May 13, 2016
By email
[email protected]
Dear Mr. McAdam:
We are a Verizon/CWA family. My husband has worked for Verizon for 20 years with no bad marks and has always made the productivity numbers. We have been proud to be part of a successful company and to be able to live the American dream.
However, our version of the American dream is most likely a little different than yours. We just want to be a family and make ends meet. We have a son who has sensory issues, dyslexia and High Functioning Autism. We live on one income and thankfully, we have been able to stay on one income, because of mandatory overtime.
However, you have forced overtime every week for a year and are now forcing untrained managers to do the same.
Although overtime is great pay, there are times in life when you don’t need that pressure of it being forced. My husband has worked 60+ hours weekly for a year for great pay with overtime, but it’s very stressful.
There are many technicians who love to work overtime. During Hurricane Sandy my husband volunteered and stayed in New Jersey twice for two weeks at a time to help customers recover from the damage. Now, we are barely affording meals, we have no healthcare, and are medications are about to run out. We have some savings for my son’s college that we now are using to keep our house and meet other expenses.
We can’t afford the therapy and the tutors my son desperately needs. My son wants to be the next Einstein and he most likely could be. He has a high average IQ, but with Autism he needs to learn by a different approach that the public schools don’t provide. Tutoring for my son over the summer is $3,000 and I desperately want to give him what he needs.
Please find it in your heart to get these workers back to work and so we can continue living the American dream. However, don’t make them drive to another state hours away for months at a time on their gas money. You are a very profitable company and you want to take more from our families who are barely getting by. I never thought I would see the day that this would happen to families in America. I guess your salary is just not high enough? We are Mothers, Fathers, sons, daughters, volunteering in our communities and so much more. Why do we deserve to be treated like we don’t matter?
Please change your ways, as we are important people too. This has stressed out my son, family and me immensely. I just lost my father, have a special needs child and now fear losing everything, but we will not cross a picket line for your ridiculous demands
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Wife of Verizon Technician
