http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/ en Copyright 2010 2010-01-11T21:52:27+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/gov._manchin_joins_public_rally/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/gov._manchin_joins_public_rally/ Campaign activists have been mobilizing for months to build broad public opposition to the proposed sale of Verizon's landlines to Frontier.Hundreds of members have met with their legislators at the Capitol or attended meetings with their County Commissioners to educate them about the sale.  Many others have talked with neighbors and friends, distributed lawn signs and bumper stickers, or gone "online" with an activist campaign to get hundreds of letters opposed to the sale sent to the governor.Everyone's hard work paid off on Sunday, January 10 at the Culture Center in Charleston when Governor Joe Manchin made a surprise appearance in the middle of the "Stop the Sale" rally!Gov. Manchin joined CWA President Larry Cohen, CWA District 2 VP Ron Collins, United Mineworkers President Cecil Roberts and many other labor and community leaders on the stage to say that he would do everything in his power to make the proposed deal work for the working families of West Virginia -- not just for the Wall Street bankers. National, West Virginia 2010-01-11T21:52:27+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/speak_out_at_the_public_service_commissions_public_hearing_on_tue/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/speak_out_at_the_public_service_commissions_public_hearing_on_tue/ Come to the public hearing to show your opposition to the Verizon-Frontier deal. Consumers, seniors and business people are especially needed to testify that if the deal is approved, it will only deepen rural West Virginia's "digital divide" with a small carrier that is financially overextended without the resources to improve service or expand high speed broadband. The hearing will begin at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, January 12 at the PSC Howard M. Cunningham Hearing Room, 201 Brooks Street, Charleston WV. The hearing will also be webcast live on the PSC site. Visit http://www.psc.state.wv.us/webcast/default.htm for more details. West Virginia 2010-01-07T15:36:13+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/rally_planned_for_west_virginia/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/rally_planned_for_west_virginia/ Members of the Communications Workers of America are stepping up the campaign against the proposed sale of telephone lines in West Virginia and 13 states by telecom industry giant Verizon to the much smaller, mostly rural carrier, Frontier Communications. With the first public hearing in West Virginia set for January 12 in Charleston, the union is organizing a rally two days earlier at the state capitol's Culture Center with hundreds of members and supporters expected to attend. In addition to CWA President Larry Cohen and V.P. Ron Collins, the rally will feature a firefighter from Vermont who will share the negative experience that first responders have had since the FairPoint deal was approved. Seniors, church leaders and small business are also expected to speak. For more information download our flyer. National, West Virginia 2010-01-06T18:39:23+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/experts_consumer_advocate_and_telecom_companies_file_testimony_op/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/experts_consumer_advocate_and_telecom_companies_file_testimony_op/ On Monday, Nov. 16 the proposed deal between Verizon and Frontier ran into major opposition in West Virginia. The West Virginia Public Service Commission's (PSC) staff, PSC's Consumer Advocate division, the Communications Workers of America and several other state telecommunications companies all submitted testimony opposing the proposed deal. The testimonies highlighted the broad scope and variety of organizations that know this deal is bad for West Virginia. National, West Virginia 2009-12-01T20:49:38+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/cwa_members_take_stop_the_sale_message_to_the_wv_legislature/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/cwa_members_take_stop_the_sale_message_to_the_wv_legislature/ More than 60 union leaders and members from 11 CWA locals traveled to the West Virginia Capitol for the union's second Lobby Day. Teams of CWA members from each local union met with at least 25 legislators over the course of the day. Most of these legislators committed to write letters to the PSC. Seventeen delegates have already sent letters opposing the sale to the PSC. National, West Virginia 2009-11-20T20:52:55+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/west_virginia_psc_staff_and_consumer_advocate_oppose_proposed_ver/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/west_virginia_psc_staff_and_consumer_advocate_oppose_proposed_ver/ The proposed deal between Verizon and Frontier has run into some major opposition in West Virginia. The West Virginia Public Service Commission's