Saturday, August 20, 2011

CWA/IBEW vigil at Verizon CEO home in NJ (video)



Holy moly, there were a lot of Verizon workers on Lowell McAdam's lawn the other night.

The Associated Press reports,
Hundreds of striking Verizon workers held a candlelight vigil outside their CEO’s mansion Thursday, hoping to draw a stark contrast between the contract demands of blue-collar workers and the quality of life enjoyed by the company’s executives.
Wearing red shirts, singing union songs and chanting “What’s disgusting? Union busting,” union members lit candles outside Lowell McAdam’s home as the sun set on Mendham.
“It makes me sick that Americans have to come out and do this,” said Joe Mastrogiovanni, a 29-year-old cable repairman from Piscataway. “We’re not asking for more; we’re asking to keep what we have.”
Teamsters General President swung through New Jersey yesterday and criticized Verizon management. The Newark Star-Ledger reported,
"Here again we have a billion dollar corporation beating up on workers," Hoffa said. "I think this is a real old fashioned strike, management against labor...why would these people, who work every day, take a pay cut, or have their benefits diminished?"
Hoffa said the dispute is one more battle in line with state political clashes over cutting public employees’ benefits.
If you have spare time over the weekend, click here to find the nearest Verizon picket line to join.