have you noticed how much energy management puts into preventing the Union in retail? Then we still get let go. Maybe it's time we gave the Union a try in retail. Things couldn't be worse and they might actually help us.
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Not for nothing but if you can't see the financial advantage of union vs non-union perhaps you're only smart enough to flip burgers.
Hear you loud and clear and we are coming to a store near you. Unionize! And vote for Bernie sanders next time you Hillary kkklowns, she deserved to get her a-- beaten.
I'd say let's do it. It can't can't any worse than what it is now. Let's get a union together in the Pacific Market before they start laying off more people. How do we get in contact with them? If any of the Unions are reading these posts start passing out flyers at the stores. I think if you ever had a bigger opportunity to get Verizon to go union the time is now. Unions start hitting up the stores now!
Read that again, dummy he wrote 4 million. 4000,000 is what he said. Granted he meant to write 4,000,000 but for a guy that calls himself a "repairmen" (sic), what can you expect?
@2pnh to be fair to him the k Plan did not start until the mid 1980's. Although I agree on your premise. I have twenty-five years and am just shy of 700K with very little action on my part other than a continuous 16% contribution. Either way though he has much more than any non-union wireless person. I don't get there belief that a union is their enemy. The company is certainly not their friend.
All those years of service during some big time boom cycles, and your 401k is only 400,000? WTF were you investing in, snow globes?
the win/win for the top dogs is watching you two dumbfu7s go at it. Divide and conquer at its finest. Kepp the morons fighting amongst themselves is their strongest weapon...always has been and always will be.
This board is a prime example of it. get a clue idiots...
Brilliant response, thank you. I get it now. Employees will get respect from union members like you if they support the union regardless of its performance or actions. If they make a personal decision that a union is not the answer right now, then they are stupid and should be flipping burgers. You have made it simple. Sadly, this has been the CWA attitude for awhile. Retail employees are confronted by it when you protest at their stores. They are not impressed. If you are so sure you are right, support a retail store as a regular customer, get to know the employees then selectively share your views. You may convince an employee to consider a union. If the employee declines, you get to rant that the employee is stupid and should be flipping burgers! That's win/win for you.
What are taking about, Wireline makes a fraction of wireless. Cwa has less members because people don't have home phones anymore. Still never been a layoff in Verizon, just settled a contract with a 12% raise and job security. When Verizon gets rid of us, they offer buyouts. . You people have been brainwashed by the Politically correct. They want to blame all the economy's problems on the man making $40 an hour , Not the crook lawyers, greedy Doctors The cheaters on wall ST and big corporations moving jobs over sea. Smarten up a--hole, You sell god dam phones, Go to white castle, sell hamburgers instead.
2bug, that's impressive. I hope you enjoy a long retirement. Let's be honest, when you got out of high school, there were great career options. Telecom had consistent annual growth and the union won improvements primarily because it wasn't worth a fight since the company could pass along increased costs to customers. You walked into a job with strong labor contracts where you could reasonably plan on working for 40 years and retire in comfort. Insulting young workers who are in a very different situation isn't helpful. Is your main point that retail employees should unionize and work in the same job for 40 years so they can have a nest egg like you? Don't assume they are stupid, and don't assume they would want that deal even if it was possible. Different times my friend. Everything has changed. If the union is the answer, no amount of company intimidation could prevent unions from signing up employees. Instead, union membership has been at all time lows and they are struggling. Based on the CWA's record in recent years, especially with AT&T Mobility where employees have been paying dues for 14 years, I wouldn't blame VZW employees for saying "no thank you" to the union.
I started for New York Tel 40yrs ago, I was a Operator, Frame men, Installer and a Repairmen. I just retired. I get $4000 a month pension, top social security,$2700,and my 401K is well over 4000,000. all because of the union's collective bargaining.
Worked 12 months a year slow or busy ,always had a job. All because of the union. Bought a house, sent my kids to Catholic school catholic high school and college Lost a total of maybe 8 months of pay because of skrikes.And the union still gave some money to see us through. You think you don't need a union, Good luck. Now you can go to burger king and make $10 an hour , And there'll be no union to bother you.
