Thread regarding Verizon Communications Inc. layoffs

Don’t walk , RUN. No future here.

@2pfr: I agree. The splicers especially have more work than ever. Copper wires are going away for sure, but people seem to think that copper is the only kind of “wire” and don’t realize the tremendous amount of fiber work out there. Fiber or copper, doesn’t matter, someone still needs to install it and maintain it.

Do not listen to losers such as @2pun. They are jealous of your potential winfall. There miserable prospects in life are due to their inferior intelligence and general fecklesness. The more wireless expands with more and more nodes the more wired it becomes. It doesn't operate like some magic teleportation system. It is very much wired and depends on a physical presence of outside and inside plant to operate with an accompanying skilled workforce to build operate and maintain it. Another plus is that workforce needs to be here to do the work. It is offshoring proof. Unlike sales that can be done more efficiently online from anywhere. Welcome aboard.

wireline is a dinosaur. don't let the compant use you and then dump you. thee is no future in the landline sector,

Congratulations you have made it. Do not worry about the naysayers. I have near 30 years of service and have been told since maybe 3 months in until this very day that the end is imminent, each contract will be the last, there is no future for us, the union is an unneeded dinosaur etc. I broke 6 figures back 1995 and have done so every year since then except the year 2000 and 2003 where I came within a grand or so shy. There is no reason you can't as well once you top out in progression. I am not even a heavy hitter but usually work OT if offered. There is so much work and not enough people to do it. If you are willing to put in the time and effort you can make a very good living. The non-union types of the world will try to get your goat, but I suspect most are jealous of what our solidarity and hard work yields. I am sure a very select few may make more over a career but the vast majority will never attain the level of income, benefits and job security that our hard work, skills and representation has provided.

Good Luck and welcome I am in the NYC area as well.

Take a chance. If it works out you will be ahead, and if it doesn't you will be ahead.

"You'll never be rich but you'll never go hungry" Was told to me nearly 30 years ago. It was and still is a good job that is worth the chance on taking. There are many people who are coming up on retirement over the next few years so the need for good people will be there. It will be a union represented position temp or not. The company has changed over the years but despite the changes bottom line it is still a good job with a decent wage and benefit package. There is no one who knows what the future holds but traditionally if you did your job and kept your nose clean you were made a permanent employee. Don't listen to the whiny complainers who have no reason to come to work but to complain, there everywhere, but there are also many good, decent people who you will be happy to work with. BTW i was also told almost 30 years ago that you guys wont be here more than six months. Good luck kid!!

You all have been really helpful and insightful and I can’t thank you enough! Seems like the overall impression is that it is a solid job if you put the work in, and that hard work should pay off in the long run.

Don't you love the naysayers..."don't try because it might not last"

It sounds like there is something about you that they like, and you seem to be someone who won't let the company down. I took a couple temp jobs years ago with a couple different employers. I did my job to the best of my ability, kept my nose clean, and things worked out well as they could. The first one I was the last or 2nd to last of 20 or so temps to be let go. On the other one, I was offered a permanent position after about a year but decided to go back to school.

If you approach your job like you should, you will always come out ahead. If it doesn't last, you have your self respect and pay for that period of time. If it turns permanent you have all that plus a permanent job. Just don't get s---ed in by all the negativity of people with a chip on their shoulder.

A good company wants and needs people like you.

Really appreciate the input everyone. They are running my background which I know there are no worries about on my end. Was told once everything checks out good I’ll get an offer, so I’m waiting to see if the pay will be worth it for me to leave my current full time job.

For the record I made a typo I’m not an ex employee, just saw a listing on Glassdoor and decided to apply for the hell of it.

Was told I’d have to go to Virginia for a little for training, then they send me to drivers school.

One of my concerns is it sounds like it is non Union because it’s Temp. I could be wrong. I actually talked to a Lineman who said don’t do it because after the assignment is up they will get rid of you and if someone in your gang messes up they fire everyone. He told me all they do is hire temps and fire temps to avoid getting full union members.

Maybe he was just a disgruntled guy that I caught on a bad day or was annoyed that I interrupted him on his lunch break. Don’t know.

Are you nuts?

Friend, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

You’ve Got a Golden Ticket!

Run for it Charlie!

Run for the Line Garage as fast as you can!

My apologies for the misspellings. I wrote my previous response on my phone, the one in which I turned off spellcheck because it’s choice of replacement turned out to cause embarrassment from time to time, and I’m also viewing this small font through old eyes, weakened by years of staring at small prints, and wires in environments that were often a bit less lit up than would have been optimally desirable.

