Local Verizon Workers Maintaining Strike, Position

Utica, NY (WIBX) - Thousands of Verizon workers are still holding their stance on the picket line, demanding the company come back to the table and negotiate a new union contract. About 70 workers gathered on Genessee street today, calling for an end to what they refer to as "an attack on middle class families."

Brian Gallagher, member of CWA Local 1126, says he's worked for the company for 20 plus years, and adds Verizon is essentially asking 45,000 workers to give up about $20,000 each. "Not negotiate and to put on the table a host of some 70 retrogressive demands and just say here it is, 'take it or leave it,' we had no choice but to leave it and hit the bricks and send a message that we're out here fighting for a middle class standard of living. He says Verizon is behaving like "corporate bad actors" by trying to take away so much from the people responsible for the success the company currently enjoys.

Mark O'Sullivan who represents a group of Verizon workers in Oneida County says their biggest fight is the lack of recognition of the union. "And, wanting to go back, retrogressive demands, basically ignoring any of the contracts for the last 50 years. Benefits that were fought for and won, and now they just want to take everything away and start all over."

He says when the two sides came to the bargaining table to address the Absence Control Plan, Verizon used stalling tactics to avert the issue. He said, "The union said, OK, what do you propose for changing the Absence Plan. They had nothing, they stalled and said, 'we just want to discuss the plan,' so it's the whole tactic that's been coming on." Calls to Verizon seeking comment have not been returned at the time of publication of this report.