Hundreds of CWA members, activists and allies descended on Verizon's
annual shareholders meeting in Huntsville, Ala., to make that message
crystal clear. Protesters from the 99 Percent Spring coalition came
from as far away as New Orleans and New York City.
College students
from the University of Central Florida, part of the Student Labor
Action Project, made the 11-hour bus trip from Orlando to join the
rally, and UCW-CWA members from the University of Tennessee made the
trek from Nashville. Jobs with Justice, the AFL-CIO and the Greater
Birmingham Ministries also lent their support, helping post VeriGreedy
signs all along Interstate 565.
“They thought they could escape the voices of working people by
taking their meeting to Alabama,” said Alabama AFL-CIO President Al
Henley. “Well, it looks like they misjudged our sense of solidarity
here in the South.”
CWA members and supporters are continuing to hold actions and
rallies to spotlight Verigreedy Verizon and Verizon Wireless, and
activists are leafleting outside Verizon Wireless stores around the
country. More than 45,000 workers, members of CWA and the IBEW, have
been bargaining for a year for a fair contract. Meanwhile, the $100
billion company continues to demand big cuts in workers’ compensation.
“Enough of the attacks on middle-class jobs while paying executives
obscene salaries and dodging taxes,” said CWA Chief of Staff Ron
Collins. “Enough of outsourcing good jobs to low wage workers here and
overseas. Enough of deepening the digital divide in communities most in
need of a reliable and fast Internet connection that comes with FiOS.”
At the rally outside the meeting, activists chanted a twist on the
familiar chant: “You can’t run! You can’t hide! This time we'll be
right inside!”
Verizon: A Big Tax Dodger
Verizon Communications is among the nation’s biggest tax dodgers.
The telecommunications giant placed third on a list of top tax
evaders compiled by Citizens for Tax Justice, grossing $7.7 billion in
tax subsidies between 2008 and 2011. Its aggressive manipulation of tax
loopholes, economic development subsidies, and business restructuring
has produced a negative tax rate year after year.
Sadly Verizon isn’t alone. Twenty-six major corporations haven’t
paid federal income taxes, despite raking in billions of dollars in
profits, over that four-year period. In fact, these companies actually
made more money after taxes than before taxes over the past four years,
thanks to IRS rebate payments.
Read more here.
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