CES Supports Striking Verizon Workers

On August 18, 2001, loud and determined chants filled the intersection of Wilshire Blvd and Western Ave. in Los Angeles’ Koreatown.

A protest organized by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, with a host of labor unions from across the southland, as well as the Coalition for Economic Survival, was held outside a Verizon wireless store.

The demonstration was in support of the 45,000 Verizon Communications workers from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., who went on strike earlier this month after negotiations broke down over a new labor contract for more than a fifth of the company’s work force.

Workers were forced to strike to stop Verizon’s Wisconsin-style attacks on the middle class, elimination of health benefits and outsourcing of good jobs.

Despite the fact that the company’s revenue rose 2.8 percent to $27.5 billion in the second quarter with its growth largely attributed to its wireless business, Verizon is refusing to bargain and is demanding that its workers add to those profits from their own pockets

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