Membership involvement critical to success of negotiations and future of Verizon  

IBEW and CWA union leaders will return to the bargaining table on May 27.  The importance of our next contract cannot be understated.  It's all about moving from an old company – based in copper technology – to a new company, based on fiber optic technology (FiOS).

Of course we will disagree on many issues. But what's important is how well we resolve our differences.I'm convinced that it will determine Verizon's success – or failure – in the future.

It's great to see more members realizing just how important their involvement is to the process of winning a good agreement. Any negotiation is a difficult process. It never takes place in a vacuum.  The resumption of talks with Verizon management is a direct result of our sustained membership mobilization.

A good example of mobilization is what happened on our May 22 Health Care Action Day. Thousands of IBEW and CWA members in Massachusetts and Rhode Island wore health care stickers and passed out leaflets about the importance of stopping any insurance cost shifting and winning meaningful reforms that would make health care affordable for everyone.

Our stickers said, "No Cuts in Our Benefits…Let 's Fight for Health Care for All!" and the flyers outlined how the skyrocketing cost of health cost can't be solved by shifting costs to employees or raising our out-of pocket costs. Instead of looking to the bargaining table, Verizon management needs to work with us to fix this problem at the national level with what Local 2222 health care reformer Johnny Horgan calls a "Medicare for All" solution.

Just as importantly, over 500 of our members turned out for rallies and events at Verizon facilities to show our unity and determination to hold the line on any benefit cuts. And with help from the community-labor coalition Jobs with Justice, members heard from doctors and other health care reform experts about why it is so important to stand up to employer demands to cut our benefits. By doing so, we can force Verizon to support meaningful reforms.

The backbone of mobilization is our stewards army. Two years ago, both IBEW and CWA began a membership training program to strengthen and expand our stewards network. Now continued membership involvement and unity will be the key to keeping the pressure on management to win a good contract.

Dave Hanley, an SST and Local 2222 steward out of the Hyde Park garage said it best. "Mobilization empowers the membership. It makes us all part of the union. Without it, a lot of people think 'the union' is some official down at the hall. With mobilization, people realize that we are the union. It's really all about bringing people together. The more we do that, the stronger we get."

Myles Calvey is the Business Manager of IBEW Local 2222 and chair of the IBEW telephone workers’ bargaining committee.