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Strike Misconduct & Social Media
Recently our members received a letter from Verizon’s Marc Reed discussing potential strike misconduct. This letter was highly misleading, for example it references members terminated for misconduct and not receiving back pay upon re-in statement.
That statement is factually true, what Marc Reed failed to tell you is that, at best the allegations were weak, the Union felt confident they would be successful challenging the allegations, however after consulting with the members a settlement on returning to work was agreed to in order to avoid a very lengthy process returning them back to work through a challenge. The letter the union signed referenced in Marc Reed’s letter was part of that settlement offer.
The Union always ask that the membership picket responsibly and safely. We have firm rules of our own regarding misconduct of our members on the picket lines, which has been covered with all of our picket captains.
It has also come to our attention Verizon has increased scrutiny on varying Social Media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. We have received numerous reports over the past few days of members receiving friend request from newly created profiles from people they do not know. Emotions run high when so much is at stake, the Union can’t stress enough to please be mindful of what you post and who can see it.
The last thing anyone would want is putting themselves or another member in a difficult situation of being accused of strike misconduct. We encourage every member to review their friends list, and settings on the varying Social Media platforms and set them to private. If you have any questions please see a steward or contact the Union office.