36,000 Verizon employees are now on strike. This is what it could mean for you.
More than 36,000 Verizon workers walked off the job Wednesday morning after two labor unions failed to reach a new agreement by their 6 a.m. deadline with the company, The New York Times reports. The employees' contracts have now been expired for more than eight months.
Over 99 percent of the striking employees are involved in Verizon's wireline business, which includes its landline phone service but also the fiber optic network that provides internet, phone, and video. While Verizon has said customers will be unaffected by the strike, wireline consumers could actually see a drop in the quality of their service as only 10,000 nonunion employees are stepping in to replace the 36,000 strikers. The nonunion employees taking over the wireline service only have a year of training.
"Training and doing are very different things. You can be as well trained as anybody, but it doesn't mean you can go in the field and fix anything," Rutgers professor and telecom expert Jeffrey Keefe pointed out to The New York Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
An independent technology analyst for Jackdaw Research, Jan Dawson, agreed. "There will almost certainly be some functions which may be slower or unavailable during the strike, because they require specialized skills or there just aren't sufficient alternative resources available to fill all functions," he said.
However, wireless customers' complaints are what might truly sway the company, as the service has overtaken the wireline business. Luckily for the unions, because a select few of the striking employees are Verizon Wireless workers, the group will be able to heavily picket stores.
Verizon workers have not specified the length of their strike, which could go on for days, weeks, or months. The unions are reacting against proposed pension benefit cuts as well as changes that would make it easier to outsource work.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Bird flu worries mount as virus found in milk, cows
Speed Read The FDA found traces of the virus in pasteurized grocery store milk
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Palazzo Durazzo Suites in Genoa: a palatial gem in northern Italy
The Week Recommends Live your Italian dream in this astonishing and recently restored palace in the heart of the city
By Nick Hendry Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 25, 2024
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - TikTok in the firing line, protests on campus, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published