NEW YORK — Verizon workers in nine states have voted to go on strike, if necessary, in a dispute about a new contract.
At a rally in New York Saturday, the Communications Workers of America union announced that 86 percent of Verizon workers who voted in a recent poll backed strike action if required. A contract that covers 39,000 workers represented by the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers expires at midnight on August 1.
The contract covers employees the nine states from Massachusetts to Virginia, including Connecticut, who work for Verizon’s wireline business, which provides fixed-line phone services and FiOS internet service.
Verizon spokesman Rich Young said that the company had made the unions “a solid proposal that recognizes the changing communications landscape and offers a path toward success.”