Good synopsis, but it is one sided. I work on the wireline side, but spent 12 years working with many wireless technicians and during VZW's heyday it was a damn good job without a Union. The company trusted, and required (they were YOUR sites to keep up) that you would get the job done. In doing so they weeded out the slackers and rewarded those who stayed with very good working conditions. There was no need for a Union because everyone was happy and doing their job. They saw how the company treated its Union employees and wanted none of it and really who could blame them?
Unfortunately for the wireless division, the number crunchers, and technology, have finally caught up to them. No Union, formed now or in the 90's, could keep the stores open. As for the call centers, well the wirelines Unions, formed way back when, haven't been able to stop the closing or moving of many centers. We have contract language that the company continually ignores because they know the Union doesn't have the members ($$$) to fight them on it or if they do fight them it gets lost in arbitration cycle for a few years.
The solution to the wireless worker's plight was to unionize back in the late 1990's. They did not want to back then for reasons outlined below in a previous comment, mainly hubris. There seemed to be a belief that they where on the cutting edge side of the company, that they where somehow better or harder working and that unions where unnecessary in today's world especially for them in such a newly developing field, therefore they chose to go unrepresented. I also believe there was a great deal of ignorance of the benefits of unionization spoon fed by the company to every employee. I to this day am amazed at this blind stupidity. I do not understand the great disconnect from reality that VZ wireless people have exhibited. In comparison to wire line the company pays them by a multiple less, offers no pension they have less vacation take longer to rise to top pay have no forced transfer protection, no layoff protections as well as many other innumerable negative work conditions, yet somehow or another the trivial payment of dues to pay for representation is deemed an extortion. Those that rail on about how they are going to sell wire line soon may be right but so what . They have been saying this for years and each and every one of those years that have gone by has led to more wages earned and pension credits accrued as well as a better work environment for wire line and as said below these are irrecoverable for the wireless employee over the last 20 years the difference has to have topped on average several hundred thousands of dollars per worker. It seems like a sour grapes situation with some of these people. They are in a less than good situation and like to justify it to themselves and others by saying others will soon be in the same boat rather than fight and work hard for a better work situation themselves. I am not sure if it is fecklessness, ignorance or stupidity but wishing the other side gets sold or screwed over like them will help no one. I believe most wire line people would love to have the wireless people have representation and better pay and conditions it would make for a stronger workforce better able to improve the workplace for all, but alas one can only lead a horse to water not make him drink it.
Unions are not magical all powerful entities and are only as strong as the collective membership. The company and corporate America as a whole knows this and do their best to weaken the American worker's resolve. Fear greed and jealousy are powerful human traits that the company uses well to keep the worker disorganized.They use fear to scare people into believing unionization will move their work location and actively work to move it anyways. For jealousy they say 'look at the big labor bosses they don't work and are enjoying trips on your dime." This one seems very effective on southerners in particular. God forbid a union "Boss" where to get some free meals or such at a convention "I can't allow that I would rather make a 1/2 less than be forced to fund such an injustice." Greed is used by creating the illusion that you will make more than others because you will get paid by your own merits and your pay will not be limited by a bargained for rate, Plus you won't have any dues to pay. They have been quite effective in their mission. If any of the company's claims where true I would be the first to get on board but as I said above reality has not been as they have stated. I think it is too late for the VZ wireless worker although I hope not.
Instead of giving your hard-earned money to a Union, just take what your dues would be and put it in savings. You'll get more in return that way. Unless a Union wishes to purchase and operate the stores, a Union isn't saving your job. Just like wireline is going by the wayside, and I'm a wireline employee, so are company owned brick and mortar stores.
