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Technology Stocks : Westell WSTL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael F. Donadio who wrote (19963)	8/9/2000 11:07:22 AM
From: Sir Auric Goldfinger	Respond to of 21342

Phone Talks Said to Stall, With Strike in Third Day [what does this have to do with WSTL? Elementry: VZ is a big WSTL customer] By SIMON ROMERO Contract negotiations took a turn for the worse yesterday, the third day of a strike by more than 86,000 employees of the nation's largest local telephone company, dimming hopes for a quick resolution, according to people close to the talks. Negotiators for the two striking unions and the company, Verizon Communications, stalled on several issues, including the contract for about 50 union members at Verizon's wireless division, the people said. And progress slowed on other issues, including mandatory overtime and the shifting of some work to other locations in response to the merger that created the company. Verizon (pronounced vah-RISE-un) was created by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. Verizon also controls a wireless venture with Vodafone Airtouch of Britain. On one issue, distrust took its place alongside disagreement yesterday, as union negotiators chafed at news that Verizon had made a deal to buy NorthPoint Communications, a provider of high-speed Internet access lines, for $800 million. The unions have been trying to get the company to stop subcontracting the installation of Internet lines to nonunion installers. The deal to buy NorthPoint, a nonunion installer, only adds to the tension. "We're pleased to see Verizon's proactive in moving into broadband Internet access or any other area that would make the company more competitive," said Larry Cohen, executive vice president of the Communications Workers of America. "But we want details about how our members would benefit from this -- something beyond the gloss of a Powerpoint presentation." The C.W.A. represents 72,000 of the striking Verizon workers, with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers representing the other 14,000 or so, which are striking against the company in 12 Eastern states, from Maine to Virginia, and the District of Columbia. While Wall Street responded to the NorthPoint transaction by pushing down Verizon shares nearly 14 percent because of its likely impact on earnings, union negotiators questioned how the deal would affect their concerns about subcontractors and the ability of union members to get jobs in fast-growing areas of the industry like Internet access. Although unionized employees at Verizon could eventually benefit by working at the NorthPoint venture, so far NorthPoint's 1,500 employees are not union members. And unless the negotiators reach a specific agreement on the matter, it could be difficult to turn the NorthPoint jobs into union jobs. In the meantime, the sticking point over whether Verizon will continue to subcontract some work installing high-speed Internet lines to outside companies remained unresolved. Eric Rabe, a Verizon spokesman, said he was surprised by the unions' reaction to the transaction because the company had briefed the unions on the deal beforehand. Although issues of wages, benefits and working conditions are also under discussion, the future of organized labor in fast-growing areas like high-speed lines and wireless communications has emerged as the central issue of this strike. In fact, the two sides are nearing an agreement on procedures that might make it easier for the unions to organize workers at the 32,000-employee Verizon Wireless unit, a person close to the negotiations said. But the talks have stalled over a contract for the 50 or so union workers who are currently at Verizon Wireless.