Made up of a lot of former union members from VzCore and other LECs, comcast, xo, mom and pop LEC techs (Shentel near me in VA) and others that did field or tower work in the past. They are being told that the assignment is for three months, with a portion of the force being made permanent at the end of their tour... doesn't sound too much like the unskilled labor the union wants you to believe it is. When is enough, enough? CWA leadership, present the last best offer to us for ratification already.
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I don't know about the temp workforce, but I can say VZ is telling us ewa workers are going to be replaced with temp hires. So new workers are en route.
"But hey, I still welcome your civility in posting. Keep it up."
Its cool...no more from me. Things will work out as they always do.
As far as civility goes though, it would be nice if you could put a good word in with your unions buds and try and get some civility there. Seriously, many are acting in a manner which only hurts the cause. I personally have been called every name in the book by now (so there is no sting to the commentary anymore) but it is pretty ridiculous how some are acting. It is just not acceptable human behavior. The union leadership might also better express their views without profanity as well, as it simply cheapens the message in my opinion.
Peace out.
@HiLDspI-1lfo "But, I have seen them and whether I want to be or not, have been impressed by quite a number. I am not BSing here....these guys are (for the most part) the real deal. Talent is being drawn from every state in the country...."
You, sir, are comedy gold!
"so yes, thousands of qualified people exist that arent in a union in the northeast corner of the country. "
Now I understand! An emergency import from a parallel universe, correct?
Seriously, no Boston or D.C. splicer would dare enter a NYC manhole, or vice versa. Once these new folks start taking down hospitals and brokerage firms, hell will break loose.
But hey, I still welcome your civility in posting. Keep it up.
"Cool story bro but you and I both know that there aren't any qualified reinforcements coming. Keep telling yourself that though."
Seriously.....I have zero to gain with the replacements. But, I have seen them and whether I want to be or not, have been impressed by quite a number. I am not BSing here....these guys are (for the most part) the real deal. Talent is being drawn from every state in the country....so yes, thousands of qualified people exist that arent in a union in the northeast corner of the country. As I stated earlier, I do t necessarily want new guys, but they are already here and they appear capable of keeping VZ moving business as usual.
"You seriously want us to believe that there's at least 25K qualified individuals who can both do the work and can be spared from their current positions? That's a pretty tough sell."
I dont believe 25k are needed, but perhaps it is so (I really dont know). Replacing certain roles is definitely easier than others for sure. But, I do know that the folks coming in are being paid enough to leave their other jobs for the opportunity to retain long term employment and those that produce (production metrics are being used, no doubt of this....QC follow ups will be the norm) will be the first to get offers to stay. I think its clear that the "temp" tag is in name only for a good number if the forthcoming staff :-(. This is why many of us are concerned that we will be saying goodbye to many friends forever.
This isn't about if Verizon has fairly bargained, we know they haven't! This is the last stand for the union movement, if they break the unions which is obviously their goal then every other one can look forward to continued losses. The only way to win for the union is a very long, drawn out affair that destroys Verizon's image and hurts their business. All the replacement workers are just a side show, the picketing in front of stores and appealing to the public to boycott the greedy corporation is how you win.
"I dont want to yap too much, but suffice to say that the A team is arriving very rapidly. The "scabs" mentioned above are the EWAs assigned as temps just to keep things moving a little bit. Its true most are working out of their field. But this will not be the case with those arriving next."
Cool story bro but you and I both know that there aren't any qualified reinforcements coming. Keep telling yourself that though.
"Yes, I am working crazy hours but it is worth it and Id (selfishly) like it if the strike went on all summer."
Your wish may very well come true if the weather holds up. If not...
" In short, the company is paying for class A talent so folks are coming from every corner of the country to fill these roles (where they are already working for other telecoms, etc....these are not "greens"),"
You seriously want us to believe that there's at least 25K qualified individuals who can both do the work and can be spared from their current positions? That's a pretty tough sell.
"All this said, it is not hard to see the writing on the wall."
Correct. The company thought that the union membership would've caved by now, but it hasn't. Hence all the shill posts, although yours is at least civil and fairly well-written one.
@1iey - I completely agree with all of what you have written. I have tried as best I could to get folks to understand that Verizon management has played their hand by the rules and entirely within the laws and regs. Some item are mandatory bargaining such as wages and safety. Some items are not mandatory bargaining items but their impact can be bargained. Those items fall under managerial decisions and include such things as call centers, staffing etc.
By doing this the way Verizon have, the Union could not declare a ULP strike. This means the company can at their will begin to replace employees with new hires. What that means is that after the strike, some employees will come back because their job was not filled by the new hires. Others will have to wait until there is an opening.
