Verizon Strike Update: Shares Drop as Strikers Continue to Put Pressure on White House
Over the past weeks, Verizon has been placed in a rather tight spot and on Thursday, the White House was once again shaken to its core as strikers marched outside the building, with the assurance of various unions helping the striking employees to hopefully deliver their message to the country's highest office.
According to RT News, Verizon shares have dropped by 1.49 percent on Thursday. Previously, the company's Chief Financial Officer admitted that new businesses have been affected by the strike that started on April 13.
Around 37,000 members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) joined the strike as most of them worked under Verizon's wireline services.
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Five weeks later, the Obama administration finally placed its hand on the border and urged the telecommunications giant to settle the issue among themselves. The strikers believe that Verizon, a company that is raking up to $1.8 billion per month in profits, should not slash pay, benefits and pensions.
The company has iterated over the past weeks that the "last, best, final" offer was made on April 28, and that the ongoing strike won't really affect its service levels as it has hired 10,000 temporary employees to replace those who decided to join the withdrawing employees.
For the strikers and the unions, there was no such thing as a "best" offer as healthcare benefits for the striking workers and their families have come to an end on April 30. The march for cause continues and some outlets were able to catch the ongoing protest outside the White House on Friday.
The protesters include a huge number of service installers, meaning there are telephone, cable TV, and broadband Internet consumers who have not been reached due to the walk out.
Fortune says Verizon Communications may see a considerable drop in customers applying for cable TV and broadband service since new installations are vital in computing capital costs. With the loss of service installers, new installations will also be hampered.
The massive walk-out of workers has led to various heated exchanges between the protesting party and Verizon, including an armed confrontation in the Philippines last week between heavily armed Philippine police officers and visiting U.S. striking employees.