Do your own research. Bypass "management lies" and "sales pitches" by paid union organizers. The CWA posted on FB on 11/30 about AT&T Mobility closing retail stores and shifting work to resellers. The union can't stop the move, so it is asking employees to protest. See the link for employee responses. Some support the union, but most are very critical. They basically say why bother, the union has failed them for years. Also, try to get copies of AT&T Mobility union contracts, including union pay rates. Find out how much $ is deducted for union dues. This info is out there and it is not 'spin'. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154153425566342&id=78364001341&tn=%2As
I hate having to sit through the lies the management spreads about the union and how bad they are. They would sh-- a brick if we ever unionized
I am a vzw wireless retial worker an am union best choice we made retial jobs are good jobs they company wants more and more and takes and takes if we do not stand together what we have know will be lost
The problem is wireless workers for the most part are ignorant and uneducated. They don't think far ahead and they don't think big picture. They see it as they're making more than they would at a Target or Walmart so life is dandy. Some have woken up but there's still too much of an uphill battle for Unions.
@1oty - Verizon shifting from company owned stores to resellers is closer than you think.
Union or no union company owned retail stores are far too expensive. They have run their course. There useful life is near the end.
If you think the grass is greener on the AT&T side of retail because they have union retail employees, think again. AT&T is looking at the exact same strategy and plans to convert most of its company owned stores to indirect authorized resellers.
Don't let the union trolls that come here fool you. The only union employees that have it good are the pre 2003 ones. Wireline will be sold soon anyways.
I can speak as a former employee and in the south / WBV they preach anti union messages almost every store meeting . I remember listening to the lies every Friday morning. And as the person said above. Wireless gets nothing no pension no medical benifits meanwhile vz landline union employees make 3x what wireless makes . Landline call center starting rate 27+ per hour... vzw retail. $13 per hour.
Huge difference if only retail workers knew.
And it may have taken a while but the person vzw tried 2 fire for starting the Union in Brooklyn. Got her job back. Thanks 2 the Union. Take that corporate greed.
If only wireless workers knew power of union.
I know if I was union there would have been a lot of mess that would have been corrected.
Example of how powerful unions are . Att tried to take away chairs on the sales floor for employees and customers . The Union spoke up for employees and won. Now you see tables and chairs in att corp stores . Something vzw will never do .
Retired from wireless and I have no benefits. No medical, pension, no nothing at all.
Not just financialy smarter. The wireless folks looked at us as the enemy. I tried talking to some of the nit wits during the strike, it's useless. Most were kids, unaware of what they didn't know.
Doesn't matter. Look at the contracted retailers that sell Verizon Wireless. Verizon would just shift to them. Unions should have gone after wireless back during the birth if Bell Atlantic.
@psd dead on comment. I work for the wireless in a strip mall and my coworkers were absolutely just destroying the wireline workers when they were striking. The comments were personal, evil, and here they get paid 4x what we do. I wonder if alot of the vicious comments were due to jealousy. Wireline may look like a trump rally in an old folks home but at least they're smarter than our side is financially.
It is too late now. Wireless should have gone union long ago. The amount of money in pension and earnings lost is irecoverable. It is best to leave as soon as possible on your own terms. Maybe a future wireless workforce will put in the hard work to establish representation but I doubt it. The company won in this regard by keeping wireless people ignorant to the benefits of a collective bargaining contract. I believe they play on people's egos. " I don't need a union . The company will pay ME more because I am smarter than the average bear and I work the hardest, therefore I will be treated and paid fairly. Not only that by I am in the new side of the company. I am cutting edge unlike those old school wireline people. " It feeds the ego but not the wallet at least not the worker's. The company has cleverly harnessed human nature to do it bidding. The amount of wealth lost to the wireless worker as a collective over the last 20 years is unfathomable.
Nope. McDickwad won't allow it. Too late anyways the trigger has already been pulled on retail but the bullet won't get here until January.
Unions cannot prevent layoffs from happening. So if you think they will save your job in a time of downsizing that is just foolish. The one tactic they have to stop layoffs from happening is to call for a strike which leaves people without pay. If you are thinking of leaving the company it would be fun to drop off union flyers in your place of work before you go and watch corporate go insane.