“While I won’t say a lot about the strike we’re experiencing today, I would like to thank the members of the union who are here today and your approach to this,” McAdam said, referring to Communication Workers of America employees in the room and picketing outside the hotel. “There is nothing we would like to do more than complete a contract either at the table or through mediation and get our employees and union members back to work.”
12 replies (most recent on top)
Hey numb nuts. Don't you understand that if they are allowed to do it to the 100 call center jobs that they will then be allowed to do it to the rest of the workforce? Use your brain. This is about everyone of us being moved at the whim of the company.
The under 100 wireless workers and 100 call center workers are holding up the deal for the other 37000
How can the union go back to work without looking bad?
Parties on two sides of a negotiation with reasonable requests would find mediation agreeable, fair and reasonable. If one side has unreasonable or unrealistic requests that that party would avoid mediation because they know an unbiased mediator would concur with the side of reason. Doesn't take a fancy lawyer to see this one.
The Union may not want mediation and here is why ( copy paste from NLRB follows )
'After employees choose a union as a bargaining representative, the employer and union are required to meet at reasonable times to bargain in good faith about wages, hours, vacation time, insurance, safety practices and other mandatory subjects. Some managerial decisions such as subcontracting, relocation, and other operational changes may not be mandatory subjects of bargaining, but the employer must bargain about the decision's effects on unit employees.'
So, at mediation some of the not necessarily mandatory bargaining items such as relocation, travel, call center locations and staffing etc. could mean the Union will have to accept those items as offered by Verizon.
Once the mediator has determined what is mandatory and what is not, and sees how good the offer is in terms of wages, health care, etc. as compared to the rest of the U.S. working force, Verizon could stand a strong chance of getting all they want in their LBFO as it currently stands.
Mediation is the only way this thing gets settled, but given that the company offered mediation before the strike began, the union leadership is going to get voted out by their members once they realize that the strike was a colossal waste of time and money.
If the answer is always LBFO, that is not real bargaining
I love you Lowell. Thank you for my H1B
Rajneesh Patel
Basking Ridge NJ, Kanpur, India.
I agree.
If it's available, just go to mediation.
Union didnt do to bad last time. Basically just paid into medical, everything else stayed the same. Plus $850.00 medical card towards co-pays.
It is the LBFO until the Union accepts mediation. In other words, it appears that as long as the Union comes to the table with unacceptable offers then VZ will state the LBFO phrase.
link to the statement and full article http://nmpoliticalreport.com/42600/striking-employees-confront-verizon-ceo/