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By Rose Hooper
It was back to school for students Monday, Aug. 11, and back to
work for Verizon employees, who had been on strike since May 19.
Last Thursday, Aug. 7, the 150 members of the Communications Workers
of America Local 3673 voted to end their 12-week strike.
"Well, let's go home and cook these beans," said several
Sylva employees, who were stringing beans on the picket line Friday
morning.
The new agreement gives employees a 12 percent pay raise over
a three-year period
"We also got another day off with pay, what you call a ‘floating
holiday,'" said Junior Hoyle of Sylva, a 26-year phone company
veteran.
"We retained our major family sick leave, which the company
had wanted to reduce," said Hoyle, one of the 60 local employees.
"We get three paid days off a year for serious family illness.
We also got increased dental insurance and, for the first time,
we have eye care."
Carrying signs reading "Verizon is destroying our Family
Life," local Verizon workers like Huey Stafford told The
Herald that forced overtime and a reduction in benefits made them
join the picket line.
"Just before the strike, I'd worked 21 days without a day
off... they make you work forever before you can go home to your
family," Stafford said.
The new agreement gives Verizon more control over absenteeism,
a prime contributor to overtime expense in the region, according
to John Ferrell, president of operations for Verizon's southeast
region.
"We are pleased to put this long and challenging dispute
behind us," said Ferrell. "We continue to believe that
the 12-week strike was unnecessary, as the agreement reflects
only a few minor compromises on our last offer before the strike."
Among changes from the offer on the table at the time of the strike
include a 0.7 percent wage increase and the extra floating holiday.
"This agreement keeps our employees among the best compensated
in the region and gives us more flexibility to succeed in a marketplace
where customers use mobile phones, e-mail and instant messaging
instead of traditional telephones," said Ferrell.
"This whole strike has been a real learning experience,"
said Hoyle. "We really appreciate the support of the people
in the community while we were going through this."
The CWA's strike, which received 100 percent union participation,
affected Verizon wireline service in portions of 11 counties in
Western North Carolina, where the company serves 100,000 phone
lines from Mitchell County in the north to Cherokee County in
the south. The strike did not involve employees of Verizon Wireless.
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