WIth friends and family in Japan (fortunately, all west of Tokyo), and living in a town and area with a sizable population with ties to Japan, I find this to be unconscionable. Lots of folks are doing all they can to help through this … [Read more...]
Verizon IBEW members travel to Wisconsin to help build solidarity
Steve "Smitty" Smith, another IBEW organizer and a retired 36-year lineman who is also on the trip wrote, "How important is Madison to me? My mom and my dad (a retired postal worker) live very modestly on his pension. Yet they offered … [Read more...]
The $18,000 Verizon bill: time to end “fine print” abuses
(I'm a lawyer, and personally, I'll read something like a lease in its entirety -- but everything else just gets a quick glance. It's simple math: I expect to pay $18,000 over the course of a year-long lease, so I take the time to … [Read more...]
Telephone workers win amendment preserving VOIP regulation
When the Commonwealth of Massachusetts put forward a new Economic Development bill, Verizon and Comcast inserted a little known provision to deregulate "Voice Over Internet Protocol" technology, often called VOIP. VOIP is the … [Read more...]
Telephone workers brief Mass. Congressional Delegation on Verizon’s proposed job cuts
Angry about how a highly profitable corporation like Verizon is threatening hundreds of layoffs, telephone union leaders and some potentially laid off workers held an unprecedented briefing with the staffs of five members of Congress and … [Read more...]
Verizon on the Horizon: Proposed Changes to Cable Franchise Law Threatens Local Access
More disturbing for local grassroots democracy are the proposed limits on local cable access support. Cable access TV may be the butt of jokes, but it's cable access that broadcasts selectmen and school committee meetings, town meeting, … [Read more...]
For Labor Day: Boston-area workers finding new paths to rights and respect
The Employee Free Choice Act would remedy the problem by giving workers a simple one step process to freely choose a union. It would also strengthen penalties for companies that intimidate employees from trying to form unions and provide … [Read more...]
Verizon employment numbers in Massachusetts don’t add up to the secure jobs our communities need
Verizon management recently boasted to the news media about adding new services and new jobs in Massachusetts. On February 28, Verizon announced it "is completing the hiring of an additional 200 union-represented customer service employees … [Read more...]
Appellate Tax Board delivers on MPA
The Globe is reporting that the state's Appellate Tax Board has ruled that: Verizon must pay taxes on poles and wires over public ways - a decision that could bring an estimated $78 million tax boost to cities and towns. When? "In terms of … [Read more...]
A question for Dan Bosley
Even yet still more on revenues ...A few weeks ago, Rep. Dan Bosley gamely commented on this site that closing the Verizon tax loophole would lead to higher bills for consumers, and cripple broadband rollout in rural communities. Let's … [Read more...]