NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) said Saturday that its 45,000 striking wireline employees represented by the CWA and IBEW will return to work beginning Monday night, August 22, without new collective bargaining agreements.
According to Verizon, the company and the unions have seen progress in trying to sort local and regional issues, and the parties have agreed on a process for moving forward to negotiate the major issues such as benefits, work flexibility and job security.
Verizon said the striking wireline employees would be working under the terms of the contracts that expired on Saturday, Aug. 6. The contracts will be extended without a deadline for achieving new collective bargaining agreements, so that the parties can take their time to settle major issues.
The 45,000 striking employees span nine Northeastern states and the District of Columbia.
With its union-represented employees back at work, Verizon plans to quickly address any backlog in repairs and unfulfilled requests for service.
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