• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

New

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Tech

Verizon Strikers Try To Keep Up Pressure As Talks Drag On

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 23, 2016, 2:52 PM ET
Photograph by Boston Globe via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Verizon is back at the bargaining table with unions representing about 40,000 striking workers, but the strikers still want to keep up the heat on the company.

While picketers continued targeting Verizon wireless stores from Massachusetts to Virginia, the region where most of the strikers worked, the unions are seeking support from area politicians as well. On Monday, the Syracuse, N.Y. city council voted in favor of a resolution siding with the strikers and condemning Verizon for a “campaign to destroy good jobs.”

“It’s great to get that support from our public officials to see that they’re standing behind us for good middle class jobs and against the corporate greed of Verizon,” Nikki Tonas, a 19-year Verizon employee who works as a fiber network technician and union rep, said after the vote.

The Syracuse resolution, which did not include a pledge to stop doing business with Verizon, marks the 16th municipal vote in favor of the strikers across the region. Other cities passing measures backing the strikers included Braintree, Cambridge, and Boston in Massachusetts; and the towns of Babylon and New Paltz in New York.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

The telecommunications giant did not address the Syracuse and other votes directly, but disputed the criticisms in the resolutions. “Verizon is proud to offer more than 36,000 employees impacted by this strike with great careers that offer excellent wages, high quality healthcare and retirement benefits and so much more,” a company spokesman said. “Our company is continually lauded as a great place to work, and that’s why more than 16,000 employees started new careers with Verizon in 2015, including more than 1,000 U.S. veterans.” He declined to comment on the ongoing talks.

The unions said they would continue to pursue additional resolutions backing the strike from more cities and towns. “There are still 40,000 people out there fighting for their jobs,” a spokesman for the unions said on Monday, explaining the continuing activity. He also declined to comment about the ongoing talks.

Amid the protests, there is increasing evidence that the strike may be hurting Verizon’s finances. On Friday, CFO Fran Shammo revealed that the company would have a significant decline in net new orders for its FiOS service in the second quarter, as replacement workers have had to focus on serving and making repairs for existing clients.

Also on Friday, Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said her checks of the company’s wireless business found increased customer switching to rivals amid fewer discount and promotional offers. Based on the new order decline, she also cut her revenue estimate for Verizon’s wireline telephone, cable TV, and Internet business in 2016 by $826 million.

Shares of Verizon, which had been among the top performing stocks of the year before the strike, have lost 5% in value since the walkout began. The shares (VZ) were down 1% to $49.20 in afternoon trading on Friday.

For more on the impact of the strike, watch:

The company and representatives for the two unions involved, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, have been talking steadily for almost a week, since Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez intervened and called the two sides back together with a federal mediator. Both sides have agreed not to comment about the current negotiations.

The strike started April 13, when workers who mainly service and install Verizon’s traditional telephone and newer FiOS cable TV and Internet service walked off the job. The conflict was escalating quickly, leading up to an armed confrontation in the Philippines where U.S. strikers had gone to meet with call center workers, before Perez stepped in.

The workers say they say they cannot accept Verizon proposals that would allow additional outsourcing of call center workers to the Philippines and Mexico, greater use of nonunion contract installers, and the assignment of union employees to other cities for up to two months at a time.

Verizon says it has offered a 7.5% wage hike for the new contract over the next few years but also needs such new work rules to gain greater flexibility and lower costs as its telephone business shrinks and its wireless business becomes ever more important.

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

Hank Green, wearing a black shirt, stands onstage holding a card and a mic.
AIYouTube
‘I’m mortified’: YouTube star Hank Green apologizes for ChatGPT overuse after fans accuse him of including a prompt by mistake
By Sasha RogelbergAugust 4, 2026
58 minutes ago
Tony Xu, co-founder and chief executive officer of DoorDash
SuccessEntrepreneurs
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu once thought his $87 billion company would only make $100 million. He tells founders to be ‘greedy’ and dream bigger
By Emma BurleighAugust 4, 2026
3 hours ago
Patrick Collison
SuccessCareers
Despite dropping out of MIT to build $159 billion fintech Stripe, its CEO has a warning for Gen Z who want to copy him: ‘That was a poor intuition’
By Preston ForeAugust 4, 2026
3 hours ago
agent
CommentaryAI agents
Your AI agent can be a teammate. But it still needs a boss
By Keith Ferrazzi and Wendy SmithAugust 4, 2026
5 hours ago
Dinari cofounders Chas Rampenthal, Gabriel Otte, and Brandon Ooi stand side by side smiling at the camera.
Cryptostablecoins
Exclusive: Dinari, founded by Stripe and Apple alums, partners with Circle to offer tokenized stocks to U.S. investors
By Camila Grigera NaónAugust 4, 2026
5 hours ago
dan
Commentarydisruption
How AI turned your best work into the bare minimum
By Dan SchawbelAugust 4, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

How Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax exposed an epidemic of 'ghost cars' instead
Personal Finance
How Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax exposed an epidemic of 'ghost cars' instead
By Catherina GioinoAugust 4, 2026
11 hours ago
Bars, bowling alleys, and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health
North America
Bars, bowling alleys, and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health
By Catherina GioinoAugust 2, 2026
2 days ago
Wall Street bulls are starting to admit the earnings bubble is real—and the 60/40 portfolio may be the first casualty
Investing
Wall Street bulls are starting to admit the earnings bubble is real—and the 60/40 portfolio may be the first casualty
By Nick LichtenbergAugust 3, 2026
1 day ago
Electric air taxis are finally ready for takeoff
Magazine
Electric air taxis are finally ready for takeoff
By Alexei OreskovicAugust 3, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of August 3, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of August 3, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerAugust 3, 2026
1 day ago
The Iran war already has a winner: The world’s largest shipbroker notching record earnings from the 'exceptional volatility' in the Strait of Hormuz
Energy
The Iran war already has a winner: The world’s largest shipbroker notching record earnings from the 'exceptional volatility' in the Strait of Hormuz
By Sasha RogelbergAugust 3, 2026
24 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.