Striking Verizon Union Workers Picket Riverhead Location

Dozens of red-shirted union workers picketed a Verizon facility in Riverhead Monday morning after negotiations broke down between the phone company and two major unions over a new contract for wired line workers.

The group of Long Island-based technicians and repairmen held signs and chanted outside the Verizon building on Hubbard Avenue during the afternoon heat.

The strike, which stretches from Massachusetts to Virginia and was organized by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers unions, began early on Sunday morning.

"We're on strike to bring them back to the table," said union technician Rick Nemschick.

Nemschick said the proposed deal, which he claimed would strip unions of health benefits, freeze pensions, and offer fewer holidays, was "so retrogressive we can't possibly take it seriously."

He also added that Verizon's top brass walked away from the table after the unions would not meet their demands. 

Verizon Manager of Media Relations Ray McConville said he didn't want the negotiations to become a case of "he said, she said," but denied that Verizon executives stopped negotiating.

"That's wrong. [The unions] walked away from the table," McConville said. "We were willing from the start, and we've always been willing, to talk about the issues." 

Verizon will use trained managers to service customers during the strike, McConville said.

McConville could not comment on the specifics of negotiations, though he added that contrary to the unions' claims, workers' benefits would not be cut.

"The proposal would ensure that these employees receive pay and benefits packages that are near the top of the industry," McConville said.

Yet many union workers said they still feared they would be forced to pay for future medical benefits, the same issue the union went on strike for over a decade ago. In 1989, after 17 weeks on strike, a deal was reached that gave the union their current health benefits package.

"They're trying to take away what we worked hard for," said Ray Vosilla, a union worker from Shoreham. He also blamed "corporate greed" for trying to take advantage of union workers.

"The middle class is getting squeezed out. It's terrible," Vosilla said. "I never thought I'd see something like this."

Another picketer was angered that Verizon was allegedly targeting the unions to save money, when he argued the company could simply raise fares to spare cuts. 

"This is Long Island, pal," said Tom Burke of Mastic. "We're not flush with money. A lot of us work side jobs." A different worker added that if the proposal went through, the rising cost of benefits would push him close to the poverty live. 

"We have to do this to survive," said union worker Glenn Welborn of West Islip, "If we [workers] go down, we all go down."