VZC Verizon Comms

 
TIDMVZC 
 
Verizon Offers Raises to 38,000 Employees 
 
Company Begins Negotiations With CWA and IBEW on 2015 Contract; Offer Maintains 
Competitive Wages and Benefits and Assists With Long-Term Success of Verizon's 
Wireline Business 
 
NEW YORK, June 22, 2015 -- Proposing a solid wage increase up front, Verizon 
held its first negotiating session today with representatives of the 
Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of 
Electrical Workers on contracts covering approximately 38,000 Verizon East 
Wireline Employees. The proposed wage increase is part of a competitive and 
comprehensive three-year offer submitted by Verizon to address issues that 
would help propel the company's Wireline unit in the digital age. 
 
"Our goal this contract cycle is simple: To work from day one with union 
leaders on ways that will help our Wireline business succeed, in an 
ever-changing communications arena, in the years to come," said Robert Mudge, 
Verizon's executive vice president for wireline operations. "We've put a 
comprehensive offer on the table to encourage a substantive and productive 
dialogue on the issues as early in the process as possible. We are committed to 
negotiating meaningful changes." 
 
The company's comprehensive offer includes several key proposals: 
 
  * Wages -- Provided there is a signed agreement by Aug. 1, upon ratification 
    of a new contract there would be a 2 percent wage increase effective Aug. 
    2, 2015; a 2 percent increase one year later; and a $1,000 lump sum payment 
    in the third year. The average annual salary and benefit package for a 
    Verizon associate in the East is $130,000.  Verizon technicians in the New 
    York City/Long Island region currently have an average total 
    wage-and-benefit package worth in excess of $160,000 a year. 
  * Pensions -- Pension-eligible associates would be given a choice of 
    continuing to earn pension benefits under the defined benefit plan with 
    some limitations and forgoing the existing 401(k) company match, or opting 
    for the enhanced 401(k) plan currently offered to management employees 
    (which includes a bigger company match and a profit-sharing contribution) 
    with a frozen pension benefit. With the exception of union-represented 
    employees hired since Oct. 28, 2012, employees under these collective 
    bargaining agreements currently have both a defined benefit pension plan 
    AND a 401(k) savings plan with a generous company match, a benefit 
    structure that's from another era. 
  * Healthcare -- Negotiating cost controls for the company's healthcare plans 
    is essential. The cost of medical coverage for an East associate and one or 
    more family members currently averages nearly $20,000 a year. In one of the 
    company's East plans, the annual cost for this coverage is over $23,000 
    annually. By contrast, the national average for family healthcare coverage 
    is about $16,800. The company is proposing an increase of $8.10 per week 
    next year for individual healthcare premiums. Other reasonable cost 
    controls are also important to help keep this Wireline business unit 
    competitive. 
  * Workforce management -- The company is seeking more flexibility in terms of 
    managing the workforce consistent with customer demands. 
 
"More than ever, we need contractual changes that position us to compete with 
new and emerging technologies," said Tami Erwin, president of Verizon's 
Consumer and Mass Business unit. "American consumers are communicating in new 
and innovative ways. The way we work and respond to our customers demands 
flexibility. Our contract rules and provisions need to be updated to reflect 
those changes." 
 
Mudge added: "No company anywhere has invested more in providing fiber-optic 
networking all the way to customers' homes. Transforming this part of the 
business will position us for future growth. The reality, however, is that our 
cost structure has not changed nearly fast enough to align with today's market 
realities and customer needs." 
 
Verizon's union-represented employees in the East work under 27 collective 
bargaining agreements in nine Eastern states and Washington, D.C. The current 
contracts expire Aug. 1, 2015. Negotiations can be lengthy. The process lasted 
15 months in 2011-12. 
 
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a 
global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline 
communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale 
customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, 
with 108.6 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides 
converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's 
most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions 
to customers worldwide. A Dow 30 company with more than $127 billion in 2014 
revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 176,200. For more information, 
visit www.verizon.com/news /. 
 
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and 
biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's 
online News Center at www.verizon.com/news /. The news releases are available 
through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit http://www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds 
//. 
 
SOURCE Verizon Communications Inc 
 
CONTACT: Rich Young, 908-559-3477, richard.j.young@verizon.com; or Ray 
McConville, 908-559-3504, raymond.mcconville@verizon.com 
 
 
 
END 
 

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