Unions Challenge Verizon Spectrum Deal

The IBEW System Council T6 telephone locals in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and IBEW Local 827 representing Verizon workers in New Jersey have filed a position paper and comments with the Federal Communications Commission on Verizon’s recent ventures with the cable companies to purchase wireless spectrum licenses.  The IBEW T6 & IBEW Local 827 do not believe that this transaction is in the public’s best interest.  The unions have urged the FCC to evaluate whether this deal negatively affects the Verizon workers and the communities throughout the region currently served by Verizon.  The unions believe this will create a disincentive to build FiOS telecom services across the region and also allow Verizon to continue to abandon the core copper networks. In addition, the unions believe that this deal raises significant concerns in regards to a potential collusive relationship between Verizon and the cable companies.  

Click here to view the Union's position paper filed with the FCC

 

Notice from the IBEW Local 2321 Election Judge

 

Ballots were mailed last week.  All members in good standing should have received their ballots.  If you have not received your ballot, please contact the Union Hall.

 

Please follow the instruction on the back of the ballot and remember to put your name and address on the return envelope.

 

Completed ballots must be received no later than Friday, June 1^st by 9AM.

All ballots received after 9AM on Friday June 1^st will not be counted.

 

 

If you have any questions about the ballot or the election process, please call the Union Hall and request to speak with the Election Judge.

 

Fraternally,

Jack Groele

Election Judge

IBEW Local 2321

Special Report: AT&T and Verizon’s Deteriorating Legacy Landline Networks

Phillip Dampier November 15, 2011 

http://stopthecap.com/2011/11/15/special-report-att-and-verizons-deteriorating-legacy-landline-networks/

 

Verizon Communications and AT&T together represent the largest providers of legacy copper wire landline phone service in the United States.  Over the past ten years, the traditional landline business has taken a beating as consumers increasingly turn their backs on the technology Alexander Graham Bell helped invent more than 100 years ago.  No utility service faces more customer defections than the phone company, and providers are increasingly rewriting their business models or lobbying to abandon unprofitable service areas altogether.

For some customers, investments in network improvements have brought advanced fiber optics straight to the home.  But in smaller communities, customers are making due with a deteriorating network phone companies no longer want to maintain.

 

Click here to read the entire report…

 

 

 

IBEW Local 2321 Scholarship Winners

 

On Behalf of the Officers and Executive Board of Local 2321, we would like to congratulate the following winner of the 2012 Massachusetts AFL/CIO Scholarship Program:

         ·        Dennis Case Memorial Scholarship:                     Tyler Morelli

         ·        John Nicolini Memorial Scholarship:                   Alaina Warren

         ·        Gerry Schiavo Memorial Scholarship:                 Leanne Jenkins

         ·        Dana Perham Memorial Scholarship:                  Allyssa Furtado

         ·        Charles Car Memorial Scholarship:                    Tyler Hanides

         ·        Francis McKenney Scholarship:          Kevin Saunders

 

We extend our best wishes for the future to these young scholars.  Congratulations!

 

 

Verizon, AT&T push to end universal landline service

Reuters

David Cay Johnston

April 10, 2012

The guarantee of landline telephone service at almost any address, a legal right many Americans may not even know they have, is quietly being legislated away in U.S. state capitals. AT&T and Verizon, the dominant telephone companies, want to end their 99-year-old universal service obligation known as "provider of last resort." They say universal landline service is a costly and unfair anachronism that is no longer justified because of a competitive market for voice services.

 The new rules AT&T (Dallas, Texas, USA) and Verizon (New York) drafted would enhance profits by letting them serve only the customers they want. Their focus, and that of smaller phone companies that have the same universal service obligation, is on well-populated areas where people can afford profitable packages that combine telephone, Internet and cable television.

 Sprint (Overland Park, Kan., USA), T-Mobile USA (Bellevue, Wash., USA) and the cell phone divisions of AT&T and Verizon are not subject to universal service and can serve only those areas they find profitable.

 Unless the new rules are written very carefully, millions of people, urban and rural, will lose basic telephone service or be forced to pay much more for calls.

 Florida, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin already have repealed universal service obligations. No one has been cut off yet, but once almost every state has ended universal service it could mean that some parts of the landline system may shut down.

 Years of subtle incremental legal changes have brought the telephone companies within sight of ending universal service, which began in 1913 when AT&T President Theodore Vail promised "one system, one policy, universal service" in return for keeping Ma Bell's monopoly.

 AT&T wants universal service obligations to end wherever two or more voice services are available, said Joel Lubin, AT&T's public policy vice president. Verizon promotes a similar approach.

 State capitals are seeing intense lobbying to end universal service obligations but with little public awareness due to the dwindling ranks of statehouse reporters.

 The Utility Rate Network, a consumer advocate group, identified 120 AT&T lobbyists in Sacramento, one per California lawmaker. Mary Pat Regan, president of AT&T Kentucky, told me she has 36 lobbyists in that state working on the company's bill to end universal landline service.

