Verizon Delaying Hurricane Irene Repairs To Punish Workers For Strike, Union Alleges

A union official alleged that Verizon is slowing post-Irene repairs for thousands of phone, internet and TV customers on Long Island and in upstate New York to put pressure on its workers during ongoing contract negotiations.

Verizon says those payback claims are baseless. Verizon employees are "ready, willing, and more than able" to work extra hours to fix the problems, said Communications Workers of America District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton, but he claims the company instead is intent on denying them overtime as punishment for their recently abandoned strike. "The customers who are out, they're leaving them out. They don't care," Shelton said. "They're just sitting there with thousands of repair jobs." John Bonomo, Verizon's director of media relations for the region, agreed that there were thousands still without landline service in New York State, but downplayed the importance of that service disruption and denied that the company was forgoing overtime. Bonomo said the company had not declared an emergency, which the union claims might help in restoring service to customers more quickly, because "the traditional landline phone is not as vital as it had been in past years."