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Bargaining Update: July 8th

The IBEW System Council T6 has reached a tentative agreement with Verizon to extend the current contract until 2026.  Please see the summary and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for complete details.

The agreement is subject to membership ratification.  Local 2321 will hold informational meetings to discuss the details of the new agreement on Wednesday, July 13 at 6PM at the American Legion Post in Middleton at 69 River St; and at 6:30 PM on Thursday, July 14 at the US Bunting Club, 449 Boylston St., in Lowell.

Members will be able to vote in person at both meetings.  Local 2321 will also conduct electronic voting for those who are unable to attend one of the meetings.  Please contact the union hall at 978-683-2321, or via email at infoibew2321@gmail.com, to make sure we have your current personal email address so you can vote electronically.  A secure link will be emailed to you to access the electronic ballot. Electronic voting is expected to begin on Friday, July 15 and run through Monday, July 18.

Thank you for your support and I hope to see you at one of the meetings.  If you can’t attend I encourage you to take advantage of the electronic voting opportunity to ensure your voice is heard.

In Solidarity,
Craig Fields
Business Manager

Summary-of-2022-ExtensionDownload
Verizon-MOU-2022Download
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Bargaining Update

The IBEW and CWA in New England, New York, and Mid-Atlantic have reached an agreement in principle with Verizon to extend the current contract until 2026, subject to review of the final MOU and ratification by the membership. Details will be forthcoming, however, the new agreement will include provisions for Work at Home. A meeting will be scheduled to review full details of the new agreement with all 2321 members and voting will commence once arrangements are made.

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Work From Home Update

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***Important Update***

Early Contract negotiations between Verizon and the IBEW and CWA unions are ongoing. Both sides have agreed to an information blackout while discussions are fluid. Because no final agreement has been reached, the unions and the company have agreed to extend the temporary Work at Home until July 16th.

Detailed information about any contract or potential permanent work at home agreements will be communicated when they are finalized and authorized for release. Please stay tuned for any updates as they become available.

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Verizon Vaccine Mandate

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In October, Verizon advised the union the company would require employees to be vaccinated.  All IBEW and CWA union locals across the footprint demanded to bargain any such requirement, and began negotiations on October 28th.

Verizon initially relied upon the Presidential Executive Order (“PEO”) (Executive Order 14042, issued September 9, 2021) and the subsequent Safer Federal Workforce Task Force COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors, issued September 24, 2021, as their motivation for a vaccine requirement.  When the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“OSHA ETS”), published on November 5th, was issued, Verizon further emphasized their need to implement a vaccine mandate. 

However, the company quickly pivoted to calling their mandate their own policy as a private employer, a status that has thus far been immune to litigation and has allowed private companies to implement vaccine policies with no successful legal challenges to date.  Therefore, despite the courts having later struck down the OSHA ETS, the PEO is still in place, and Verizon is able to maintain a private policy regardless of either. 

During negotiations, the unions consistently and repeatedly proposed that the company allow employees to opt out of any mandate for medical, religious, or personal reasons of any kind by allowing them to seek accommodation or utilize a testing option.  The company claimed they could not due to the PEO, which does not allow for any testing option.  The union asked the company to identify employees who would be subject to the PEO and carve out the other employees either entirely or allow them the option to test in lieu of vaccination.  The company refused to allow either option. 

The unions proposed expansion of unpaid leave which employees would be subject to if they did not get vaccinated; termination payments for employees who would be separated as a result of not being vaccinated; and specific guidelines for employees who requested accommodations for religious and medical reasons. The company adopted some of these into their counter proposals, but not all of them. 

On November 16th, Verizon presented the union with their Last Best and Final Offer.  The union made a counter proposal, which was rejected.  Verizon then informed the union that negotiations had reached an impasse, and that the company would implement their Last Best and Final Offer as their new company vaccine policy. 

The following are some of the key aspects of the Company’s last offer:

  1. Employees who do not get at least one dose of the vaccine prior to February 1, 2022 may be placed on unpaid leave for at least 60 days.
  • If at any point during that unpaid leave the employee submits proof of partial vaccination, the leave will be suspended and the employee will be permitted to return to work abiding by applicable safety protocols.
  • An employee who does not get at least a first dose of a vaccine prior to the expiration of the 60 day unpaid leave may be separated at the end of the leave.
  • Employees will have the opportunity to apply for medical and religious exemptions.
  • Employees who are unable to get vaccinated during non-work hours will continue to have up to 4 hours of paid leave to get a first dose and up to another 4 hours of paid leave to get a second dose of a two dose vaccine.
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Important Information Regarding Verizon’s Email on Vaccine Mandates

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Verizon put out a statement today saying that management and non-union employees will now need to be vaccinated if working at a company location or retail location.  It was further stated that the company was in discussion with the unions over a similar mandate for unionized employees.  

Prior to this statement, there had been no discussions with the System Council T6 over a mandate.  The union was not even made aware that the emailed statement was being sent.  In response, the T6 has now made a demand to bargain any vaccine mandate Verizon.  Any developments will be reported to the membership as soon as they are available. 

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