6hlx has got to be smoking, ingesting, snorting or injecting some powerful stuff. A pretty wacky vision you have there. He or she should seriously consider cutting back a bit on the substances.
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6hlx
You know this how?
I got a flier in the mail Friday from a financial advisor offering dinner and lecture on may 14th and 15th.
3, 3 and 5K or possible 6k, off books end of third quarter.
If the company goes with the 6k per years of service and no cap their will be a mass exodus that exceeds the head count of the salaried employees that left on the last offer.
Much of the protected Union membership will be gone if at 6K; company will move to a high influx
of contractors ( many ex-employees ) and then re-org the company by doing an absolute combination of inside and outside forces under same 2nd level and possibly 1st levels. By 2023/2024 when company can abandon copper ( for the most part ) many of the craft jobs will be salaried up to 40 hours with hourly pay afterwards, and contractors.
Bring on the 3 and 3!!
To incentivize Locals in states without unemployment, the national could promise to match dollar for dollar whatever those locals have save, and distribute it after the 6 weeks have passed. I thought the timing was interesting, going back one day before unemployment kicked in, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and being told after the strike paying more for medical was already written in stone before we even walked?
In mid-state it is 400 as well. Once unemployment kicks in you can ride it long if needed. It's the last thing the company wants. Notice that last time we where one day away before they settled. Unprepared areas are their own worse enemies and make it harder on the rest.
I believe a long island local in ny was getting $400/week.
It all depends on your Locals priorities in where they’re willing to spend money.
I think a strong strike fund, one that will tide you over until unemployment kicks in in those Locals whose states pay unemployment, is crucial, instead of spending it on politics, an expensive Hall rental (just buy a place), or whatever.
@2spj : you can’t be serious about the strike fund . Enough to cover them for a year ! Our fund couldn’t give me $75 for a month .
A lot of routine work going on . They seem to be ok with this “lull” in the work load for now . I don’t think it is gonna pick up any time soon. I also don’t think a package clears out too many people yet . 2021 is probably a more realistic option on a large scale package .
NY mid state is slow, routine tickets for copper work, Fios is not busy, everyone is watching safety videos at some point to keep busy. It's only a matter of time before they start offering a package to get rid of the workforce close to the 30yr of service. Most of us here have 27-29 years either which way we are leaving by end of contract.
NJ isn’t busy....been slow for a long time. No work. Most techs doing routines.
4uxl Thank goodness you state is the only state in the union that has an “upstate”, and a Western half. Us downstate, all East states are busy.
Upstate,Western area.
@4krg : I say fios is sold off
Where is "over here"?
Real slow over here . What does the future hold ? A sale ? 5 G ? Buyout ?
"half the techs doing routine work all day."
-4phu...Where are you located?
2nd level COT boss was at meeting, 3 and 3 was talked about and financial advisors sat in to hear the details. I won't believe it till I see it but it makes sense, half the techs doing routine work all day.
Like during strikes there is always a silence before something happens. Makes you think some talks are being had.
That sounds similar to the situation that preceded the massive 2004 - 2005 fiber build. Could be you’re in a holding pattern in anticipation of the next massive build, when the funding will be unleashed and it will once again be all hands on deck?
Too many Techs and not enough work.
How long will they pay us to do safety videos over and over again?
Bust em right in the @ss!
@2qls we must be members of the same local. Our strike fund is ridiculously low. I dont mind calling out 2205 at all. Our local reps are all about showboating, and care very little about its members. I hope a decent eisp will be offered before the 2023, because, I see the union being busted after that.
@2spj ; that huge strike fund , $50 bucks a week ! Huge ?
“Seems as though this thread has struck a nerve with some of the older Union members” @YHi8SFB-1aec
Struck a nerve? The only one getting in a tizzy on this thread is the doofus @1uze that doesn’t want a pension in addition to his 401k because, as he explains, “No thanks, I’ll control my own money.”
Whatever the hell that means, I don’t know.
And, @1aec, don’t fret for us “older union members”. We’re secure financially and, in the unlikely event everything fell apart coverage-wise some number of years down the road, there’s Medicare. We’re good.
True about the strike fund. The old timers have been paying into it for over thirty years. These trolls just want to divide the young people and break them.
CWA has a huge strike fund, when all the old timers leave they'll be able to fund the guys that will have 22 years at that point for at least a year plus unemployment. Those guys hired after 2003 will have the same security that the old guys have now, the company won't fight it because it won't be worth it.
Seems as though this thread has struck a nerve with some of the older Union members. I haven’t read anyone saying they wouldn’t fight for themselves, but it is quite clear they aren’t willing to fight for you when you’re gone.
