Verizon said it has experienced more than 90 acts of sabotage against its network facilities in five days of striking by its fixed-line employees. Since the strike started on 6 August, thousands of customers across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast have seen services disrupted. In most of these cases, crews restored service within 24 hours. The company is also taking legal action to prevent union members from blocking entrances to its buildings. Verizon has obtained injunctions that prevent intimidation and illegal blocking of facilities in Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania, and was in court on 11 August to obtain injunctions in Massachusetts and New Jersey. The company is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the local New Jersey field office, to investigate the acts of sabotage. Verizon also is offering a reward of up to USD 50,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of individuals who intentionally damage Verizon cables or facilities or cause or attempt to cause physical injury to any Verizon employee or contractor. Verizon managers have taken over to replace the striking workers, performing duties from call centre operations to network repairs. The workers are on strike as they have been unable to reach a new collective agreement with the operators. Verizon is seeking major cuts in health and pension benefits from the wireline employees. Separately the unions CWA and IBEW issued statements saying they reject all violence at strike sites and called on members to respect the law during their industrial action.
