Matt Taibi – RI Future

2015-10-01 Verizon 016 — **Dave Fontaine, IBEW 2323**

Nearly three hundred workers representing over a dozen different unions, as well as family members, gathered outside the Verizon offices on Washington Street in Providence to rally in support of 900 IBEW 2323 members who are entering their second month of working without a contract. When the contract with Verizon expired on August 1st at midnight, 39,000 IBEW & CWA, from Massachusetts to Virginia, were affected.

Even as Verizon demands cuts in job security, health care and retirement security, and even seeks to eliminate benefits for workers injured on the job or caring for a sick family member, the company “made over $18 billion in profits over the last 18 months–$1 billion per month–and paid its top executives $249 million over the last five years,” according to a press release.

Meanwhile, here in Rhode Island, “many of our neighborhoods are suffering from neglected phone and internet services… Verizon has even refused to build their new high-speed internet lines, FiOS, in low income communities, communities of color, and rural areas, again claiming poverty as the reason they can’t put people to work doing much needed repairs.” Workers see these areas as growth opportunities for Verizon, and are eager to “string the lines.”

After IBEW workers David Fontaine and Bill Dunn opened the event with “The Star Spangled Banner,’ a steady stream of union officials and one state representative took the stage, promising to support workers in their bid to negotiate a fair contract. Over all their message was simple: Stay strong, organized labor has your back, and we can win this fight.

Below is the video of the speakers.

Dan Musard, IBEW 2323

Jim Riley, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 328

RI State Representative Ken Marshall

Chris Buffery, Asst Business Agent, IBEW 2323

Maureen Martin, AFL-CIO

Michael Sabitoni, Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council

Matt Taibi, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 251

Frank Flynn, Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals

Paul MacDonald, Providence Central Labor Council

Michael Daley, IBEW 99

Mike Araujo, RI Jobs With Justice

Steve Murphy, Business Manager, IBEW 2323

Over 100 UPS workers and supporters, represented by Teamsters Local 251, rallied outside the UPS Customer Center on 150 Plan Way in Warwick Friday morning. This was an informational picket; a show of solidarity against UPS management, who the Teamsters claim are not following the union contract in terms of the grievance process and worker termination. The workers are demanding respect and dignity on the job.

Matt Taibi, who worked for UPS for 14 years before becoming the Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 251, said, “We want someone not to get fired without just cause, without a hearing, without a meeting with a steward, without a meeting with a business agent. We have a problem with managers intimidating [and] harassing our members on the shop floor for standing up for their rights.”

The rally was not an action that called for “any work stoppage whatsoever, nor stopping of goods or services of any kind.” UPS workers were encouraged to participate before or after their shifts.

Tag: Matt Taibi

Verizon workers rally for a fair contract

UPS workers rally for on the job respect