Today, a massive rally took place in front of Verizon’s office on State Street in downtown Albany. Demanding that Verizon gives it’s employees fair compensation for their work, hundreds of CWA workers and supporters gathered to show their solidarity.
Verizon is trying to freeze current workers’ pensions (eliminating them entirely for future workers), allow the outsourcing of more jobs, replace negotiated wage increases with merit pay, severely cut sick and vacation days, and eviscerate health care plans for current and retired employees.
Representatives from many organizations were present, including Citizen Action, NYSUT, PEF, CWA, Teamsters, Save Our SUNY, United Steel Workers, and other community groups.
Also present was a large inflatable rat, symbolic of the immense greed that Verizon is currently exhibiting by slashing employee benefits and compensation while paying out $258 million to it’s top five employees in the past four years.