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Union Members Speak Out at Verizon
Shareholder Meeting

May 2, 2008

Dozens of union members carried thousands of proxy votes into Verizon’s annual shareholder meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Votes supported motions to separate Verizon’s Chairman and CEO jobs both currently held by Ivan Seidenberg,and express “no confidence” in the Verizon Board.

“Ivan Seidenberg is now both chairman and CEO.  How can he be his own boss?” asked Craig Fields, a central office technician and member of Middleton, Mass., Local 2321. Members of the IBEW and the CWA also lined up at the microphones to voice concerns about the company’s divisive tactics to impede employees in nonunion jobs from organizing. 

While both shareholder resolutions were defeated, the unions succeeded in focusing public attention on Verizon’s labor relations and customer service problems which will be on the bargaining table on August 2, when Verizon’s contracts covering 95,000 union members expire. Union members asked Verizon to join their organizations in working with Congress to reduce health care insurance costs, rather than shifting more of the burden on bargaining unit members.

Verizon workers are especially concerned about how management is aggressively interfering in the freedom of workers in the Verizon Wireless and Verizon Business segments to unite in the IBEW and CWA. 

“Verizon management has tried to isolate us from the company's unionized workforce to keep us from having a voice on the job," said Dave Rogol, a technician with Verizon Business who spoke at the meeting. "Management has made blatantly false statements to us in their so-called 'union awareness' materials.  All we are asking is that the company drop the intimidation and honor a neutrality and union recognition procedure that other Verizon employees have benefited from."

"These divisions aren't good for shareholders or customers," said Dave Reardon, a 34-year telephone worker and union official at Boston 2222  who gave an overview of employees' concerns at the meeting.  "Our company's strongest performance will come from bundling wireless with voice, data, and video from fiber-to-the-premises for all customers -- large and small."