The EWA were only a temp solution as the company I would suspect fully intended to hire replacement workers. The bottom line is the company no longer wants to deal with the Union on non mandatory bargaining items, if at all. The Union would do well to change its tact at the table. If not, I am concerned that many of the people I have know for years will not be back to work. Ever.
"I urge the union to keep on fighting. Go crazy, all in, balls to the wall. Stay out as long as it takes. "
Me too. My EWA is financially accelerating my possible retirement incredibly. Yes, I am working crazy hours but it is worth it and Id (selfishly) like it if the strike went on all summer.
"Not from what I've seen. All the scabs out in NY have been completely clueless so I don't know what TELCO they worked for before but apparently they forgot EVERYTHING they ever knew. "
I dont want to yap too much, but suffice to say that the A team is arriving very rapidly. The "scabs" mentioned above are the EWAs assigned as temps just to keep things moving a little bit. Its true most are working out of their field. But this will not be the case with those arriving next. Ive met many of these guys and a very large percentage of them are (in my opinion) at least equal (or better)to our current union workforce. These guys are from a "pay for production" environment which makes them rather efficient. My guess is that perhaps a quarter of them are better than our best we have now (and this does make me a bit sad to be honest). These guys are being paid substantially for their efforts (I almost dont believe the numbers but have verified them multiple times first hand, so I trust they are reasonably accurate). In short, the company is paying for class A talent so folks are coming from every corner of the country to fill these roles (where they are already working for other telecoms, etc....these are not "greens"), and these guys will be replacing the semi-clueless (but well meaning) EWAs currently trodging through the work.
All this said, it is not hard to see the writing on the wall. I personally would like to see our guys come back, but I just dont see it happening. The reality seems to be that the company doesnt actually want the union to take the offer and the union is doing exactly what the company wants. As others have noted, the trap was set and things are going as the company wants. So, all the stand strong stuff in the world isnt going to change the path this is going. So, I am fearful that many guys I consider friends will be looking for a new career soon :-(. Some say they are ok with that on principle, but I really wish principle wasnt going to get in the way of ones family's well being. There really is no other option for some of these guys than Verizon if they want to maintain their current standard of living.
"now if all the craft people want to keep working they need to accept that and get themselves back to work."
Sure. Let VZ lay off these fellow members, why not. I don't work in a call center so why would I care, right? They can't outsource fiber splicing to Philippines, correct?
Nope. That's not how the things work and that's why those before us fought for and succeeded in creating "closed" shops.
the call centers ARE going to be off shored. that's going to happen , now if all the craft people want to keep working they need to accept that and get themselves back to work.
Call centers are getting shut down. Deal with it.
Go work somewhere else and see how you do. Its not the money genius . Its about offshoring work and shutting down call centers in the Mid Atlantic area. What ever dustrict your in make sure you are better informed by your local president.
What does that mean its not a sh$t deal its a good deal considering the market? Are you suggesting the market is bad right now and that if it was a good market and say verizon was making something like 1.8 billion a month then they would spread a little of the wealth!!! Oh well since verizon is barely making ends meet then i guess we should shoulder some of the burden
Not from what I've seen. All the scabs out in NY have been completely clueless so I don't know what TELCO they worked for before but apparently they forgot EVERYTHING they ever knew. The guys I've seen look like they came from Duck Dynasty.
"CWA leadership, present the last best offer to us for ratification already."
Yawn.
That's not going to happen, and everyone in their right mind knows it. For a slew of reasons.
Now let me ask you this: if they were to present it to the membership and it got voted down - which is the result that I would bet my last red cent on - then what?
CWA leadership can't come back - especially not after the last VZ contract in this area - and just say: "Well, this is as good as it gets. Take it or leave it."
If they want to survive, they have to accomplish something meaningful during these negotiations. So far, that hasn't been the case.
It is not an S contract.
It is a good contract, not great, but good considering the market.
My ares is a mess, three guys with me know one thing, how to put on coax
I urge the union to keep on fighting. Go crazy, all in, balls to the wall. Stay out as long as it takes. As for me, I crossed already. Couldn't trust/depend on the CWA and my absent steward to support my family.
"Where are u going to live in nyc? Average rent is 4000 dollars"
Answer is, I don't live in NYC. Why would I want to live somewhere that the cost of living is much much higher than the average/median yearly salary people make there? That's like a recipe for disaster driving one to the poor house and then ultimately bankruptcy. Income to cost of living is waaaaay out of whack. Besides that, NYC is a zoo and you couldn't pay me enough to live there anyhow.
Where are u going to live in nyc? Average rent is 4000 dollars
Nope, this is a fight against the race to the bottom mentality that you appear to support. Time to fight for a better standard of living than to just accept that $hit sandwich known as their "last best and final" offer. If CWA loses the fight, then we just move on to better opportunities, No big deal. The worst thing the CWA can do is cave to a sub par proposal presented by the company.