The Verizon strike 2016 has entered its second month and it shows no sign of wavering. Over 40,000 Verizon workers have walked off in the middle of their job to protest their contract conditions. Now, the Obama administration is stepping in to help negotiate. Obama wants to end the Verizon strike 2016 now before May ends.
The United States Labor Secretary, Thomas Perez, said that the union leaders that walked off on the job back in Apr. 13, 2016 have agreed to come back and continue the negotiation discussions with Verizon executives, according to CNN.
As of today, there is no clear settlement regarding the workers' status. Many are still claiming unemployment and the number continues to rise.
This is the biggest strike since 2011 in the United States history, when 45,000 Verizon workers walked off the job for about two weeks.
This is a sensitive time for the union leaders and workers. Perez sat down with Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, Communications Workers of America president Chris Shelton, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers president Lonnie Stephenson.
The bargaining table of concerns consist of a concrete contract with Verizon plus their concern of off-shoring thousands of jobs to the Philippines, Mexico and the Dominican Republic where labor cost is cheaper. In addition, workers want the capping of pension funds after 30 years of service to the company. The NY Daily News has it that Labor Secretary Thomas Perez says Verizon and the striking unions will continue their negotiations.
Verizon spokesman Raymond McConville expressed that Verizon would drop the requirement if the workers could come to an agreement. He noted that 1,000 of the striking workers had gone back to work, though the union has disputed that number. The union leaders claimed that McConville downplayed the issue.
