Thursday morning still it would seem that for some reason untill they figure out a really good spin on this extension we have zero info.Instead we now have rumors gallore!!!We have heard everything from huge raises with jacked up medical cost to no more Cola along with we have all 5g to we have nothing.I m all for putting it in print but its absolutely time for the IBEW and CWA to put out the main points of what has been negotiated,lost,gained ect!!!!! If it takes since last week to put out what was negotiated for 2 months what should take 1 day to post with modern social media and internet we really have more issues then just our contract
38 replies (most recent on top)
you’re better off mentioning all this at some economics seminar or to your labor history relations class at the university you teach at, professor
what a bizarre, pretentious, self righteous post on a verizon layoffs board lol
man, it really irks you that you don’t have a pension, that’s for sure
thanks for the laugh
Give it up already. You’re just making the ho-e you’re digging deeper. They’re barely hiring anywhere in the company, union, non-union, etc. And everyone knows there is a two-tier system, where no pension is offered, for the few union/collective bargained employees that are hired nowadays. That’s a non sequitur, because the vast majority of bargained-for employees have greater than 15+ years with the company and do have the pension, which negates the silly point that you keep attempting to make. Not to mention, these same pensioned, represented employees were supposed to be going away in 2011, 2016, 2018, 2023 etc and they clearly aren’t. So you can just go keep parroting about a two-tier system, which we already know about, and telling us how the union gives us nothing, when we clearly have much more than you, but carry on anyway. . . .
@9gxq+1hBTFP0u
Your reading comprehension skills are lacking. Context is important.
There is no pension for new union employees that join now (or that have joined in the past 10 years). So joining the union NOW offers NOTHING SPECIAL.
For anyone joining NOW the Union doesen't offer anything the company isn't, and with raises being set, it may actually be worse (on a case by case basis). If I had a time machine and could join the union 10 years ago, it might be worthwhile, because pensions are indeed special, but that's not possible, so it's a moot point.
The Union sold out their future members, and now they don't look as good. Also the last few contract extensions have been truly "nothing special", in addition to the spectacular failure when pensions were discontinued.
Unions are fine, but at Verizon they're slowly failing to offer anything of any value.
wait: did someone just say benefits that include a pension is nothing special???? lol too funny
You conveniently left out that non-union employees DO NOT have a pension. And a great majority of VZ collective bargained employees have 15+ years or more, before that non-pension 2-tier system was put into effect .
So having a PENSION + 401k/company match, profit sharing, etc is really actually “special”
The unions’ future was set when they allowed the pension and job security provisions for new hires to be removed many years ago. It created a 2 tier union for the same group of workers….. not good. Those provisions are NOT coming back. I see a situation on the horizon where those older members who didn’t fight to keep that language on the books will find themselves without retiree health benefits. The union will become smaller and smaller and therefore less of a threat to the company. Healthcare for retirees will be easy pickings to reduce or eliminate. Pretty soon anyone with with skin in the game will be gone. Those who saw the flaws in union and didn’t join (where the had a choice) will get the same benefits as those who did. The union may still be around but with no teeth. It will probably be relegated to a couple of chapters or a case study in a history book about labor relations or the AFL-CIO……oh and by the way I am pro union!
"but how did the old members get pensions ? By fighting for it."
Aint no way company pensions are ever coming back so don't waste your breath with all the nostalgia. If we as individuals don't make enough impact in a company for them to feel they can't survive without us, then we are at risk. If we think banding together with a bunch of people in a similar situation in exchange for paying a union will help protect us, then so be it. Does it help anymore? Maybe not like it used to. But the new blood is needed to keep the union going. Kind of a catch-22.
My take? Some people love unions and others hate them. Most of us see declining value in membership.
Offers you some protections you might have otherwise like when you are up for a raise, or want safer working conditions or maybe just to get your jerk boss off your back. It is just you kinda bargaining or fighting for yourself where as you would have 20 or 30 thousand people fighting for a raise or better working conditions or maybe just fairness on who works holidays and so on and so. And yes there is no pension for new union members but how did the old members get pensions ? By fighting for it. So the reason it even existed in the first place was because of unions . So unions have good and bad. And you can find both if you look hard enough for them !
