Union Ire Surprised Verizon, Says CWA President

Workers returned to work June 1 (see 1605310032). In an interview that was to be televised over the weekend on C-SPAN’s Communicators, Shelton said Verizon Chairman Lowell McAdam seemed surprised how bad things got, and expects the company “is truly going to try to improve that relationship now, because they realize a happy workforce is a good workforce.” Shelton said he is pleased with what the unions got in the final agreement. “The strike from our point of view was about one thing and one thing only -- jobs and job security,” he said. “We managed to come out of it with what we wanted.” It wasn’t about money, since workers were paid well, but rather taking back jobs from contractors and offshore workers, he said. “No matter what you’re making, if you don’t have a job, it doesn’t matter.” He estimated the strike's resolution means 1,500 new jobs for the unions. Shelton conceded the unions made healthcare concessions worth millions of dollars, “but we were willing to do that" since January, he said. Asked about the presidential race, Shelton took a dig at GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump. He claims to represent the working class, but “it’s kind of hard for me to understand how a guy who is a billionaire is the working-class candidate,” Shelton said. “Donald Trump’s message is probably a lot like mine, but I don’t know if Donald Trump believes that message.” The union head previously endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt. If Sanders exits the race, Shelton said he will shift allegiances to “the only place we can go -- Hillary Clinton,” the Democrats’ presumptive nominee. “If the choice is Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, there’s no choice for my members," said Shelton. "If Trump gets elected, not only is labor in trouble, this country’s in trouble.”