@ikcv any union is only as strong as its members. Stand strong or bend over it is up to you. It looks like you have already given up. I guess you should await your demise you seem certain of it. Bank what little you have you will need it I guess Your bitterness is rooted in the belief that someone or something other than yourself will fight your battles and bestow you with lucrative pay and good working conditions with no effort on your part. The group needs to stand together collectively. Companies depend on breaking spirits like yours to divide and conquer leaving all remaining to fight among themselves for whatever sc-aps remain. We fought for our spoils and enjoy them as we see fit on our terms. You could to if you stood up for yourself like an adult instead of a sad sack looking for a handout.
@1ygz ; you see how good that spectrum strike in NY worked out for the workers . And that was ibew , not our lame union .
“Ah yes. The good ol pension. Good luck with that! No thanks, I'll control my own money.” @YHi8SFB-1uze
Is it not preferable to have that pension on top of and in addition to that 401k? You can take it as a lump sum and roll it into something, thereby controlling your own money, or you can take it as a steady annuity. You seem to be the only human being that, if given a choice between receiving both a pension AND a 401k or, receiving just the 401k without the additional pension, would opt for the latter. Why?
As 1kjn wisely noted, “yeah , who wouldnt want a couple of grand a month annuity for the rest of your life on top of a 401k ! Oh , yeah , plus s s and savings . You can’t fix stupid”
Don’t you want to be fixed @1uze?
@IUZ You sound as if you have no pension. Well if you were to have one like us you would know you could as you say "control your own money" by rolling it into a cash balance and "controlling" it. While I don't necessarily disagree with your premise , I believe you put incredible faith in the financial services industry and the corporate world as a whole Madoff, Enron, S&L crisis, countless cases of corporate board malfeasance, outright corporate criminality , pump and dump stockbrokers, and countless other scams our country is riddled with corporate crooks all this should give one pause as to who is in "control" of their money. Unless you are holding hard cash in hand or arguably real estate do you ever "control your money"? The PBGC fully protects our level of pension and yes that could fold as well but it is at least as trustworthy as the corporate crooks obligated to their retired workforce. I am more likely to take the balance for the sole fact my heirs can benefit from the balance in my passing while they cannot with a pension.
If the younger union members do not want to strike and stand up for their future they get what the company wants to give which is nothing. Unions help to set the standards.
As a long time union member we now pay much more for what we used to have for free. We could be paying a lot more.
@ IASS (appropriate moniker} If the new hires won't strike as you say they won't, they will then get what they deserve. You have little faith in them. It will be up to them to fight for THEIR work conditions. To say that the union sold out by not striking for a person yet to be hired is a ludicrous claim. Everyone is responsible for their own destiny. The time will come when this group will be in the majority (certainly not by next contract, likely by 2030} and they will either stand tall and fight for improved conditions or fold as you say and suffer the consequences. Anyone who feels that a previous generation is obligated to serve them a golden platter is an entitled brat, in this case they are being served on a silver one anyway. Most Americans would love the contract they have it is just not the golden one we have. Sorry they weren't there to fight for ours but I would certainly strike with them if needed be. The foundation is there to always improve things contract by contract, Some are more beneficial than others but it is always a fight with this outfit, anything we have has been fought for. I will wait for my EISP and relax in retirement well before then, but wish them the best in their battles to come and will support them in doing so in any way possible.
Ah yes. The good ol pension. Good luck with that! No thanks, I'll control my own money.
https://nypost.com/2019/01/26/americas-seniors-are-working-longer-only-to-watch-their-retirement-dreams-die/
Union sold all future hires out in the 2003 contract . Seems most junior guys are at about 18 years in . After that is probably temp hires and people with no pension , and they won’t go on a strike . Union has become extremely weak and useless .
Great post. What many of the Union members who like to brag on this board forget is that the “have nots” of the Union will be pretty much the majority by the time the contract ends and they have no reason to fight for the “haves” since they are the ones that sold them down the river. Pretty sure Verizon slow played the Union.
@1env , I don’t see an eisp coming anytime soon either . And I think they gave the long contract extension because of the new CEO coming in and to hopefully have no issues leading into a 5 G future . Probably looking to clear the deck in 2023
I really hope you guys get to keep your retirement health care. You could lose it all in 2023. I really don't understand the animosity between the union folks and management. I started out in a union job and moved into a staff job early in my career. What the company did to management back in 2006 was a travesty. And although the union managed to preserve many of the benefits for old timers, the newbies no longer have pensions either. And it's not just Verizon. It used to be you could go to work for a company and feel comfortable buying a new car or taking out a mortgage. No more. There is no long term security. I feel sorry for our kids and grand kids.
Anyway, I hope you all get your EISP, even though I personally don't think one is coming. You have to ask yourself why they negotiated a 4 year contract a year early. It's unprecedented.
You all can go back to your bantering now. :-)