Almost half the workers in Verizon Communications wireline telecommunications business went on strike on Sunday as negotiations for a new labour contract failed. The strike, involving 45,000 workers, is the first walk-out that Verizon, one of the two big US telephone network operators, has faced since 2000, when about 80,000 workers went on strike for about three weeks.
Verizon and two unions - The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers - had been in talks since late June but were still far apart when their contract expired Saturday night.
The workers who went on strike on Sunday are technicians and customer support employees in the wireline unit, which provides traditional phone services to homes and businesses in the Northeast as well as high-speed Internet and FiOS television service.
The two sides were unable to agree on issues related to healthcare contributions, pension plans and work rules, according to Verizon and the CWA.
Verizon is looking to keep costs in check at its wireline business, which has been declining for a decade as customers have disconnected their home phones in favour of cellphone and Internet services.
A representative for the CWA, which represents about 35,000 of the workers, said that bargaining talks were expected to resume on Sunday while employees were told to start picketing as early as 6:00 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT) outside their work locations.
"As of now, talks are not taking place today. We're always willing to talk. We're willing to return to the bargaining table at any time," Verizon spokesman Richard Young said in an email on Sunday afternoon.
"We're in the process of implementing our emergency action plans," Young added.
Verizon said late Saturday night that it had trained tens of thousands of employees, from retirees to management, to fill the role of the workers who are now on strike.
"We are confident that we have the talent and resources in place to meet the needs and demands of our customers," Marc C. Reed, Verizon's executive vice-president of human resources, said in a statement.
Workers represented by the CWA will get $200 a week in strike benefits starting on day fifteen of the strike, if it lasts that long, according to the union. This rises to $300 a week if it lasts 30 days. The IBEW did not immediately respond to a call related to its strike benefit pay.
The CWA says the contributions to healthcare that Verizon wants the union members to make were unacceptable, and that increases in deductibles would make the proposed healthcare plan unaffordable. The unions warned of a potential strike and began to mobilise support among their members in early July.