staff, the Consumer Advocate Division (CAD), the Communications Workers of America and several other telecommunications companies all submitted testimony this week opposing the proposed deal. The state's Public Service Commission's Consumer Advocate Division Director, Byron Harris, submitted testimony to the Public Service Commission urging it to reject the proposed Verizon/Frontier deal. Harris stated the deal contained "too many risks for retail telephone customers in WV from both a financial and operational standpoint." The CAD felt Frontier had made many "unrealistically optimistic financial projections" in support of the proposed transaction. National, West Virginia 2009-11-18T14:29:41+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/frontier_customer_speaks_out/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/frontier_customer_speaks_out/ Frontier customer Robert Millard speaks out about Frontier's false promises: I live in an area of WV whose phone lines are already owned by Frontier. For 15 years we were promised new lines that would bring us up to date from the 50-year old lines we have now. Yet Frontier managers have done nothing. I have had the opportunity to live in several areas of West Virginia and elsewhere in the country. My service from Frontier is the poorest phone service I have ever witnessed, to the point of absurdity. Lines are routinely down and there is no hope whatsoever of having an available Internet connection. We have enough handicaps to deal with in rural West Virginia without being cut off from the educational and financial benefits that the Internet offers. National, West Virginia 2009-11-12T21:44:19+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/washington_state_utilities_commission_staff_urge_rejection_of_ver/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/washington_state_utilities_commission_staff_urge_rejection_of_ver/ The staff of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) recommended that state regulators reject the proposed sale of Verizon's landlines in Washington State to Frontier on Tuesday. The staff’s position is a setback for Verizon and Frontier managers who last week touted decisions by regulators in three states -- California, Nevada and South Carolina -- to approve the sale. The number of landlines in these three states is relatively minor, and regulatory approval was expected. "The staff recommendations along with the recent bankruptcy of FairPoint are a wake up call for state regulators," said CWA District Four's Hetty Scofield. "Verizon should not be allowed to walk away with $3.3 billion tax free while leaving consumers and workers to pick up the pieces if Frontier falters. Now is the time for regulators to blow the whistle on corporate greed and just say 'no' to this deal." National, Ohio, West Virginia 2009-11-05T19:34:15+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/worst_provider/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/worst_provider/ If the proposed Verizon-Frontier deal is approved, West Virginians would be replacing the best broadband service provider in the nation (Verizon) with one of the worst providers (Frontier) according to national customer satisfaction surveys. National, West Virginia 2009-11-04T18:44:19+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/purchasing_verizons_landlines_could_leave_frontier_shareholders_w/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/purchasing_verizons_landlines_could_leave_frontier_shareholders_w/ Frontier shareholders and its top executives heard from an employee about how the proposed deal to acquire Verizon's assets in West Virginia and thirteen other states "may be good for Verizon, but will leave Frontier a much weaker company." With support from the AFL-CIO and Connecticut CWA Local 1298, Elisabeth Choate traveled to Stamford, CT and attended the Frontier special meeting where shareholders voted to approve the deal. A movement in West Virginia and the other thirteen states led by the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) to oppose the deal has been growing because of concerns that Frontier's small size and fragile finances won't allow it to provide better service or make significant upgrades in the availability of high speed Internet access. National, Ohio, West Virginia 2009-10-27T14:54:26+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/congressmen_oppose_tax_loophole_used_in_proposed_verizon-frontier/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/congressmen_oppose_tax_loophole_used_in_proposed_verizon-frontier/ The entire five-member House delegation from northern New England recently wrote a letter to Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) Chairman of the House Committee on Ways & Means, urging him to restrict the use of a tax-loophole that Verizon hopes to employ in the proposed sale of its landlines in 14 states, including West Virginia, to Frontier Communications. By using the loophole, Verizon would avoid paying taxes on the $3.3 billion it will receive from Frontier. National, Ohio, West