I know there is a lot of animosity between union and management on this site. Personally, I think the conduct from both sides has been reprehensible. As others have said, the strike has brought out the worst in everyone.
With that said, it feels now like Hiroshima the day after the bomb was dropped -- utter destruction. The lives of the people in the union are now changed for a very long time, and their finances may never recover. I feel bad for those who were lead down this road by the CWA and didn't realize what they were getting into.
I also feel bad for those EWA people who went into this a with a great attitude and expected (like we all did) that this was something they would be doing for two or possibly three weeks. I think they and everyone else expected them to be home by now. Now it appears they'll be where they are for the foreseeable future. I don't think anyone wants to do someone else's job for as long as they're going to have to, not knowing what they will be returning to or when they'll be returning to it.
After seeing the email today it's pretty clear that life has changed permanently at Verizon and for the 39,000 people on strike. It really feels like a funeral atmopshere.
Best of luck to the union people who are now on their own for good. And best of luck to the EWA people who are being forced to do the type of work that they didn't intend to.