2011 Verizon Strike

ABSTRACT

Verizon is a company that provides wireless technology located in the United States. The company initiated in 1983 and has grown to be the largest and most efficient wireless technology provider in the region. The company has made its mark in the industry and every company operating in the industry tries to compete with Verizon. Customers are the main focus of the company and it makes sure that the right services are provided to them within the mentioned time frame. Employees were treated and were at peace since eleven years in the company until the strike of 2011. The strike occurred due to a change in the terms of the contract that the company offered to its new and existing employees. The renewal of the contract consisted of changed benefits and facilities that the company provides to its employees. Being a giant in the wireless telecommunication, the company provided the employees with a pension and a retirement plan including health insurance.

All these benefits were included in the compensation package that the company offered; however, the new contract did not include the benefits that the company provides which made the employees furious. They demanded the company to revert back to its original offer and include these benefits in the compensation package. The company, on the other hand, was wanted to continue with the new contract that it had designed for the employees. The justification that the company provided was that it operates in the landline industry, as well and due to the boom in the cellular industry, the landline product and service of the company was facing losses.

According to the employees of the company, Verizon was a giant in the industry and that it was making substantial profits even though the landline services of the company were not performing well and was in a position to offer the employees with the right compensation package. When no resolution was sought to this contradiction. the employees sought to start a strike to pressurize the company to make sure that the contract terms are revised. Forty five thousand employees went on strike from different states and hauled the operations of the company. The company was impacted in a negative manner and the profits of the company started to decline.

Two major unions, The Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers took part in this strike. The employees were ready to negotiate with the company, but the management was not. It was important for the company to come to a solution as work stoppage and violence increased and the situation became more intense. Furthermore, the work stoppage was impacting the operations of the company as the employees were restricted by the unions and the employees who participated in strike to enter the premises of the organization. This made the situation much worse. Verizon then sought a legal solution. The court ordered that no employee had the right to hinder the operations of the company and that work stoppage is ...