NEW YORK, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Union leaders
from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) informed
Verizon today that union members have ratified the tentative
agreements that were reached in May. The new contracts, which cover
about 36,000 employees primarily in Verizon's wireline business,
will run through Aug. 3, 2019.
"We're pleased that our employees ratified these new
agreements," said Marc Reed,
Verizon's chief administrative officer. "The terms are good for our
employees, good for our customers and good for our business. The
Company's key objectives for this round of bargaining were in the
areas of healthcare, post-retirement costs and workforce
flexibility. These agreements achieve all of those objectives. The
Company will realize cost savings and cost avoidance through
healthcare plan design changes, increased healthcare contributions,
Medicare Advantage plans for our retirees, maintaining limits on
post-retirement healthcare costs, and freezing the mortality table
for lump sum pensions using the GATT rate. In addition, the
agreements allow for greater flexibility in call sharing to better
serve customers, and give us the ability to offer special buyout
incentives to associates. Under these contracts, our
union-represented employees continue to receive competitive wages
and excellent healthcare and retirement benefits."
The new contracts go into effect immediately.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in
New York City, generated nearly
$132 billion in 2015 revenues.
Verizon operates America's most reliable wireless network, with
112.6 million retail connections nationwide. The company also
provides communications and entertainment services over America's
most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business
solutions to customers worldwide.
Verizon's Online News Center: News releases, feature stories,
executive biographies and media contacts are available at Verizon's
online News Center at www.verizon.com/news/. News releases are also
available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit
www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.
Media contact:
Rich
Young
908-559-3477
richard.j.young@verizon.com
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SOURCE Verizon