This morning, working people at Verizon went on strike. It’s never good when working families have to take this step, but Verizon workers felt they had no choice.
They’re fighting to create a better workplace for themselves and those who come after them. They aren’t going to give up until Verizon ends its push to send jobs overseas, stops intimidating Verizon Wireless workers trying to create a better future for themselves and their families, and drops its demands to cut retirement benefits, gut job security and make workers move away from their homes and families for months at a time just to keep their jobs.
These demands from Verizon executives are absurd. Verizon workers helped the company make $39 billion in profits over the last three years—and $1.8 billion a month in profits over the first three months of 2016. But that’s not enough for Verizon.
The company’s greed knows no bounds. While the company continues to demand working people give back more and more, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam made $18 million last year. That’s more than 200 times the compensation of the average Verizon employee!
It’s time for Verizon to acknowledge that working families also have a right to do well in America. It’s time for a contract that’s fair to Verizon’s working people and the customers they serve.