@5emf+1hBTFP0u
That was exactly my point. The union isn't offering anything special.
@4yff+1hBTFP0u
I get the same retirement plan as any Verizon worker that joined the union in the past 10 years, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning, but I can talk a little about that. Here's my thought process:
If i joined a union now, no pension (other than the pension plan I already get from a company Verizon purchased) would be offered, added, or contributed to. The pension plan I had before was phased out even before Verizon purchased the company, so there was nothing I could have done there at all, and the amount I will get from it is a pittance because it was introduced and subsequently phased out too fast for me to accumulate much. The union should have held fast in 2012 to keep the pension benefit for new employees, now it's too late. That would have been a decent selling point for them to get new union members. With all that being said, the 401(k) match isn't bad, and I've got a fair sized nest egg even after the markets took a giant dump this year. By the time I'm ready to retire hopefully there will have been a fair recovery.
Again, good luck, I've nothing against the unions, but I don't see the practical benefit for me, especially with the group I'm in being completely non-union now. Organizing and voting and joining for nominal benefit seems like too much work for not much (if any) payoff. I'd rather pick up and leave if it gets too bad to stomach.
Wireline hasn't been a thing for 3 years.
“I get profit sharing, I get 401(k) match, I get stock together, and it looks like my health benefits are pretty similar, too. Seems like you need to have the union reps go back to the table”
pssssst: Everyone in wireline gets these, union or non-union
Do non-union members realize that union workers with 25 years have damn near $1m in their pension? Can retire when age plus years=75, Plus their 401k, no lay-off clause, much lower health care cost. Just saying not sure why people as so anti-union. Great job union folks. Wish I hadn’t drank that company Koolaid.
I would assume that 3% or 4% is always going to be a bigger deal for the union worker the the non-union because what I noticed you failed to mention when naming everything you had that was the same as a union worker was pension. That being said yes they can afford to give you a lil more wage wise. Because they are putting nothing into your pension. Non union should try for a pension when they negotiate for their salaries. I mean he-l you got nothing to lose !
Is 3% raise annually a win for the union? I don't see much here that is better for the union vs what non-union gets anyway.
As non-union I don't think I've had a raise less than 3% (except once when i was promoted right before raises, and getting no additional annual raise was part of the salary negotiation) . Most non-union already got 4% or 4.5% this year, I'm glad you're gettong bumped up to a total of 4%, but it seems like the pre-negotiated raises aren't all that good.
Benefiys look pretty similar to what i get as non-union. I get profit sharing, I get 401(k) match, I get stock together, and it looks like my health benefits are pretty similar, too. Seems like you need to have the union reps go back to the table. If you aren't getting anything special, why are you paying?
I guess I could be laid off, but I'm just not worried about it because I have skills that trandlate to other companies/industries.
Good luck. I hope you get the offer you want.
The Mayan calendar is cyclical. There is no end time. Just the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. That's why it's round.
You know the whole internet is available to everybody, right? It's not just po-n and social media. There's real information out there.
@3udz+1hBTFP0u
Typical union shining star.
Ask your union rep... They'll tell you what to think
Don't forget your helmet Special Ed!
Where’s the doomsayer, the boy who repeatedly cried wolf, who was oh so certain the union was doomed in 2016 then, when that didn’t pan out claimed the end would come next time - until an extension was announced in 2018 that got the members through until 2023. Then he started saying 2023 was the end of days, yet here we’re looking at 2026.
He’s as inaccurate at predicting the end of times as a Mayan calendar.
Is WFH a win or a loss for the union? I thought it had been seen as a negative from a union cohesion point of view. Is it a win?
Also I thought 2016 snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when the towel was thrown on a day or two before unemployment kicked in, the union-represented employees forgot the ‘89 sacrifice and started paying for medical as active employees and in retirement, and the newer hires were further separated from the benefits of earlier employees?
The Extension Agreement provides for a majority of the professional installation and maintenance dispatches
of 5G Work in the Mid-Atlantic footprint to be performed by bargaining unit associates.
