Verizon Communications and two labor unions representing 65,000 workers struck a 3-year deal yesterday, staving off a strike set for today, reports the Wall Street Journal. The contract, which replaces one that expired Aug. 2, adds 2,500 union jobs and protects the health benefits of current union members and retirees.
Members of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will vote on the contract in coming weeks. Verizon will pay 100% of health care premiums for current employees and retirees and some non-union Verizon Wireless employees now will be covered by the unions. The pact covers Verizon workers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
(More Verizon stories.)