Can you hear me now?

Verizon and its employees struggle to communicate

By Cara Bayles

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Last week, Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon's CEO, spoke at Boston College's Chief Executives Club luncheon, a swank, well-populated affair. Public officials (like Mayor Menino and Treasurer Cahill) rubbed elbows with high rollers from every corporation imaginable (from Google to Zipcar), expressing concern about the state's economy.

"Massachusetts is an important market for Verizon, as well as a locus for significant investment and innovation," Seidenberg assured the crowd, citing a $200 million plan to expand the state's FiOS and high speed internet service. But while Seidenberg woos customers, dissatisfaction rumbles among his 13,000 Massachusetts employees, some of whom want to form a union.

Some entities within the Verizon umbrella are unionized, others aren't. Understanding the divisions requires a lesson in the company's dizzying history. Seidenberg started off with Bell Atlantic, after AT&T split up in 1983. In 1999, he created Verizon Wireless from Bell Atlantic and Vodafone's US wireless assets. When Bell Atlantic acquired GTE in 2000, its name changed to Verizon Communications. In 2005, Verizon acquired MCI (formerly WorldCom), and created Verizon Business. Today, Verizon is split into three major subsidiaries: telecom (known as the "core" among employees), wireless and business.

The core is the largest of these entities, and has been the only one to unionize. Sixty percent of business technicians in New England have signed union cards (which were counted by Sen. John Kerry and Lt. Gov. Tim Murray), wanting to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

David Rogol has been a telecom technician out of Charlton for eight years, passing hands from WorldCom to MCI to Verizon.

"I work at an operation support center. Someone in the core works in a network operation center, but it's the same thing, really," he says. "Except, they get paid a third more. Not to mention the benefits. They get a pension and pay nothing for healthcare. We get no pension, and our healthcare costs are exorbitant. We make about $15,000 less than other people in our company and our field; we're not even paid at the market rate."

Verizon spokesman Phil Santoro insists the company is generous. "Both our union and non-union employees are very well-paid and receive terrific benefits, among the best in the country," he says.

Seidenberg told the Dig his stance isn't anti-union. "As long as they stick to NLRB [National Labor Relations Board] rules and procedures, I have no problem with it," he said after the luncheon. "There's been no change in that position."

NLRB regulations mandate a secret ballot election, which Santoro insists is important. "It's a neutrality issue," he says. "When you ask people if they want to unionize, it's done out in the open. The employees aren't given the opportunity to make their decisions in private."

CWA organizer Tim Dubnau says the NLRB is outdated. "It favors the corporation," he says. "The union can't have a list of employees, whereas the company can browbeat 40 hours a week prior to the election." He supports the Employee Free Choice Act, which would speed up the procedures required for union status. Election mandates would be eradicated, so a majority of signatures would authorize a union. It would also increase penalties for corporate violations. Both democratic presidential candidates support the bill.

Rogol says Verizon tries to intimidate his coworkers. "The company sends weekly emails filled with half-truths about unions," he says. "And they sent a PR person to run mandatory meetings, where we all had to listen to their spiel about how bad the union was.'"

Santoro dismissed the notion of intimidation. "That's union rhetoric," he says. "Verizon has provided factual information to its employees regarding the very personal decision of whether or not to join a union."

But Dubnau cites Seidenberg's $100,000 compensation increase last year. "I think his behavior has illustrated the contempt he has for the very people who make his company profitable," he says.

In August, the unionized core's contract expires. "If Verizon refuses to recognize us, we're hoping our core union counterparts will go on strike longer, so we can be part of their contract," Rogol says. The core handles FiOS, so if an agreement isn't reached, it could delay Seidenberg's network expansion ambitions. "There would be complaints and customer service would deteriorate," Rogol says. "I'd hate to see that happen, but we need to be treated fairly."

Santoro won't comment on hypotheticals. "We're hopeful that we can reach an agreement," he says. "We think we will."