The IBEW New England and CWA District 1/IBEW Local 2213 Regional Committees met today at the Rye Town Hilton in Rye, NY. The unions’ committees continued to review the proposals by the company and all the information we have received from the company. We are scheduled to resume talks tomorrow.

 

The System Council T-6 met with the Company today to further discuss issues related to the New England contract. We are going over proposals that still remain on the table locally and working towards answers to the Union’s proposals. The T-6 is scheduled to continue these discussions first thing in the morning. The Regional committee will then reconvene a short time after that.

 

Today the Union filed unfair labor practice charges at the NLRB in Manhattan against Verizon for unilaterally changing the way our members got paid last Thursday. Our members were sent to places other than their regular reporting location to pick up their paychecks. Some members had to drive many extra miles to get their checks. Verizon did this to harass our members on strike and to cost them money. Verizon is also refusing to pay disability to members on sick leave when the strike began if they had not yet reached their eighth day of absence. This too was done unilaterally for the purpose of harassing our members. Verizon has also told the Union that they will not pay people for scheduled vacation time during the strike. Again, they did this unilaterally for the purpose of making it difficult for striking members.

 

Verizon's actions violate the National Labor Relations Board in two ways. These actions were taken without bargaining with the Union; they were also done to make things more difficult for our striking members. As such these actions are unlawful.