Verizon announced on Wednesday that it had reached tentative agreements with 45,000 workers. The four-year agreements would provide an 8% pay increase over the term of the contract and would require workers to pay more health care. The agreement comes after 16 months of negotiations, including a two-week strike about a year ago. Current workers will remain on their current pension plan, while new workers would have 401(k) accounts that the company would contribute to. The contracts cover filed technicians, call center workers and cable installers.
See "4-Year Deal for Unions at Verizon", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, September 19, 2012