Telecommies

Going through this mornings news clips, I came across an entertaining article on Verizon from the “SocialistWorker.org.”

First, the article complains about the switch from old copper telephone lines (landlines) to modern fiber optic cable:

This has allowed Verizon to sell off their copper plant in New England, leaving thousands of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) members facing the possibility of the termination of collective bargaining when their contract runs out.

What’s more, the fiber system is projected to need only a fraction of the maintenance of the existing copper wiring.

Better performance and lower labor costs… that sounds horrible.

Other union threats include adjusting the health care plan, which Verizon pays 100 percent of, freezing pension plans, and a new “acclerated discipline plan” against no-show workers “which led to firings in the first year it was in place.”

Meanwhile, Verizon’s unionized work force “has plummeted to 30 percent[.]” All-the-while Verizon Business Workers (the non-unionized ones) don’t even perceive themselves as “scabs.” Unions are desperately turning recruiting over to their legal department. “Union lawyers are preparing for hearings this summer to decide if the 30,000 former MCI employees should automatically be part of the bargaining unit by virtue of the type of work that they do, as they fit in existing job categories and do identical work.” Union assimilation by job description… it’s an interesting concept.

Without any substantiation, the article accuses Verizon public relations of a “throw-shit-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks-approach.”

Finally, aside from the combat analogies, the Socialist Worker finds Verizon guilty of refusing to honor the “card check” scheme(I had to google this one…), monitoring employees out on disability, and firing those that abuse the system.

These complaints can only mean one thing, Verizon is trying to run a business.