siding]

14. Right

That village is still smoldering from other times the union burned it down :eyes:

Or don't you like weekends, child labor laws, minimum wage standards, health insurance, over time or the middle class?