Newswire

On the 5th of May, striking Verizon workers backed by many other unions showed up to picket the Verizon Wireless store on F st, asking people NOT to shop there. Verizon workers have warned "no contract, no work" and are backing it up with this strike. One of the issues is Verizon wants to outsource their jobs. Another is that only a tiny raise (possibly less than inflation) is being offered while Verizon has made $1.5 Billion dollars a month each month this year. Verizon has decided not to expand FIOS fiber service nor employee wages, choosing instead to expand CEO pay. CEO Ivan G Seidenberg is being paid $36M a year with salary and bonuses. That's enough to buy a 2008 Gulfstream G-550 corporate jet listed on an aviation website for $23M with $13M left over. Meanwhile Verizon workers are offered only what strikers described as a net $200 a month raise

Video from the F st Verizon store picket

On the 3ed of May, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1764 showed up at the DC Circulator's garage in NE to demand that First Transit pay the Circulator's drivers a living wage. The DC Circulator is outsourced to First Transit, so their drivers are not covered by ATU's contract with Metrobus. Circulator drivers are paid a full $10 an hour less than Metrobus drivers to do the exact same work due to this outsourced contract. ATU is now in the third round of contract negotiations with First Transit in an effort to get fair pay for DC Circulator drivers.