Virginia 2009-10-22T21:16:00+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/verizon_frontier_sale_opponents_lobby_at_west_virginia_state_hous/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/verizon_frontier_sale_opponents_lobby_at_west_virginia_state_hous/ Union members and community supporters opposed to the sale of Verizon's landlines to Frontier Communications took part in a grassroots lobby day on October 14 at the Capitol in Charleston to talk with their state legislators about the impact of the sale on the future of West Virginia. About 75 members from Communications Workers of America (CWA) local unions who work for Verizon or Frontier participated. The grassroots lobbyists started their day in a conference room provided by State Treasurer John Perdue where CWA District Two Vice President Ron Collins gave members a short briefing about the importance of gaining support from our elected representatives to oppose the sale. Members were also welcomed by Attorney General Darrell McGraw as well as officials from the state AFL-CIO. The highlight of the day was a Joint Committee "hearing" where representatives of the PSC, the Consumer Advocate Division, Verizon, CWA and Frontier briefed legislators and answered questions about the deal. National, West Virginia 2009-10-16T14:11:26+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/ad_campaign_begins_in_west_virginia/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/ad_campaign_begins_in_west_virginia/ The Communications Workers of America began running an advertising campaign in West Virginia today to ensure that consumers across the state understand the risks of the Verizon-Frontier deal.  The campaign, which includes newspaper and radio ads, coincides with this week's interim meetings of the West Virginia state legislature.Listen to the ad: National, West Virginia 2009-10-11T19:31:10+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/verizon_feels_heat_from_one-sided_deals/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/verizon_feels_heat_from_one-sided_deals/ The New York Post recently reported that Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg is facing increasing criticism for his plans to sell Verizon's rural landlines. The Post notes that: ..similar deals the executive fashioned in Hawaii and Northern New England that left the purchasers broke and customers waiting unusually long times for service or with wrongly inflated bills. National, Ohio, West Virginia 2009-10-09T20:13:57+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/corporate_greed_triumphs_public_good/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/corporate_greed_triumphs_public_good/ The proposed Verizon Frontier deal is another example of corporate greed trumping public good, Communications Workers of America International Representative Elaine Harris recently told a crowd of CWA members. Harris outlined the details of Verizon’s proposed sale of its land lines to Frontier Communications, the implications for West Virginia and the consequences of similar Verizon deals in other states. “Verizon Communications has been divesting assets to smaller, less stable corporations in order to reap large, tax-free, profits,” Harris said. “Verizon proposes to repeat that formula, and its disastrous effects, with the sale of all of its wireline operations here in West Virginia to Frontier.” National, West Virginia 2009-10-05T21:00:44+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/opposition_to_verizon-frontier_deal_is_growing/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/opposition_to_verizon-frontier_deal_is_growing/ The opposition to the proposed sale of 4.8 million Verizon landlines to Frontier Communications is growing. State utility advocates, consumer groups, state officials, and unions have all raised serious concerns about the deal. The proposed $8 billion sale would transfer Verizon's primarily rural line in 14 states, including West Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and South Carolina. National, Ohio, West Virginia 2009-10-02T20:09:39+00:00 http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/deal_bad_for_rural_consumers/ http://cwa-verizon.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/deal_bad_for_rural_consumers/ The Communications Workers of America raised strong concerns about the proposed sale of 4.8 million landlines in 14 states by Verizon Communications to Frontier Communications, in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission. The deal as currently structured will cause substantial harm to consumers and communities, will be a step backward in terms of high speed broadband buildout and is contrary to the public interest. This sale should be rejected. CWA pointed to Verizon's track record and the poor outcomes for consumers of similar sales to FairPoint Communications, Hawaiian Telecom and Idearc, Inc. These three deals all have resulted in hardships and service restrictions for consumers in those regions, CWA said. National, Ohio, West Virginia 2009-10-02T18:55:56+00:00