Thread regarding Verizon Communications Inc. layoffs

I know where i work the union is always saying slow down work safe and do a quality job. Ive never in 20 years been told by the company to slow dow work safe and do a quality job. The bosses say work safe but speed up and dont worry about quality we need each job done in an hour and half. Thats the real world !

Say what you want about minorities and majorities and who protects who. But, in my work center, the guys who are being targeted are the ones who actually work. The ones who know their job and do right the first time are the ones who are getting time off. The ones who cut corners and sleep in their trucks while other techs clean up their shoddy work are left alone and the "Union" is not wasting time defending them. And, to be honest, the "Union" has basically thrown in the towel and told guys to "knock off" the quality work if you want to keep your job. I'm not sure what balance is to be found in enforcing policies that require sloth and ineptitude.

The Union didn't hire them, the company hired them. The Union can be sued for Duty of Fair Representation. look it up, its very serious.

Ahh how about no Scott!!!! While it would be nice if I only had to worry about my own actions, but when the guy "working" with me, is not pulling his weight, 1. I have to do more (while at the same time getting paid the same) and 2. since the managers get labeled with "you're just picking on the guy", they in turn have to then share the wealth and ride everyone so as not to appear singling anyone out. Also as a side note, when joe public sees "this small %" of people like these sleeping in their trucks...they assume all union workers are like those POS....you can't blame the downward trends of union memberships totally at the feet of the greedy corporations. "Union Made" used to actually mean a better product, and in most cases it still does, but those that abuse the protections we fought for are doing as much harm to us as any CEO.

So if it's a "minor %" of bad employees, I'll ask why are you, and everyone spending a large % of your time and effort in trying to get rid of such a minor % ? Who cares then? it's minor right? I think you should spend your time and efforts not taking other peoples inventory and concentrate on your own job. That's the problem in Verizon, all of it's employees are knee deep in everyone else's business, when they should be just working. And then when you are working, your saying, hey look at me how great am I? One big Peyton Place. Don't worry about what other people are doing worry about yourself. Make sense?

It's ok to be unhappy with the negotiations, and complain about how things are going. Sign up for Linked In and move on sounds feasible but it is unrealistic for most. We are past the point of moving on, most of us would lose a big chunk of money. Believe me, next year when I get my thirty I will be looking at other opportunities. We have slackers on both sides and we always will.

2fbl....well said

Everyone on this site has at one point or another made a valid statement. When it comes to the old union versus management debate...I agree with many...we can live without many 'middle management' employees, that being said we can also live without many 'non productive union employees'. Challenge yourselves to think if you ran your own business...who you hire some of your co workers? There are people who can't do their job because they don't know how or are too ill, there are programs in place to assist these audiences, as there should be. Then there are those (yes union workers) who refuse to do their job. Advise others to slow down, harass those who excel at what they do. As a business owner you would want the option to tell someone, Hey Joe, if you are not happy here, find something else. In Verizon we must counsel and coddle people who flat out don't do their job or don't come to work. The Union spends excessive amounts of time protecting (and coddling) the minor % of lousy employees instead of protecting the rights of the major % of productive union employees. I speak from first hand, being in attendance of many, many grievance and arbitration meetings. While there may be many Managers who need to move on...there are even more Union employees who should do the same.....No one here owns Verizon...if you are unhappy with your contract negotiations and are so overly skilled...good luck...sign up on Linked In....you only have one life...go live it!

Alot of guys with time "get it" on both sides of the fence. When I read this post, in a macro view I can see the problem at verizon. No teamwork, and that is designed by the higher ups here.

When they tell us that they want us to "align" ourselves with the company what they really mean is they want constant turmoil at all levels. Nobody really cares if you placed green ground wire, a ground tag, or Clean-test-clean your fiber. Verizon has become a joke to work for on both sides of the fence. The angry people here are usually the ones that used their job as some sort of life validation. So, you see, the psychology is the problem here, not the labor or management.

When you notice the people who used to care but now have an "I don't give a crap attitude" you are looking at someone who has achieved their balance here. I'm sure they are more happy then those who believe in this company and it's propaganda. If you refuse to admit there is severe psychological warfare here then you refuse to open your eyes, step back, and be honest about this place.

This post is a microcosm of what sort of relationships the uppers here really want, and how sorely out of touch they are with mid management on down.

Verizon didn't manage to hire all bad employees, they just managed to give them all a bad attitude. If you have a true morale compass then you know what I mean

Thanks for sharing 2xgt, so if we walk he should walk with us? Grow up, the point was he knows and did the job and knows how to play the game.

It's true even the simplest of tasks they are not trusted to do. They truly are puppets on strings. At least the technician knows the job, can do the job, and can make decisions on the fly with the customers. The mangers are clueless, and helpless, if anything they just get in the way.

Thanks for sharing 2gwr. Make sure to get him a nice gift on bosses day. Just remember, he'll stab you in the back the first chance he gets and if we go on strike, he'll be out attempting to do your job.

My manager gets it, he knows his employer hates his guts. We respect each other and it works well. Of course he has time, not a smart ass young guy.

Verizon "managers" are nothing more than marionette puppets. They are not real managers as in they can make day to day operating decisions. They have zero control over anything of even the least importance. They have next to no responsibility of anything that would make difference. They have no authority over anything other than handing a tool to a technician, and even that is a stretch for some of them. Lets face it the technicians don't need their manager at all. Again there puppets on a string. I would RIF all of them and hire more technicians with the money they save, and actually have someone doing something other than sitting around for 8 hours. Every technician know's their managers are useless.

2elq.......where go you go? Have another drink. By the way, how's that "enhanced" 401k treating you?

