Massive Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Labor Strike Finally Comes To An End

Nearly 40,000 Verizon landline employees will be returning to work after being on strike for more than six weeks. Verizon Communications Inc. and its two unions have reached an agreement on a new labor contract.

The contract, which still must be ratified by union members, gives workers a pay increase of more than 10 percent through the end of the contract in August 2019, according to a statement from the company.

The labor agreement extends to about 70 wireless retail store employees in Brooklyn and suburban Boston and includes the addition of about 1,300 new call-center jobs.

According to the Labor Department, the labor standoff had pushed the number of striking U.S. workers to the highest in more than four years and could depress the May jobs numbers slated for release soon.

“The new contracts will help ensure that Verizon employees continue to receive solid wages and excellent health-care and retirement benefits,” Marc Reed, Verizon’s chief administrative officer, said in a statement. Chris Shelton, president of the CWA, called the contract a victory for working families.

“In the end, it looks like everyone wins,” said Roger Entner, an analyst with Recon Analytics LLC. “The employees will get an increase over four years, which is a year longer than originally proposed. And Verizon can get all its employees back to work, including those that had been filling in on the landline side.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and have not been compensated for this article.