What is this all about? What “5G installation and maintenance” work will the union perform? 5G home internet is self install correct? Only other thing 5G related is dark fiber the LL folks provide from the iHuts out the the cell site or out to the pole. Everything else will be in the cloud (VzB) or cell site, small cell or iHUT (VzW).
VZ HR
V Team,
As previously communicated, Verizon and the East unions have reached an understanding to extend the collective bargaining agreements through August 1, 2026. The company and the unions are documenting the understanding in signed contracts, which will be subject to ratification votes by union members.
We believe this extension is good for both Verizon and our employees, and will allow us to continue to focus on customers and growing the business without any distraction from collective bargaining negotiations in 2023. We appreciate that the leaders of the unions worked with us to achieve this extension.
Although this is not an exhaustive summary, here are some of the key agreed-upon terms:
Wage increases of 1.25% following ratification (in addition to the 2.75% increase already received in June 2022), 4% (total) in 2023, 3% in 2024, 2025, and 2026 with a potential cost-of-living adjustment in 2025.
A ratification bonus of $750.
Modest increases to medical premium contributions, deductibles, copays and out-of-pocket maximums.
Long-term work-from-home for those currently eligible to do so.
A commitment to hire at least 2,250 union-represented employees during the term of the extension.
Provisions to enable union-represented employees to perform certain work on 5G Home in the East footprint.
Pension band increases of 1.5% in 2023, 2024 and 2025 for those who participate in the pension plan, while those hired after October 27, 2012 continue to participate in the 401(k) savings plan on the same terms as non-union employees.
Separately, extensions for the respective wireless bargaining units were also reached.
We will keep you posted on this process.
Everybody chasing the dollar instead of the cure - sad. ./
I kinda like the idea of merging tittes .If this is something new in our contract it may be a great incentive to come to work.Can we hear more on this
@xui+1hBTFP0u- I, for one, am glad there is no merging of tittes in the new contract. It sounds very painful. I can see no need for it, and I would think it would only cause difficulties (I can't imagine where I would get a b-a).
Is this a fetish of yours, or something?
The 7 main points outlined in an earlier post are the changes/enhancements to the contract. The remainder of the contract from 2016 remains unchanged. For better or worse there it is. Unless the membership rejects it. Then back to the table.
Xui you may be new here...? If you are, this site has been intellectually hindered for a decade. Entertainment purposes only, nothing you read on here ever comes true, it's just a handful (I put the over/under at 13) people that just post over and over. Two have an ideology. Three are staunch anti union. Two are staunch pro union. One is pro vaxx while another is anti mandate.
Some are from basking ridge. Others don't even work for the company. Enjoy.
Cola causes diabetes.
No Cola it is suspended and revisited in 2025 with lousy formula
where is no COLA coming from?
So obviously goes to show all the rumors are always wack.So i see no extra time off I see no additional holidays i see no talk of the merging of tittes .So who knows my guess theres more in this extension then the highlights good or bad
Why settle for this contract when we have a whole 12 more months before the other one is up ? Make them come back with a better offer . Inflation rates are high as he-l and are going to keep going up , these raises are nothing and the union already dragged their feet waiting to announce this agreement so others got out before the GATT went up. Obviously they are in bed with the company let them bring back a better offer .
This is what I found so far.
VERIZON MID-ATLANTIC – SUMMARY TENTATIVE AGREEMENT TO EXTEND
JULY 7, 2022
CWA is pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with Verizon to extend the current collective
bargaining agreement. The current contract is set to expire August 5, 2023. The tentative agreement, subject to
ratification by the membership, will extend the contract to August 1, 2026.
Duration of Contract Extension: The three-year extension agreement will continue the terms of the current contract
(as extended in 2018) in full, unless otherwise noted, until 11:59 p.m., August 1, 2026.
- Wages and Other Compensation
The Extension Agreement provides wage increases in 2022 and 2023 over and above what is already in the current
agreement, plus annual raises during the 3-year extension. As a result, the base wage will increase by a total of
- 23% from 2022 through 2026 (compounded). A ratification bonus of $750 and yearly Corporate Profit Sharing
payments of at least $700 will add to wage gains.
a. General Wage Increase – The additional increase in 2022 and 2023, as well as the new increases, are listed
below. All are applied to all steps in the basic wage schedules on the dates indicated.
