Verizon seeks to eliminate "Unimportant" MLK Day: Protest Aug. 3

Verizon seeks to eliminate MLK Day for employees
calls holiday “Unimportant”

editor’s note: Verizon is one of the sponsors of the Urban League Convention

Members of  prominent civil rights organizations will join with Verizon Workers to demand Verizon retract its proposals to end the Martin Luther King Holiday and apologize to the community .  Verizon representatives have indicated that they feel that Martin Luther King Day and Veterans’ Day are “unimportant holidays” that the company should not have to recognize.  The press conference will be held at Verizon’s Bowdoin Square offices and will be attended by members of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, MassNOW, Jobs with Justice, City Life/Vida Urbana.

Verizon told its workers that Martin Luther King Day and Veterans’ Day are “unimportant holidays” that the company should not have to recognize

We Disagree!

Join us to demand respect for Dr. King’s legacy!

Wednesday, August 3rd

10AM

6 Bowdoin Square (Near City Hall, Bowdoin Stop on Blue Line)

For more information call Jobs with Justice at (617) 524-8778

Verizon Workers Need your Support!

Highly profitable Verizon wants major concessions from its employees in contract talks that expire August 6^th

Verizon Is Proposing:

Elimination of some paid holidays:

• Reduce Paid Holidays to seven by eliminating such “unimportant” holidays such as Martin Luther King Day and Veterans Day.
• Eliminate the half day on Christmas Eve

Major Reductions in Wages:

• Raises will be tied to yearly evaluation, which means if you receive a “Does Not Meet Position Requirements” you will not receive an increase.  This leaves workers at the mercy of their supervisors, much like workers who don’t have a union.
• Eliminate Night Differential pay for workers on the night shift and second shift
• Eliminate Sunday premium pay and all overtime limitations.
• Create new job titles for the consumer and business call centers that would work on a commission based wage schedule.

Destruction of workers’ pensions:

• Eliminate pensions going forward. For anyone currently on the payroll pensions will be frozen as of December 31, 2011 and after that, there will be no more pension plan.
• Eliminate the Pension Cash-Out option. , Modify the 401(k) plan, and eliminate the Sickness & Death Benefit.

Weakening of health care provisions:

• Eliminate the current health care, prescription, dental, and vision plans and offer plans with high deductibles and co-pays.
• Eliminate accident disability benefits.
• Cut in half the sickness disability benefits.
• Reduce sick time pay to 5 days per year for those members with 20 or more years, 4 days for those with 15 – 20 years, 3 days for those with 7- 15 years, 2 days for those with 2 – 7 years and 0 days for those with less than 2 years.

Reduction of child care support:

• Eliminate the Dependent Care Reimbursement Fund.  Every year Verizon is voted one of the best places for working mothers by Working Mothers magazine for this benefit that helps workers pay for childcare.

Gutting of job security provisions:

• Eliminate the Job Security Provisions for all employees and eliminate the Movement of Work Protection.  In other words Verizon can now outsource jobs and not have to negotiate the impact on workers.

Last year Verizon made $3.6 billion in profit in 2010 and paid the top 10 executives handsomely.  They paid zero in federal income tax.  Their proposals seek to eliminate good jobs. The standards that Verizon workers have are the standards that we should seek for all workers, not a race to the bottom.  We need to send a very clear message that unchecked corporate greed is not acceptable in our community and that we will not stand by as they seek to undo progress made over the past twenty years.   We need to stand unified and ready to fight for good jobs and a future for workers at highly profitable companies like Verizon.

For more information please visit www.massjwj.net or call Jenn Doe at (617) 524-8778