 People whose landline service ends would have three options. First would be a cell phone, a reasonable substitute in many areas. But cell phones do not work in many rural expanses. Cell phones cost at least $25 for limited minutes, while lifeline services - which the companies offer to low-income people - start at $2 and, with unlimited local calls, at about $10.

 Second would be Internet calling. That requires broadband Internet service. Verizon charges $49.99, plus additional charges by unregulated calling companies like Vonage, whose rates start at $25.99. On top of this $75 expense would be taxes and the cost of buying and maintaining a computer, a device alien to many older and poor Americans.

 Third would be satellite service. Thomas Hazlett, a George Mason University economist who studies rural phone costs, says satellite service is "the way to go for service in outlying areas." Although, satellite does requires a computer, costs at least $29.95 and many users have complained about unauthorized charges and connection problems.

(From a story on engadget, http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/29/verizons-ceo-has-a-plan-for-wireless-pay-tv-if-the-government/)

 

Verizon's CEO has a plan for wireless pay-TV, if the government will allow it

 

Attention!

Election of Officers for Local 2321 is coming up shortly.

All voting will be done by secret ballot sent by U.S. Mail.

Please make sure the Union Office has your correct address so you will get your ballot.

If you have questions or need to update your information, please call 978-683-2321.

 

 

IBEW 2321 Brothers & Sisters,

 

In response to yesterday’s Verizon corporate-wide e-mail from Verizon’s Executive Vice President & General Counsel on strike misconduct, I am reaching out to members in our local to reaffirm our position on the Strike Discipline & Terminations.  Upon returning to work from the strike, Verizon did not honor their commitment in the return to work agreement, by not giving the unions the evidence on the alleged misconduct so we would know what security was investigating.  Instead, the affected union members were given a letter with a conclusion that they engaged in what Verizon is calling strike misconduct.  Verizon security wanted to interview these employees without providing the unions the specific dates, times and instances of the alleged misconduct.  What every member should know is that we are not going to allow Verizon security or any manager to go on a fishing expedition.  Verizon had already concluded that these employees were guilty of something without input from the employee and the union, because they had already suspended them. 

 

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) allows us protection of concerted activity and includes the right to request assistance from union representatives during investigatory interviews. This was declared by the Supreme Court in 1975 in NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc. The rights announced by the Court have become known as Weingarten rights.  Weingarten rights apply during investigatory interviews and under Weingarten, the company has to inform the union of the subject matter of the interview. Verizon would not provide this information to the union before the investigation and more importantly as I have stated, Verizon had already made their decision of guilt by suspending the employees prior to any investigation and then only provided a letter to the employee with Verizon’s conclusion of their alleged misconduct based on management’s allegations.  We have challenged this with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by filing an Unfair Labor Practice charges.

 

Before final disciplinary determinations were made, the unions were provided with copies of the Verizon Security reports.  We conducted our own investigation and concluded that these members should not be disciplined at all, based on the facts, the flaws in the investigation and relevant NLRB case law. We believe that Verizon security and management coerced and fabricated many instances in their reports of misconduct.  The credibility of the whole security report and the investigations in general, give rise to some serious questions about the integrity of the whole process.  We interviewed the employees and witnesses and gathered notarized affidavits attesting to the bogus allegations made by management and the embellishment of facts detailed in the  Verizon security interviews.

 

Despite the efforts of Verizon’s Executive Vice President & General Counsel to try and dispel rumors or distort the facts and fairness of the whole process, as outlined in his corporate wide email to all employees yesterday, we firmly believe that the four members who were suspended and returned to work and the three members who were terminated in our local will all be exonerated.  Verizon’s actions on suspending and terminating members across the Verizon East Coast footprint are now being scrutinized by a governmental agency.  We have filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the NLRB for every suspension and termination. Investigatory interviews by an NLRB agent are underway and just about completed.  Although this process takes time and is very costly to the unions, it is necessary in advocating for the rights of the affected members as well as all of our collective interests and rights to challenge Verizon on their egregious conduct.  Eventually, an administrative law judge for the NLRB will make the determinations based on the facts presented and the credibility of the witnesses. 

 

Another important fact to keep in mind is that Verizon also refused to afford the suspended and terminated union members arbitration rights, something Verizon insisted they would not give to these members and this fact was conveniently excluded from the corporate wide e-mail sent out to every Verizon employee yesterday. They can grieve it but not arbitrate it, how fair is that?

 

In closing, I would like to thank the membership for all of your support over the last year, in fighting for a fair contract and respecting and helping out the suspended and terminated members and their families.  It has been frustrating on all of us the way Verizon treats the workers. Unfortunately, it has been going on for years as this company has changed and abandoned the workers who made the phone company, now Verizon, a very successful and profitable company. 

 

Again, thank you for your continued support.

 

Ed Starr, Esq.

