NJ AFL-CIO Joins Picket Line, Leads Statehouse Rally
With their strike against Verizon in its 13th day, our brothers and sisters at CWA and IBEW got a big boost of support during a noontime rally in front of the New Jersey Statehouse.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO, its affiliated unions and community partners stood shoulder to shoulder with the striking workers to demand a fair contract from this greedy and profitable telecom company.
“The biggest issue for our members is job security,” said New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech. “Verizon gets more than $100 million dollars in state contracts every year and has gotten more tax subsidies from New Jersey than every other state combined. But over the past 15 years, Verizon has cut the number of union call center jobs in New Jersey from 10,000 down to 1,000. And now, Verizon wants to send even more work from New Jersey to call centers overseas.”
“We’re not going to let this happen,” President Wowkanech told the cheering crowd, who carried signs, waved banners and wore their union colors to show their solidarity with the strikers.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO executive officers and staff kicked off the day by joining our brothers and sisters of IBEW 827 at the Verizon Data Center picket line in Ewing. Our show of support meant a lot to the strikers, whose brave fight against corporate greed will benefit all working families.
The strikers walked off the job on April 13 after trying for months to negotiate a contract with this corporate giant on behalf of struggling middle-class families. Verizon has been earning record profits that totaled $1.8 billion – that’s billion with a “B” – each month in the first quarter of this year. Yet, it has forced hundreds of millions in health care givebacks, and now wants the ability to transfer workers at will without offering any improvements in wages, job security or working conditions.
That’s just wrong!
As brothers and sisters in the labor movement, we must keep up the pressure on Verizon to settle this contract fairly and continue to support these brave workers. Check back here for updates on the strike, or you can also keep current by visiting http://standuptoverizon.com.
Please join a picket line, or stop by with snacks for picketing workers.