• 2022: First Sunday following ratification – 1.25% (in addition to 2.75% effective June 19, 2022)
• June 18, 2023: 1% (in addition to 3% already effective June 18, 2023, for a total of 4%)
• 2024: First Sunday following the second anniversary of ratification – 3%
• 2025: First Sunday following the third anniversary of ratification – 3%
• July 26, 2026: 3%
• Compounded increase: 18.23%
b. Cost of Living Adjustment - A cost-of-living adjustment, effective on the first Sunday following the third
anniversary of ratification, will be made to base wage rates. The adjustment is as follows:
The change in CPI during the period April 2024 through April 2025, minus 3.75%, divided by two, not to
exceed 2%. Example: Change in CPI equals 4.25% over the one-year period. 4.25% - 3.75% = 0.5% divided by 2
= 0.25% additional increase in wages.
c. Ratification Bonus- $750, payable within 30 days after ratification
d. Corporate Profit Sharing - The Company will award Corporate Profit Sharing distributions in each year of the
extension, with a minimum distribution of $700 each year.
- Pensions and Retirement Security
• The Lump Sum Cash Out provisions will be continued.
• The “Additional Temporary Pension Lump Sum Basis” Letter of Agreement, dated November 12, 2020,
which provides an alternative method to calculate the PBGC lump sum value, will be in effect during
the term of the extension.
• Pension bands will be increased 1.5% on June 29 of 2023, 2024, and 2025.
• The Stock Together program will remain in effect during the term of the Extension Agreement.
- Health Care
The Extension Agreement provides for modest changes in cost sharing under the health care plans.
a. Contributions - The Extension Agreement provides for no increase in monthly premium contribution in 2024
and a modest increase in 2025. The chart below reflects the 2023 contribution amounts established by the
current contract, along with 2024 through 2026 contribution amounts included in the Extension Agreement.
he following monthly amounts assume non-smoker and completion of the Health Risk Assessment*.
Deductions will be pre-tax and divided over four paychecks each month.
MCN & MEP (Monthly) EPO, HMOs, and Other Plans (Monthly)
(contributions will be no greater than the following)
Employee Employee + Family Employee Employee + Family
2023 $142 $284 $213 $426
2024 $142 $284 $213 $426
2025 $150 $300 $225 $450
2026 $150 $300 $225 $450
- The $100 health risk assessment credit, which remains unchanged for the duration of the extension, is reflected
in the amounts above. Without the health risk assessment credit, an additional $8.33 per month will be charged.
The tobacco premium remains unchanged. If an employee or covered dependent uses tobacco products, the rates
above will be increased by $50 per month. The additional cost can be avoided by participation in a smoking
cessation program or activity.
b. Deductibles and Out of Pocket Maximums- The chart below reflects 2023 amounts established by the current
agreement, along with 2024 through 2026 amounts included in the Extension Agreement.
MCN MEP
In Network Out of Network In Network Out of Network
ANNUAL DEDUCTIBLE (Deductibles apply to Out-of-Pocket Maximum.)
Individual 2023: $275
2024: $275
2025: $300
2026: $325
2023: $925
2024: $925
2025: $950
2026: $975
2023: $700
2024: $700
2025: $725
2026: $750
2023: $925
2024: $925
2025: $950
2026: $975
Family 2.5 times the
individual rate
- 5 times the
individual rate
- 5 times the
individual rate
- 5 times the
individual rate
OUT-OF-POCKET MAXIMUM
Individual 2023: $1,550
2024: $1,550
2025: $1,600
2026: $1,650
2023: $2,350
2024: $2,350
2025: $2,400
2026: $2,450
2023: $1,650
2024: $1,650
2025: $1,700
2026: $1,750
2023: $2,550
2024: $2,550
2025: $2,600
2026: $2,650
Family 2.5 times the
individual rate
- 5 times the
individual rate
- 5 times the
individual rate
- 5 times the
individual rate
c. Copays- Copays in the MCN and MEP health care plans will remain unchanged through the extension, except
for Specialist Office Visits in 2026 and Emergency Room Visitsin 2025 and 2026.