 

Send a Petition to Verizon

 

Social Media has become a mainstream phenomenon that allows people from all over the world to be part of a community, and in some cases to act together to enact change.

 

Sign the online petition on change.org to tell Verizon to stop outsourcing U.S. jobs and bankrupting the middle class.  It’s a great idea, and we should all not only sign the petition but also encourage our families, friends, neighbors, and anyone else who wants to keep good paying jobs in the U.S. to join us in our fight against corporate greed.

 

There are also other petitions on the site to let Verizon know that the public is watching.  Make your voice heard! 

 

 

SOLIDARITY UPDATE

We have seen an overwhelming amount of support from various union locals, businesses, community groups, and private individuals.  To all those who have supported us so far, a big IBEW Local 2321 Thank You!  Some notable groups to thank are:

Local 22 Laborers, who brought food and drinks to our Saugus line.

Not Your Average Joe’s Restaurant, who brought food to Methuen.

Tina Rainville, of Salem, NH who brought water and snacks to our lines near the NH Border

Lou Mandarini of the AFL-CIO who has delivered food to Danvers

Kate Glidden – Compass Point – donating food and supplies

Tony’s Pizza – Marblehead – 20 pizzas to Danvers Garage

Paul Labrie – donated Little Debbie’s snacks to the Union Office

IBEW 2320 Members at 879 Holt Ave, Manchester  - Donated $300 to be dispersed to all picket locations

Andover Finest Painting Co – Mike Bouchard dropped 10 Pizzas and water off at Shattuck Rd in Andover.

Robert Sechrist of Sechrist Financial Services – delivering drinks to the line

Beverly Police Association – donated food- Danvers

Local 3 Bricklayers – supporting us in Andover

 Thomas’s English Muffins – brought food to the Billerica line

Shaw’s Distribution Workers  - on the line picketing with us every day in Methuen

NBPA Police Union – walking on the lines in Lowell

Dependable Masonry – 73 Concord St., North Reading, 978-664-5453, a small union shop that is letting us use their parking lot.

Tanya  from Yellow Trucking on 80 Concord St., North Reading, dropped off a case of water and had Papa Gino’s deliver $100 worth of pizzas at the North Reading Garage… an unbelievable gesture!

CWA Local 6171 – dropped off Gatorade at Shattuck Rd in Andover

Gervais Lincoln-Mercury, Kia in Lowell for their kindness and generosity to all of our picketers at Crosspoint

Bricklayers Local 3 supporting us in Andover

Nolan, Perroni, and Harrington, LLP - Attorneys, 133 Merrimack St., Lowell MA

Joe Currao Landscaping  brought coffee and donuts to Andover

Steve Morse, Business Rep, IUEC Local 4, Dorchester

Ed Adley, Business Agent, Teamsters Local 170, Worcester

Nick’s Place delivered pizza to Saugus

Heavenly Donuts Lawrence

Papa Gino’s delivered pizza to us at Saugus Wireless

Meaghan Pike  donated to food bank

George K at Heavenly Donuts, Merrimack St., Methuen

Joan Norton, Financial Advisor, Woburn ice cream in Methuen

And our own Local 2321 Retirees, walking the lines with us, and bringing food and water

 

And these people refused to cross our picket lines:

DHL at Crosspoint Towers

UPS at Crosspoint Towers

A Cleaning Lady at the Dracut Garage

Dynamic Mobile Repair at the Saugus Garage

Carrier – Lawrence CO

FedEx in Dracut

Allied Waste – Dracut

 GCR Fleet Services of Lowell  - Dracut

Sullivan Tire - Danvers

Thank you for your support!  We won’t forget!

 

Unfortunately, there are also those who must not understand why we are on strike, what we are fighting for, how they can support us, and what it means to respect a picket line.

 

Crossed our picket lines or would not support us:

 

AT&T crossed at Crosspoint Towers in Lowell

Poland Springs

Next Generation Vending

Balmoral Transportation

FedEx at Crosspoint

Sal’s Pizza

East Pen Deco

Young’s Hottop who harassed our picketers in North Reading

Iron Mountain Management Solutions in Billerica

Equipnet a Haverhill moving company removing equipment- Give them a call to let them know how you feel 888-371-6555!

Global Cleaning of Danvers – a worker would not cross but her manger forced her to go and drove her across our line

All Star Towing in Danvers

Air Technology – Danvers

Hector Beaulieu Trucking – Maine, 207-499-7870 – Dracut, picked up junk poles

Export Towing of Medford - crossed in Danvers

Perfecto’s  - crossed Andover delivering Market Basket food

Mass Hauling Waste Management of Weymouth – crossed Andover

Coady’s Towing crossed our line in Danvers and other locations

Mano’s Pizza Methuen, in the Eagle Tribune blamed the strikers for why his phone doesn’t work

 

Please let these businesses know that if they don’t respect you then you don’t need them!