"Block the Deal" CWA Urges FCC

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)“Hey hey FCC, We don’t want monopoly!” chanted hundreds of CWA members outside the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) building at noontime Wednesday. Clad in their signature bright red shirts, the CWA members work at Verizon and were protesting Verizon Wireless' proposed co-marketing and services deal with cable operators, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox. Along with consumer and environmental allies, CWA argued that the deal would not only hurt competition and raise service prices, but also put a number of workers out of a job. “We’ve lost nearly 2,000 Verizon jobs,” said CWA Local 2201 – and Central Virginia Area Labor Federation President – Richard Hatch. “If this deal goes through we’ll see even more job cuts.” CWA is urging the FCC to impose conditions on the deal to ensure it is in the public interest. “Consumers and workers deserve better,” added the National Consumers League’s Mark Cooper. - report/photo by Chris Garlock