Vice President Seat Declared Vacant

 

The IBEW’s collective bargaining agreement with Verizon expires on August 6, 2011, and the Union fully expects that especially difficult negotiations with the Company are on the horizon. Our job security agreement and fully –paid health benefits are among the most important items that Verizon has targeted for elimination. NOW is time to get organized- starting with a ‘1 day and 1 year’ rally – which will be held this Thursday, August 5^th, at 6:00 at the Verizon headquarters at 185 Franklin Street in Boston. Please make every effort to attend – and if you can make it, be sure to wear your Union shirts or RED. See you there!

 

CAMPAIGN RALLY                        JUNE 22^nd -   5:30PM                ROGER WILLIAMS PARK CASINO      Frank Caprio is Local 2323’s endorsed candidate. All members are encouraged to attend the rally and show our support for Rhode Island’s next Governor! Any questions – contact your steward or call the Union office at 732-4239.       SEE YOU THERE – WEAR YOUR UNION SHIRT !!

Frank Caprio received the unanimous endorsement of IBEW Local 2323 C.O.P.E committee this week. IBEW Local 2323 believes Frank Caprio has a vision for the future of Rhode Island that will both create jobs for Rhode Islanders and improve the lives of every citizen of this state.

 

Your eligibility to retire and start receiving a service pension depends on your age and net credited service when you terminate employment. If you meet any of the following age and net credited service requirements, you may retire on or after that age and receive a service pension. Eligibility Requirements

 

At least age 50                          25 years or more

At Least age 55                         20 years or more               At Least age 60                         15 years or more  

Age 65 or older                          10 years or more

 

For a full explanation of your Pension Benefits, including how to calculate your lump sum, Please Click Here.

 

 

Recommendations for Voting Your Verizon Proxy   Item 1: Vote For Directors. If individuals have a beef about an individual director, they should vote against him or her. We think the Board does not pass the test of good governance because of the consistently high compensation for Ivan Seidenberg and the backhanded justifications for it in the proxy explanation. We Recommend a Vote AGAINST.     Item 2: Auditor. Ernst & Young has done nothing egregious. If you do not like voting with the company, We Recommend a Vote of ABSTAIN     Item 3: Advisory Vote Related To Executive Compensation. In 2007, CWA and other AFL-CIO unions, ran a shareholder campaign and achieved 50.18% of the vote on a similar proposal. The company then agreed to adopt it. Thus, every year this will be on the ballot. This is the second year. This proposal asks shareholders to approve the incentive compensation and overall compensation of the company's top officers.  We believe they have been consistently overpaid. We Recommend a Vote AGAINST.     Item 4: Prohibit Granting Stock Options. Stock options have been seriously abused by companies over the last twenty years. Although Verizon has not granted stock options since 2004, this proposal would make a statement against the existing overpayment of top executives. We Recommend a Vote FOR.     Item 5: Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Policy. This proposal would add an important prohibition against discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression to Verizon’s current policy of non-discrimination. CWA strongly supports this addition. It is hard to imagine why Verizon would publicly oppose this proposal except that management almost never sides with shareholders. We Recommend a Vote FOR.     Item 6: Performance Stock Unit Performance Thresholds. The proposal asks that future performance stock units (stock equivalents given as incentive compensation) be granted only when the company performance equals or exceeds the median performance of peer companies. The way the current incentive compensation works, the company can be well below average (25th percentile) and officers still collect their incentives. We Recommend a Strong Vote FOR.     Item 7: Shareholder Right To Call a Special Meeting. On the one hand, it is always good to give shareholders more rights over management. On the other hand, lowering the threshold further gives private equity the opportunity to push management in directions we may disapprove of. Currently, the company has a 10% threshold with some restrictions to call a special shareholders meeting. Last year this proposal received over 50% of the vote. We Recommend a Vote FOR.     Item 8: Adopt and Disclose Succession Planning Policy. This proposal asks for a written policy of CEO succession planning. The Board claims it already has a policy but that writing it down and making it public would somehow compromise the privacy rights of the current CEO. Their argument put another ways is, “Trust us.” CWA believes that Boards should be explicit about plans for succession. We Recommend a Vote FOR.     Item 9: Shareholder Approval Of Benefits Paid After Death. The proposal asks for shareholder approval for any benefit paid after death. The idea of paying any executive after death through "golden coffin agreements" is repulsive. The top executives at Verizon are already severely overpaid. The payments owed to the estates of top officers after death are therefore excessive as well. We Recommend a Vote FOR.     Item 10: Executive Stock Retention Requirements. This proposal creates a policy that would require executives to hold onto stock (recommendation of at least 75%) gained through incentive plans for a period of at least two years after the executive leaves the company. Much of this stock was not actually "earned" at all, but was rather a wholesale giveaway to undeserving executives. This policy is a good one. There are too many examples of executives leaving, cashing out, and then the stock values suddenly crash. We Recommend a Vote FOR

 

Verizons email on Friday about so called bargaining with the unions on an enhanced Eipp offer is a figment of the companys imagination. Verizon does not want to negotiate. Verizon wants to dictate, dangling a carrot of an incentive and mandating that if the unions accepted it the union couldn’t challenge Verizon on any layoffs. Verizon wants to layoff thousands and the company offer would mandate that the union would sit idly by as the company proceeded to unprecedented layoffs even to those protected by job security.

The union will continue to fight for our members jobs and will not sit by and allow Verizon to decimate the members and eliminate jobs.

 

CASTRO, DAVID MERLIN, 42, of Hyde Street, Cranston, passed away on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at R.I. Hospital, Providence. He was the loving husband of Heather N. (Brewer) Castro.

Born in Attleboro, MA, he was the son of Margene (Mills) Castro of Pawtucket the late Alfred Castro. David was employed for Verizon for 14 years.

Besides his wife and mother, he is also survived by his son, Ryan Castro of Cranston and his brothers Randy Castro of South Attleboro, Derek Castro of Pawtucket and Michael Castro of Taunton.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral service on Friday at 10:00 a.m. in the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME, 1278 Park Avenue, Cranston. Burial will be in St. Stephen's Cemetery, 683 South Main Street, Attleboro, MA 02703. VISITING HOURS: THURSDAY 4-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to a fund for his son, Ryan. A check can be made out to Ryan Jacob Castro then sent to Bank of America RI, 260 Atwood Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920

On Tuesday March 9th over 20 members of IBEW Local 2323 attended a hearing at the Rhode Island Statehouse to show support for a Bill that would fine Verizon and Public Utilities for the unsafe double poles. The Bill is still presently in Committee so any member who has not yet sent an email to the committee members please take a couple of minutes and sign up for IBEW Fight Back where with one click of your mouse you can send a letter to the Committee members showing your support for the Bill.

Next week in the RI State House, House Bill H7360 will be discussed by the Corporations Committee. This Bill would require Utility Companies to complete transfer of wires, all repairs and removal of existing poles within 3 months from installation of a new pole. If transfer was not completed within 3 months the utility company would be fined $250 per day. This money would go directly to the cash strapped cities and towns. There are thousands of these double poles in Rhode Island and some have been there for years. They are an eyesore as well as a safety hazard. Instead of performing this work Verizon laid off 61 employees and are threatening more layoffs.

Click the link below to Take action:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/Poles