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A third of company's work force would be affected -- deadline is midnight Saturday.
August 2, 2003: 2:43 PM EDT
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc., the No. 1 U.S. telephone company, and two unions Saturday held last-minute talks before a midnight deadline that could put 80,000 line technicians and telephone operators on strike in the Northeastern United States.
The current contracts representing 35 percent of Verizon's work force expire at midnight EDT on Aug. 2. The two sides, which have said they are committed to reaching a fair settlement, resumed talks at 9:30 a.m. EDT in Washington and New York.
The negotiations pit Verizon, which struggles with scant revenue growth and a loss in telephone access lines, against labor unions hoping to preserve jobs and benefits, and win more freedom to organize workers in the company's wireless affiliate.
Verizon and the unions met this week with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a neutral third party that assists in resolving labor disputes. The talks are not under formal arbitration.
"We're making serious progress," Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe said.
The union members have authorized their leadership to call a strike. The workers could walk out at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, but the two sides could also agree to continue the talks and delay a strike.
In 2000, during an 18-day strike, Verizon accumulated a backlog of more than 60,000 customer repair orders and 200,000 new telephone line orders. This time, Verizon said it aims to stay on top of new orders and repair work since it now has a larger pool of managers, thanks to the acquisition of GTE Corp.
This should be fun!
August 2, 2003: 2:43 PM EDT
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc., the No. 1 U.S. telephone company, and two unions Saturday held last-minute talks before a midnight deadline that could put 80,000 line technicians and telephone operators on strike in the Northeastern United States.
The current contracts representing 35 percent of Verizon's work force expire at midnight EDT on Aug. 2. The two sides, which have said they are committed to reaching a fair settlement, resumed talks at 9:30 a.m. EDT in Washington and New York.
The negotiations pit Verizon, which struggles with scant revenue growth and a loss in telephone access lines, against labor unions hoping to preserve jobs and benefits, and win more freedom to organize workers in the company's wireless affiliate.
Verizon and the unions met this week with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a neutral third party that assists in resolving labor disputes. The talks are not under formal arbitration.
"We're making serious progress," Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe said.
The union members have authorized their leadership to call a strike. The workers could walk out at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, but the two sides could also agree to continue the talks and delay a strike.
In 2000, during an 18-day strike, Verizon accumulated a backlog of more than 60,000 customer repair orders and 200,000 new telephone line orders. This time, Verizon said it aims to stay on top of new orders and repair work since it now has a larger pool of managers, thanks to the acquisition of GTE Corp.
This should be fun!