What is considered to be one of the largest strikes in United States where over 40,000 Verizon workers walked off in the middle of the day, may be coming to a close.
According to the Department of Labor, the Verizon 2016 strike could be potentially over. A negotiation has been reached and Verizon's striking workers are expected to be back at work by next week.
According to a statement from the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez, Patch quoted him saying: "I am pleased to announce that the parties have reached an agreement in principle on a four-year contract, resolving the open issues in the ongoing labor dispute between Verizon's workers, unions, and management. The parties are now working to reduce the agreement to writing, after which the proposal will be submitted to CWA and IBEW union members for ratification."
The strike which started on April 13 has riled up union members from Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
After being pushed by the Obama administration to end this dispute and after sending a federal mediator to restart the negotiations, both parties have been sitting down for the past 13 days to reach an agreement, where Perez calls a "commitment to narrowing differences." He explained that the new agreement will help workers and the company.
Now, according to the Daily Press, picket lines are slowly being shut down after reaching a potential agreement. Calling it "an agreement in principle." The agreement has not been finalized as all union leaders have to vote on it and finalize the agreement.
Though the expectation of workers coming back is positive, the company still issues a precautionary advice to its replacement workers. The DOL announced that the replacement workers should stay with their emergency work assignments until further notice.
