On the picket line

Verizon workers to rally nationally June 22

On June 22, Verizon workers are rallying again all across the country to demand a fair contract. They refuse to accept the cutbacks the $100 billion company — whose profits are in the tens of billions — wants to ram down their throats. The 45,000 workers know they’re the ones who made Verizon’s profits possible, so they don’t intend to back down. For details about the National Day of Action for Verizon Workers in your area, visit unityatverizon.com.

Meanwhile, on June 13, several hundred Verizon workers rallied with consumer advocates and community organizations in front of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C., to stop Verizon’s plan to cross-market and resell cable video services with some of the country’s largest cable operators, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox. Not only would this deal eliminate competition, kill thousands of jobs and deepen the digital divide between poor cities and wealthy suburbs, but consumers would have fewer choices and higher bills. Verizon workers, represented by the Communication Workers, presented to FCC officials more than 130,000 petitions from consumers opposing the deal. (cwa-union.org, June 14)

VA workers protest wage cuts for lowest-paid workers

On June 13, Veterans Administration workers, many of whom are vets themselves, protested the proposed downgrading of wages for Veterans Health Administration’s lowest-paid employees. After picketing in front of the VA building in Washington, D.C., with signs and chants like “Downgrades = rip offs,” more than 500 demonstrators rallied in Lafayette Park. The vets — many of whom are disabled, women and people of color — testified about how the downgrades would adversely affect their families and how this attack is part of the ongoing right-wing assault on public sector workers. Members of the American Federation of Government Employees were joined by workers from other VA offices and members of a wide variety of activist unions in the D.C. area. AFGE National Secretary-Treasurer J. David Cox told Union City that by focusing on the lowest-paid workers, the cuts are forcing “a constant spiral to the bottom. It’s the Walmart syndrome.” (Union City, Metro Washington AFL-CIO Council online newsletter, June 14)

Call for higher federal minimum wage

A bill calling for the federal minimum wage to be raised from $7.25 an hour to $10 was announced on June 6 by chief sponsor Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. Noting that the banks, auto corporations and Wall Street have all been bailed out, Jackson said, “Now it’s time to bail out working people who work hard every day and they still only make $7.25. The only way to do that is to raise the minimum wage.” He pointed out that the purchasing power of roughly 30 million people would help bolster the stagnating economy. The last federal increase was passed in 2007, but 18 states now have rates that are higher than that. Statistics show that the call for a minimum wage of $10 is not outragous. If the $1.60 minimum wage of 1968 were adjusted for inflation, it would be about $10 an hour — in 2012 dollars. (New York Times, June 7)

New law protects Maryland’s union workers

On May 2, Maryland became one of just four states that legally protects union members’ personal information. The bill makes communication between union representatives and members involved in a grievance or arbitration “privileged information.” That means management can no longer demand to have legal access to information about a member’s situation from union reps or shop stewards. “This historic legislation will benefit all unions in Maryland,” commented Metro Washington AFL-CIO Council President Jos Williams. (Union City, May 24)