• Telemedicine (LiveHealth Online Only) copay will remain $10.
• Specialist Office Visits copay:
2023: $30
2024: $30
2025: $30
2026: $35
• Emergency Room Visits (waived if admitted):
2023: $150
2024: $150
2025: $155
2026: $160
d. HMO and EPO Plan Changes - Copay maximums in HMO and EPO plans will remain unchanged through the
extension, except as follows:
• Specialist Office Visits: $35 in 2026
• Emergency Room Visits: $155 in 2025 and $160 in 2026
- Retiree Health Benefits
a. Effective January 1, 2024, the annual benefit for retirees with a NCS Date on or after August 3, 2008, will be
increased from $480 for each year of completed NCS (max. 30 years) to $576 for each year of completed NCS
(max. 25 years).
b. For 2024 and each subsequent plan year, an eligible pre-Medicare Retiree with a NCS Date on or after August
3, 2008, who opts out of Company sponsored medical plan options and obtains non-Company sponsored
medical coverage, will have a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) established by the Company credited in
an annual amount of $576 for each year of completed NCS (max. 25 years). The HRA is subject to the rules and
guidance of IRS Notice 2002-45 and agreement between the Company and Union on other terms.
- Union Jobs
Quality union jobs will be added over the term of the Extension Agreement.
a. 900 technicians will be hired in the Mid-Atlantic footprint, with a minimum of 550 in CWA District 2-13 area.
b. 225 will be hired into positions in the Sales and Services and Tech Support Centers.
- Additional Work
a. The Extension Agreement provides for a majority of the professional installation and maintenance dispatches
of 5G Work in the Mid-Atlantic footprint to be performed by bargaining unit associates.
b. 5G Sales and Service and Tech Support will be assigned to Sales and Service and Tech Support Centers.
Additionally, the Company and Union will form a 5G Home Committee to review the level of work being done
and to explore ways to increase the amount of work performed by bargaining unit associates.
c. Call volume percentages will be increased in Sales and Service to 69% by July 1, 2023, and 70% by January 1,
d. Call volume percentages will be increased in Tech Support to 56% by July 1, 2023, and 57% by January 1, 2024.
e. No later than January 1, 2024, for consumer calls on hold, the Company will give the customer the option to
directly initiate a digital chat and 100% of such chats will be handled by bargaining unit employeesin the MidAtlantic and New York/New England footprint. Employees may be assigned to handle both calls and chats but
will not be assigned to do so simultaneously.
f. The Company and Union will form a committee to explore ways to have associates in the sales and service and
tech support centers perform additional online platform work, including Click-to-Chat and others that may
evolve.
- Work-at-Home
The Extension Agreement includes a Work-At-Home Memorandum of Agreement (available in its entirety at
https://cwa.org/ma-wah), which will become effective only when agreed upon by all CWA (Districts 1 and 2-13) and
IBEW (Locals 827 and 2213 and T-6 Council).
The reason it took till July 1 is because the union is in bed with the company. The company wanted to wait until pension payout rate changes took place which happened on the 1st... and that also benefited the union to keep members in the dark till then so at this point they may not leave and keep paying dues.
Union has released the info
You unioners are a jittery bunch. Calm down and go have your usual cheeseburger at McDonalds.
Regardless of, if extension is beneficial to us or not, CWA did not act as fiduciary to its members. They dragged negotiations until it was too late for eligibility members to make informed decision, if they should retire or stick around for four more years before a raise of the gatt rate.
My guess is the contract info will be released late Friday afternoon so everyone can stew about it over the weekend. As of now the only thing agreed to is an end date on the extension. Nothing else has changed other than WFH and a few economic issues. Makes me wonder why it took six weeks to work out an extension. Guess we will wait and see until the details are released. No sense speculating.
Seems likely there is some bad news that they are reluctant to disclose. My guess - The WFH provisions they teased last Friday is actually for just some people and or not full time.