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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated
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From: LindyBill8/19/2011 10:16:57 AM
5 Recommendations  Read Replies (2) of 793917
 



The Incredible Shrinking Union
By Megan McArdle
Aug 17 2011, 11:18 AM ET 602

So the Communications Workers of America are out on strike against Verizon. The most remarkable thing is not the alleged acts of sabotage against land lines that serve hospitals , or the shocking willingness of an anonymous Verizon manager to threaten retaliation against the more pugnacious strikers when they go back to work (the NLRB rather frowns on that sort of thing). No, the really remarkable thing is this: who cares?

Maybe you've noticed if you live or work near a Verizon facility, or if you are the sort of journalist or wonk who follows these issues. But unless you fall into one of those two categories, chances are you weren't really aware that it was happening. The workers who are striking are the ones who service land lines. And land lines are simply no longer central to American lives, or the economy.

Ultimately, that's what's at the heart of this strike. A lot of the stories on the strike have tended to present the classic management/union he-said-she-said:

  • Verizon said it was asking for changes to the contract because its wireline business has been declining as people switch to cell phones. Union officials, meanwhile, say the company has been making billions of dollars in profits in the last four years.
The problem is that both of these things are true. Verizon's margins aren't particularly fat right now, but the company is still making a comfortable profit. Unfortunately, the landline business--the division that these workers work for--is collapsing
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