Verizon Talks to Resume
at Regional Tables
WASHINGTON, DC-In talks between the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Communications Workers of America
with Verizon, the unions reported today that because of new proposals
from the company, some issues in the area of job security have now
been referred to the two regional bargaining tables for the Northeast,
meeting in New York, and for the Mid-Atlantic, meeting in Washington,
D.C.
Union negotiators reported that today
they received proposals from the company that they have been waiting
for since last weekend, and that these issues have increased the complexity
of talks. The company has broadened the scope of job security issues
by seeking to change contract provisions on force adjustments and
movement of personnel in "surplus" situations. These provisions
vary widely among the 26 separate bargaining units at Verizon East,
and the unions have decided that the details must be sorted out at
the regional tables.
The negotiation process will continue
under the auspices of the federal mediator, but the unions said that
resolution of the new, broader set of issues likely will delay progress
toward an overall settlement.