Verizon CEO Throws Tantrum After Sanders Storms NYC Headquarters With 40,000 Strikers

[BigBearJohn]

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reaffirmed his commitment to supporting American workers when he joined the Verizon picket line as nearly 40,000 union workers turned out to protest the communications juggernaut. The combined members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) are furious at Verizon’s plans to “make devastating cut backs,” increasing job insecurity, refusing to negotiate”improvements to wages, benefits and working conditions,” freezing pensions, and demanding that technicians work away from home for months on end, destabilizing the home lives of their workers.

Showing solidarity with organized labor, Sanders joined their picket lines and spoke at the offices of Transit Workers Union Local 100, slamming the notorious tax-evaders at Verizon for their refusal to treat their workers properly. “We all know in this room that you don’t have a great and growing middle class unless you have a great and growing trade union movement. And it is no secret that there have been fierce attacks against the trade union movement for the last number of decades, and in fact, you could argue that it is the trade unions of today that are the last lines of defense against a vicious corporate agenda that is working hard to destroy the middle class!

This is just another major American corporation trying to destroy the lives of working Americans. Today you are standing up not just for justice for Verizon workers, you’re standing up for millions of Americans who don’t have a union!”

The CEO of Verizon, Lowell McAdam, promptly threw a tantrum, calling Sanders “contemptible” and accusing him of making Verizon a political boogeyman: “I understand that rhetoric gets heated in a Presidential campaign. I also get that big companies are an easy target for candidates looking for convenient villains for the economic distress felt by many of our citizens. But when rhetoric becomes disconnected from reality, we’ve crossed a dangerous line. We deserve better from people aspiring to be President. At the very least, we should demand that candidates base their arguments on the facts … even when they don’t fit their campaign narratives.”

Such an outpouring of crocodile tears from the very definition of a corporate oligarch is to be expected. Of course, he has failed to mention that Verizon’s profits have been growing rapidly over the past few years while benefits for workers remain stagnant. The Intercept reports that Verizon’s revenue rose “from $120.6 billion in 2013 to $131.6 billion in 2015. Operating cash flow last year was at $38.9 billion. McAdam’s own compensation rose 16 percent from 2013 to 2014, topping out at $18.3 million.”

http://occupydemocrats.com/2016/04/13/verizon-ceo-throws-tantrum-sanders-storms-nyc-headquarters-40000-strikers/

[Uponthegears]

1. Two "con" (almost) quotes to Verizon CEOs

Senator Sanders:

"I welcome your con . . . tempt"

Secretary Clinton:

"I welcome your con . . . tributions"

[rachacha]

2. +1

[DebDoo]

4. I see your +1 and raise you 1

[Jefferson23]

3. Perfect. +1

Funny as hell too. lol

[-none]

5. Spot on! What more can be said?

[BernieforPres2016]

6. Verizon is yet another oligopoly that needs to be broken up

It is not just the big banks that need to be broken up. Due to 35 years of government almost completely ignoring the concept of anti-trust, there is an excessive concentration of power in a handful of companies in industry after industry. These concentrations are anti-competitive. They raise prices and lower the quality of service to consumers. And these mega mergers have destroyed jobs. I don't recall ever seeing a merger between 2 large companies that did not involve layoffs to "reduce redundancies".

The old ATT was broken into 7 companies in 1981, but somehow over the years it has basically merged its way back into 2 companies, Verizon and ATT.

Here is a link to a list of the 10 most concentrated industries in the United States. Wireless telecommunications is #4.

http://news.cision.com/ibisworld/r/top-10-highly-concentrated-industries,c9219248

<Wireless Telecommunications Carriers - Top four market share: 94.7%

Major companies: Verizon Wireless: 36.5% | AT&T Inc.: 32.1% | Sprint Nextel Corporation: 15.4% | T-Mobile USA: 10.7%>