Protesters Gather at Verizon Store
On August 14, the anniversary of Social Security, protesters gathered at the Verizon store at 2222 McKinney in downtown Dallas. Channel 23 (Univision) filmed us as we sang "Happy Birthday" to Social Security and chanted "Save the Right to Retire." The Texas Alliance for Retired Americans called the action, but activists from the Communications Workers of America joined in. Jobs with Justice, of course, was there.
Verizon is attempting to join the other North Texas corporations who have recently demolished their promises and their pension programs: EFH Energy and Lockheed Aircraft. The American Airlines management is also trying to make it hard if not impossible for their employees to ever have a decent retirement.
Verizon's contracts in the Eastern half of the U.S. have been expired for over a year. Their contract with CWA Local 6171, which covers Texas, expired on August 11, but they negotiated a short extension.
National Jobs with Justice is asking for people to sign a petition to Verizon:
August 6th marked the one-year anniversary of 45,000 Verizon workers going on strike to demand a fair contract. Thanks to their courageous decision to strike, and your outpouring of solidarity, it wasn’t long before Verizon agreed to come to the back to the table to negotiate in good faith.
Now, over 365 days later, Verizon employees are still working without a contract. This week, workers are continuing negotiations with management and they need our support to make sure their message is heard upstairs.
Verizon workers on the picket line need our support. Take one minute to send a message to Verizon board member Richard Carrion and demand that Verizon reach a fair deal for its workers.
CWA Local 6171 has a web site for updates on negotiations. However, management ordinarily requires them to keep negotiations secret until they have a tentative agreement that the workers can vote on.
The Texas Alliance for Retired Americans is gathering Medicaid expansions petitions on paper and on line. Sign at:
http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4055/c/1254/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4684
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