Verizon strike ends, workers agree to stop picketing for a month

Two months of intense strike and demonstrations, at Verizon, comes to an end, with the company and its union entering into a ceasefire for the next one month, confirmed company reports.

45,000 Verizon workers will be back on work, Tuesday onwards, with a precondition that their next picketing could not pop up till the 20th of September. 7,000 Verizon workers in New Jersey will also resume their shifts as their two week long pickets stand unresolved and fail to bear results.

The monthlong truce will thus bring to an end what was a resentful and intense war between the U.S. telecom giant and its workers. The striking workers comprise of 20 percent of the company’s national manpower.

Workers and employee blame each other for the strike
The events took a bitter turn with both the company and its workers accusing each other for the situation they faced during the last two months. Since August 7 the workers have been on protest.

Striking workers started blaming the company for its incapability in meeting up to workers’ salary expectations and overstepping the picket lines. Verizon sequentially counteracted to such allegations, claiming that the strike has threatened the company’s workflow.

Work stagnancy in cables and plants has led to disappointment and frustrations amongst Verizon telephone users, said company officials.

Workers will work overtime to compensate company’s loss
A lot many workers will not come back to work as they are being given suspension letters on charges of wrecking havoc during protests, while there are some employees who will offer overtime to recover piled up repairs, the company spokesperson Lee Gierczynski said.

Both the parties declared to have reached region specific agreements involving 27 separate contracts. After intense negotiations with the workers, the company revised its provisions on employee benefits, flexibility in working hours, worker’s job security etc.

“The two sides will continue to discuss the issues at the negotiating table… We have made progress on a number of issues.” Gierczynski said.