A phone strike was put on hold this morning when Verizon Communications Inc., the dominant local carrier from Maine to Virginia, and its major employee unions agreed to continue negotiating past a midnight deadline.
Talks were scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. today.
Negotiators representing the company and the unions, the Communication Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, agreed to continue meeting at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Washington. Peter Hurtgen, director of the mediation service, called for the recess and asked the parties to return to meet with him this morning. Talks have been going on with government mediators since Tuesday.
The decision, for the time being, stalls fears of a strike that would involve 78,000 workers throughout the Northeast and could disrupt some aspects of phone service, especially for customers seeking new orders, repairs or other assistance.
"We continue to bargain and believe we have a fair and reasonable offer on the table," said Verizon spokeswoman Sandra Arnette in Maryland, where the company employs 7,200 workers as one of the state's 10 largest private employers.
At CWA Local 2101's meeting hall in Northeast Baltimore, chapter President Gloria Pack informed about two dozen members early this morning that talks would continue today.
"We are still at work. We still fight. We still get paid," she told the group to a smattering of applause. People departed - and left behind signs they had constructed during the evening with slogans such as "Health Care and Job Security" and "CWA on strike against Verizon for hometown jobs and quality service."
Union leaders said that enough progress had been made at the bargaining table to continue working toward a settlement, although they cautioned that key issues remain unresolved, according to a CWA statement early today.
Far apart
After negotiations began six weeks ago, industry analysts predicted a strike with near certainty because Verizon and its unions remained far apart on significant issues such as job security and health care.
If the negotiations fail to reach a new contract and a strike results, more than 20 million residential and business consumers in the Northeast might not notice much difference in their largely automated phone service. But customers seeking new service, repairs or directory assistance are likely to have longer waits.
