Suffolk Verizon workers to vote on strike

On Wednesday, unionized employees who work for Verizon in Suffolk County will vote on whether to authorize a strike against the telecommunications giant.

The outcome will be closely watched as 22 locals, mostly in New York State and mostly affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, will hold strike votes by July 27. All must approve a strike before a walkout happens. Last week CWA Local 1104 in Nassau voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

Even still, unanimous approval doesn't mean workers will walk out. The locals authorized a strike in 2003 and 2008 but didn't walk a picket line, said Bob Morrow, president of the Suffolk unit, CWA Local 1108, which represents about 1,200 Verizon workers. The last strike happened in 2000 and lasted for two weeks, he said.

But the stakes may be the highest in the current negotiations, which began June 22, as they take place against a backdrop of a rapid transformation of the telecommunications industry. And the union said the company is taking its hardest line in years on concessions.

"The company just seems to be taking a stronger point now," Morrow said. "The company that we are talking about made billions upon billions of profit, and they are far from hurting."

Verizon has declined to say publicly what it is seeking. The locals have said the company wants to require employees to pay part of their health care premiums for the first time; wants to do away with job security language and continue to outsource wireless jobs, rather than give the work to traditional wireline technicians.

Said Verizon spokesman John Bonomo about the negotiations: "When viewing our proposals, we're asking the unions to recognize the current state of the economy and the challenges facing our company's wireline business."

Tech analyst Jeff Kagan of Atlanta-based JeffKagan.com said the company has no choice but to cut costs.

Verizon's wireless competitors are new companies, with new workers; so from the company's perspective, he said, "the workers in the local phone business get paid too much. In order for them [Verizon] to remain competitive, they have to have a lower-cost employee."

The company has 92,000 employees in the traditional or wireline business, and 84,900 on the wireless side. Technicians on the traditional side of the business average about $75,000 year in salary and $50,000 in benefits, with higher amounts on Long Island, Verizon said. It wouldn't provide salaries for comparable wireless employees.