Verizon strike gets nasty

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Verizon Communications’ dispute with its landline workers is getting uglier as it moves from the bargaining table to the courtroom.
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The company is seeking injunctions to limit the picket lines, as well as stop what it claims are acts of sabotage, harassment, and blocked access to its facilities. It has been granted statewide injunctions in New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and is heading into court in Massachusetts and New Jersey today.

The escalating dispute calls into question the prospect of an immediate resolution to a strike that began over the weekend, when 45,000 workers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states walked off the job. Both sides say they are willing to work things out, but acknowledge they are still far apart on the issues. “We really want to negotiate the issues,” said Verizon representative Richard Young. “We’re asking the unions to come to the table with an open mind and discuss ways to make this wireline business more competitive and more successful. We’re willing to do that. The unions need to do the same.”
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Verizon customers: Get ready to pay more for products and services. Why? Because when unions want more the consumer pays more. If the unions win this its the consumer who will end up paying more for the same products and services. Just wait and see.
 
K-McD said:
Link

Verizon customers: Get ready to pay more for products and services. Why? Because when unions want more the consumer pays more. If the unions win this its the consumer who will end up paying more for the same products and services. Just wait and see.
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Hey! I just had an epiphany!

Until day before yesterday I was well behind* my Time Warner bill & living in fear of losing phone & internet service. Everyday coming home (I work nights) I see TW trucks on my street and I was sure they were there to disconnect us.

Maybe Verizon customers switching? I heard on radio that people have had their houses picketed just cuz Verizon came out to install or repair service.
 
K-McD said:
Link

Verizon customers: Get ready to pay more for products and services. Why? Because when unions want more the consumer pays more. If the unions win this its the consumer who will end up paying more for the same products and services. Just wait and see.
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No. I just drop their service and go with Cricket mobile and Clear Wireless Internet.
 
I attempted to call customer service to lodge a complaint against a persistent nuisance call. I was unaware of the Verizon strike at the time. I go through their barrage of computerized questions and finally get to the nuisance call category. I am left hanging on the line with heavy static. Then I try again, and manage to follow the path to where the computerized voice says that it is sorry to hear that I’m having problems with nuisance calls and asks me to wait on the line for a support representative. A few seconds later, the computerized voice says “We cannot process your call, please hang up.” and it hangs up on me. I guess that I represent a nuisance call to Verizon when they are on strike.
 
Verizon strike over before the union has to pay benefits to members.
 
Scott_Lafrance said:
No. I just drop their service and go with Cricket mobile and Clear Wireless Internet.
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Most people want Verizon because of their distribution network and the fact that it works well compared to their competition.
 
K-McD said:
Verizon customers: Get ready to pay more for products and services. Why? Because when unions want more the consumer pays more. If the unions win this its the consumer who will end up paying more for the same products and services. Just wait and see.
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I haven’t followed this closely but from what I understand its not that the unions want more but rather Verizon wants to cut into what they already have. Anyone with more detail?
 
All of my under-30 friends have dropped their line-wire service. And cut their bills to petty cash pocket change levels.

They have also dropped their satellite service.

There is enough cell service and enough bandwidth that they can do everything via cell.

And FIOS is in there working hard to compete.

As long as there is free market competition, everybody benefits.

And by the way I live waayyyy out in the boondocks. Ruralatania.
 
gamewell45 said:
Most people want Verizon because of their distribution network and the fact that it works well compared to their competition.
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Ya, well after yesterday’s earthquake and complete loss of service for over 4 hours, I am skeptical of this claim.
 
Scott_Lafrance said:
Ya, well after yesterday’s earthquake and complete loss of service for over 4 hours, I am skeptical of this claim.
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Earthquakes and other natural disasters notwithstanding, I think they still have superior service. How long was the competition down for? Are all of them back up and running yet?
 
Scott_Lafrance said:
Ya, well after yesterday’s earthquake and complete loss of service for over 4 hours, I am skeptical of this claim.
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Agreed. Verizon’s product isn’t bad…that is to say when its working. Their problem is that their customer service stinks. I work with them at a corporate level and they don’t give a hoot whether service at any given site is down for 2 days or 2 weeks and have no qualms expressing that. The odd thing is that AT&T contracts them to service their lines too.
 
Verizon does not want the landline business at all. It has been in decline for years and Verizon wants to invest in segments with more growth like wireless and data plans. If the workers want to be paid more in a declining industry, the strike could last a long time. They should study what happened in the auto industry or maybe the Pony Express. The FCC is forcing companies to continue offering landlines for at least a few more years.

Verizon FIOS service was awesome for internet and TV, but then they spun out my state of Indiana and some others to Frontier Communications. For the seven months under Frontier I had seven consecutive bills with errors and then they tried to raise FIOS TV by $30 per month. Surprise! I am no longer a Frontier customer.😦
 
gamewell45 said:
Earthquakes and other natural disasters notwithstanding, I think they still have superior service. How long was the competition down for? Are all of them back up and running yet?
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AT&T was up within an hour. No clue about T-Mobile or Sprint.
 
Monte_RCMS said:
I heard that T-Mobile is “going away”.
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AT & T has made an offer to buy T-Mobile, but it faces several levels of regulatory approval first. It is ironic that they want to buy the company that was running attack ads against AT & T.
 
gamewell45 said:
Most people want Verizon because of their distribution network and the fact that it works well compared to their competition.
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I would be willing to pay a few extra bucks to help workers get better treatment. Then again I don’t spend my time guarding my treasure like a dragon guards their horde.
 
ringil said:
I would be willing to pay a few extra bucks to help workers get better treatment. Then again I don’t spend my time guarding my treasure like a dragon guards their horde.
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You would pay a few extra bucks to keep a dying industry on life support? Why would you do that? Sounds like a waste of money. I wish I had the extra resources to squander like that. I have a wife and 4 kids to support.
 
Scott_Lafrance said:
You would pay a few extra bucks to keep a dying industry on life support? Why would you do that? Sounds like a waste of money. I wish I had the extra resources to squander like that. I have a wife and 4 kids to support.
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And I’m unemloyed, receve disability due to blindness, have a daughter with the same costly condition, and 30k in student loans. . . so. . .
 
ringil said:
I would be willing to pay a few extra bucks to help workers get better treatment. Then again I don’t spend my time guarding my treasure like a dragon guards their horde.
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You sound like a wonderful person. Here is the address for the Union:

Comminications Workers of America
501 3rd Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

You can send them some of your treasure, even though it will not be tax deductible.
 
I’ve never had a problem with Verizon Wireless, I have unlimited 3G and free tethering on my wonderful Droid, I’m loving it. I get coverage pretty much everywhere
 
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