Verizon has finally struck a tentative agreement with labor unions on Friday after a four-week labor dispute. An agreement was reached between Verizon's workers, unions and management to end the strike and sign a new four-year contract, US Labor Secretary Thomas Perez announced today.
According to Perez, both parties are in the process of finalizing the negotiations in writing, after which the proposal will be submitted to Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) labor union members for ratification.
The labor secretary, who has helped with the 13-day negotiation, said that he is expecting the 36,000 striking workers to be back on the job by next week.
"This tentative resolution is a testament to the power of collective bargaining," Perez said. "I commend the leadership of Verizon, CWA, and IBEW for their commitment to resolving these difficult issues in the spirit of constructive engagement."
While no specific details were released, CWA said that the agreement involves Verizon adding "good union jobs" on the East Coast, CNN Money reported. CWA Chris Shelton said in a statement that the agreement in principle is "a victory for working families across the country and an affirmation of the power of working people."
IBEW also declared that details of the agreement will be shared with its members soon.
Verizon workers have been working without a contract for August, which sparked the start of the 44-day strike on April 13. Workers expressed their concerns about Verizon outsourcing 5,000 jobs to Mexico, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic, and has also complained about poor working conditions and pensions being capped at 30 years of service.
Verizon released its own statement today, saying that the tech giant is pleased with the agreement in principle. Chief Administrative Officer Marc Reed declared that the agreement is in tune with the company's goal of "creating high-quality American jobs".
"We look forward to having all of our employees soon back at work in their regular positions and doing what they do best - serving our customers," Reed said.
