Recent Verizon strike 2016 news revealed that the strikers have rejected the company's final offer. This comes after employees walked out on their jobs last month due to alleged unfair terms on their contracts.
The Militant reported that hundreds of members of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) as well as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have revealed that they were not accepting the company's final offer. The company has cut off health care benefits for those who participated in the Verizon strike 2016 and their families on May 1.
"To Mr. Reed - it's just your final best offer if we take it, and we won't take it!" IBEW Local 827 President Robert Speer said in the rally. It was previously reported that Verizon has presented a revised and final contract proposal to the unions that represent about 40,000 workers who are on strike.
The company has offered a wage increase of 7.5 percent over the term of a new contract. "We are putting our last, best final offer on the table," Verizon's Chief Administrative Officer Marc Reed said.
Reed has claimed that the raise "will be greater than the average increase in healthcare expense over the life of the contract." However, those who participated in the Verizon strike 2016 don't agree with the statement.
The company has also promised that if the unions sign the deal by May 20, it would drop the other changes that were imposed on employees. These include the demands for changes in involuntary temporary work assignments to another state as well as modifications in Sunday premium pay.
Meanwhile, according to NY Times, Verizon has been using "institutional deception" to persuade its customers to switch their home phone service to fiber-optic lines. The company has confirmed that it is focusing on its fiber network than maintaining copper lines.
The complaint noted that customers who have issues with their traditional home phone service are told that "fiber is the only fix." Those who refuse to switch are informed that their service would be disconnected within 20 days.