2rnj, you are 100% correct. Most consultants don't last more than a year because of the stress & harassment that management inflicts on them. Another reason is the unethical "sales" approach that is forced upon the reps. If a customer calls in screaming and cursing because they have been out of service for two weeks, "union consultants" are still forced to offer a laundry list of items, which only further infuriates the customer. However, if you are a subcontracted scab rep, problem calls are often transferred or disconnected because of the requirement discrimination that is placed on the backs of union consultants. I guarantee that not a single manager could do the job as per "union consultant" requirements for more than a month. After all, that's why they took a management job, because they couldn't handle the pressure. BURRC

why only 550 that seems low you craft what area you in how many years and your age. the rates are very good right now

Where am I going? Anywhere I want with my 550 thousand dollar pension

Hey 2e1q, that means if you get rif'd from here you are only qualified to manage at Walmart, right? What skills have you learned except exaggerate your own self worth? If you convince yourself that you matter maybe everyone else will believe it too. You simp.

you fat, lazy fools all talk a tough game. You will go nowhere. Where could you go with such shitty skills, shitty work ethic? Really where go you go? Walmart would not put up with you attitudes ?

'Call centers are another story (easily re trainable\replaceable'

Couldn't be further from the truth

How about

1. Forget all the stuff you did when you were a tech.

1crn, here's a funnier story. The only management "job" requirements:

1. Love Lowell's kool aid

2. Be a spineless coward

3. Have no morals

4. Be angry because you lost your pension

5. Lie, lie & lie

6. Willingness to be a no good scab

That being said, I notice you didn't mention anything about fios. Congratulations on getting 6 copper troubles done in 3 weeks you goof.

I don't think this company cares, they have proven customers mean nothing. It would all be blamed on the union.

There is not one manager in my work location that has done my job, and this is just about every single garage in the area. If there is one manager, he did it 20 yrs ago, tip and ring. If the Union was to strike, the place would be shut down from Washington to Boston. I'm sure of it. No one could fill the void quickly. The Union would bring this company to it's knees in days not weeks. I guessing the company knows this, and there must be some Union progress in the negations.

Half the techs in my garage half some college a few have degrees so they are actually way more educated then the bosses they just got the job here because at one time it was a good job. Now its not worth the money at all to little pay for to much stress aggrivation harrassment and micromanaging

What 1crn just failed to mention was the reason why the xboxes are a mess and loops not properly anchored nid ungrounded. No where did he mention in his whole little rant that because of management harrassing to do a job in a half hour you dont have time to do it right its either half ass or your suspended !!!!!

No kidding, push jobs per day and you see the result, don't fix anything just hit and run, or get time off. That is the company plan not ours. In a management position you also only need a high school education, what's the point. I did both and I can say most people will that take a management job for one reason. If you did copper repair then you could not do my job, but I could do yours. So maybe I should be paid more then my supervisor.

If it's a union position, you don't need any more than a high-school education and would get half of what your are paid in the real, competitive, world. Here's a funny story - I did copper I&M work during the last strike. We cleared jobs that had been on the books for weeks. I can't tell you how many times customers said we were more courteous, and got the line fixed, finally, after several tries. There was a backlog of repairs when we arrived that were cleared by the time we were done after the 3-week strike. This will almost no training. The cross boxes were a mess, we saw NIDs improperly wired, sometimes ungrounded, and drops improperly anchored. All "quality" union work before us.

You choose management, so you get what they want you to have. Here's a fact, you have no idea what I do.

So basically you're saying you want much better terms than management employees. I get it, but you're not speaking to a sympathetic audience.

Here's a fact - even if you accepted Verizon's offer as is, you'd still never get a better deal anywhere else. For what you do, the pay is crazy good.

Yeah strike,strike, strike, big talk, what do you think another 2 weeks? Yeah right. Year minimum if we ever get back in. People crossing the line left and right should work out great. Fairpoint out 4 months and got the shaft anyway.

"Ready to STRIKE for a fair contract!!!" We've been hearing this for how many months now? We voted to strike and leadership didn't listen to it's members. Union leadership has been well aware of all of the harassment, forced time away from our families and suspensions. Again we said, "lets strike" and again leadership didn't listen to it's members. Storms hit the northeast hard a week or so ago and instead of taking advantage of what may have been our best opportunity to strike, again, leadership didn't listen to it's members. Do us a favor, keep your wrist bands, your picket signs and your newsletter. Start doing the job you were elected to do and start listening to the membership.

Almost everyday I say, if we were on strike the customers would be screwed. Everyday we have damaged fiber, wet cables, downed poles, they would never be able to keep up.

The company position actually weakens by the day. In August they were much stronger but the number of RIF's that have gone through have forced there to be a second EWA training from what I hear (I left in November due to all the bullcrap but I still talk to friends back in VZ also I worked in IT and was Non-Union). Every round of RIF's means fewer employees who can fill and EWA. While there are still plenty of employees that can "fill in the gap" the number of able bodied back office workers who could fill the shoes of a lineman are diminishing. Call centers are another story (easily re trainable\replaceable).

Personally I hope the union strikes and gets what they want but its members should be ready for a lockout because this one could last a while

Please stop referring to negotiating items as the "Unions Needs".

I had thought this was about the dues-paying members that you represent?

It's the "MEMBERS NEEDS" that you all need to keep in mind.

Come on f this company, let's go! Who would like to be forced transferred, because they can't manage people. They are teaming up with other companies to cut health care costs. They only respond to the hard line, you can't negotiate with them.

Wah, wah, wah, wah

COULD WE PLEASE STRIKE FOR CHRISTSAKES......