Local Verizon Picketers Say It’s About Keeping What They Already Have

Utica, NY (WIBX) - About 45,000 Verizon workers went on strike after negotiations for a new labor contract failed.  Local workers in Utica and surrounding Counties also joined the movement. Verizon and two unions had been in talks for more than a month but were still far apart when their contract expired over the weekend. About 30 of the workers are picketing on Genesee and Broad Streets in Utica. Colleen is one of the picketers on Genesee Street. She says she's been with the company for 25 years.

"The company refuses to bargain seriously with us and some of the proposals that they have on the table would take us back decades. We had fought for our benefits and for good working conditions that we have today," she said. Another picketer chimed in saying, "They're trying to shrink the middle class, because when our pay goes down it means we spend less in our communities, and it's going to affect the local economy." The workers say they plan to stay on the picket lines until negotiators on both sides find a way for them to keep the benefits they currently have. They're also calling for Verizon to invest in Fios technology in Oneida County and disagree with the companies claim that its losing land line service revenue.