Again, best of luck. Give it a try. If it’s not for you, I assume you have the luxury of being young enough and, possibly, disentangled enough from responsibility of little ones, to change course if this is the wrong path.

@U7tD1wQ, 1st off, congratulations Brother, or Sister, you’ve made it further than 95% of the applicants and, if it’s anything like the old days which, I suspect, it is, they saw something special in you.

As for the possibility of becoming permanent, I have some thoughts.

A - do not be put off by the naysayers who say this will not last. For generations, old-timers have been telling the newbies that there was no future here, and that their future was uncertain. Most of those newbies are now retired ir have 20+ years under their belt.

B - this is a good job. Yes, it wears on the body, it exposes you to the worst that Mother Nature can throw at you and, from time to time, it also will, unfortunately, expose you to the worst meanness that humankind can throw at you as well; you will be ridiculed by ignoramuses (i.e., some (though very few) managers, some customers, the union haters, some conservatives, and assorted idiots) that have no clue what you go through in keeping the network up, how hard you toil, or the full array of your skill set, your determination, and what you and your crew are capable of under the most trying of circumstances.

C - Though not like America’s heyday, when a single salary would allow an individual to support a family, provide enough so that the kids didn’t feel like losers, allow for the occasional luxurious splurge, and for a week’s vacation away at the shore each year, still, even today, with some help from your spouse, it will pay the bills while managing to cover the aforementioned. You’ll never get rich on it alone during your working years (unless you’re above par at choosing investments), but your kids will be able to, for the most part, keep their heads held high and, hopefully, they will be afforded an opportunity to reach that elusive “next level”.

D - You are entering during a dangerous time for unions, a time where you’re already behind the eight ball in comparison to your more senior counterparts benefits-wise. Fight the good fight, operate in a professional, honorable, and honest manner and, with some luck and prayers, this discrepancy will come to be viewed as an injustice, and rectified in your favor.

E - DO NOT SHOW FEAR GAFFING! Swallow that fear. Push any uncomfortability with heights by the wayside, and get your butt through the training sessions. You are not that high up and, once on the job, gaffing to great heights is rarely called for and, even on those rare occasions when it is, there are some fellas who seem to enjoy it, or at least don’t mind it, and they will often step up to do it at most times.

F - Some combination of your hard work, your experience, and your intellect has made them consider you for this position. You cannot begin to even fathom the cost of providing the necessary training to produce a fully-trained and seasoned Lineman. It’s counter-intuitive to think that, after kaying oyt such a dear investment in someone such as yourself, that any company would piss away the advantage of keeping you once you’re trained, only to have you immediately snatched up by the competition. Realize your own worth. That is key. Also, realize that almost everybody you’re working with will be retired in the next five or so years. You are very well-positioned for long-term prosperity.

Good luck and God Bless! I wish I could do it over. Most of the best people I ever met were/are employees of this Company, with amazingly few exceptions.

Peace!

You’ll do fine and, by and large, in that area, you’ll be working with good, decent people, both craft and management, stand up individuals.

How did you get that offer? You are an ex employee and they offered you a job? I am a current employee and I'd take that offer.

Obviously there is no guarantee and at least the company is not making a false promise but you are likely to be made permanent. I have worked with at least a dozen people who started as temps over the years. Some of them have since retired with well over 30 years of service. The company is in desperate need of skilled outside plant personnel. Colleges and trade schools do not teach the needed skills for the job. The various military signal corps are about the only place delivering quality ready to go applicants. The company has foolishly not hired and groomed capable applicants in near 20 years in my area (downstate NYC). Over 50 percent of my coworkers are able to retire at the drop of a hat and the other 50 percent can all leave in 3 to5 years time. I don't know what the powers that be had in mind but I believe it foolish to have a majority and the eventual totality of your workforce having zero "need" for their paychecks? Many are just working to make for an over the top retirement. I wish you luck and feel you will be needed for a long time. Just remember to maintain solidarity and for God's sake don't follow the foolish path of the wireless side or it will be just a short to medium term gig with no real wealth at the end.

Really appreciate it. Thanks!

Stay out of trouble and you will be fine

Thanks for your response! This is NYC if that changes anything

Yes it is probable. I only saw 1 person that did not get offered it and it was because he had an attititude. The line job is the least stressful outside job. Good luck