Verizon Communications and leaders of strike unions have reached a tentative deal in hopes to end the strike which began on April 13.
The deal includes 1,300 new jobs and wage raises of 10.9% over the next 4 years, as stated by the company and the unions representing 40,000 workers on Monday. These are only some of the new benefits included in the contract.
Verizon reached this deal with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) on Friday. Information about the four-year contract was provided on Monday, May 30. Striking workers will return to work on Wednesday, the CWA said. On April 13, network technicians and customer service representatives in the company’s Fios internet, telephone and television services units walked off the job. The stoppage of work reached many US east coast states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdams spoke on the agreement, stating it is a “fair resolution that provides union members with good jobs while making our company more agile to compete in the next decade.”
In a statement released by the CWA, president Chris Shelton said, “The addition of new, middle-class jobs at Verizon is a huge win not just for striking workers, but for our communities and our country as a whole. The agreement in principle at Verizon is a victory for working families across the country and an affirmation of the power of working people.”