Labor report criticizes Verizon: Telecom company defends treatment of unions

Organized labor stepped up its criticism of Verizon Communications Inc., accusing the telecom giant in a new report of violating labor laws by interfering with workers’ attempts to unionize in its wireless and business units.
“This report makes crystal clear why Verizon employees-and all hard-working men and women in this country-cannot put their trust and faith in our broken labor law system” said Mary Beth Maxwell, executive director of American Rights at Work, a labor advocacy group. “Verizon’s callous disregard for our labor laws shows exactly why America’s workers need the Employee Free Choice Act.”
The Communications Workers of America and the AFL-CIO have brought several cases against Verizon’s business and wireless divisions at the National Labor Relations Board in recent years. In March, an NLRB majority found Verizon Wireless did not violate the law by issuing written warnings to an employee at the carrier’s customer service center in Orangeburg, N.Y. But the NLRB nonetheless ordered the No. 2 cellphone operator to refrain from enforcing a policy prohibiting union solicitation in employee work areas and on break time. One dissenting NLRB member concluded Verizon Wireless’ actions did constitute a labor law violation.
“Verizon’s corporation structure appears to be a textbook example of ‘double breasting,’ a tactic where an owner operates a non-union business separate from its union business in order to avoid having all of its employees enjoy the benefits of a union contract,” wrote Erin Johansson, author of the report, “Broken Promises.” Fifty of Verizon Wireless’ 30,000 workers are organized, with that unionization based in New York and a product of a grandfathered union contract. Organized labor is fond of putting side by side its relationships with Verizon and AT&T Inc., with the latter regarded as far more union friendly.
“Although the report offers many examples of intimidating and illegal behavior, the penalties against Verizon have been minimal,” stated American Rights at Work in a press release. “Verizon Wireless was only required to post a notice after the NLRB found that management had illegally threatened to close its Woburn, Mass., call center in response to workers’ attempts to form a union. In a sad illustration of the weakness of current labor laws, the notice had to be mailed to workers’ homes because Verizon had already shut the call center down and moved the work to South Carolina.”
Verizon criticized the findings.
“We strongly disagree with this report. In response to the two NLRB charges mentioned, we believe these complaints are without merit, and we look forward to proving the underlying assertions false,” stated Verizon. “Furthermore, Verizon is the first and only U.S. company to invest billions in broadband fiber connections all the way to homes and small businesses in 16 states, which is providing work for thousands of unionized employees.”
While it often spars with Verizon, it is not unusual for organized labor to back policy positions staked out by landline telephone companies before Congress and the Federal Communications Commission.
Organized labor has had a tough time unionizing in the high-tech sector, whose growth in the past decade contrasts with massive job losses in predominantly blue-collar industrial sectors where union representation has been historically high.