It"s looking like a worker"s strike against Verizon may not be ending anytime soon. News.com reports that Verizon has claimed that it has experienced over 70 acts of sabotage against the company since over 45,000 of its workers went on strike on Sunday. The workers mostly worked in Verizon"s landline and FiOS departments. The Verizon Wireless division is not effected by the strike.
Verizon claims the sabotage incidents include numerous acts of vandalism, including evidence that fiber optic wires have been cut. The company also claims that some of its striking workers have been harassing others who have been brought in to fill some of the workers" positions. Verizon is even offering a $50,000 reward for info leading to the arrests of people who are discovered to be responsible for the sabotage incidents. A rep for the striking workers" unions, CWA and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said that they expect striking workers to not commit illegal acts. At the same time, the same rep claims that a number of striking workers who have been picketing outside a number of Verizon offices have been hit by cars driven by replacement workers and managers. Verizon has also been granted injunctions in New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware designed to limit workers picketing outside Verizon offices.
As we have reported before, the unions claim that Verizon is demanding a number of concessions from its workers including asking workers to pay to contribute to their health coverage, freezing current pensions and more. Both Verizon and union reps claim that they are willing to talk even as the strike continues.