Boycott Verizon?

Should people boycott verizon because of its decision to drop its pension plans even though the company can afford to pay for the plans?

As far as I know, they have a union. I remember reading about how their call center personnel have to engage in hard sell tactics but are stil paid well because of their union. If the union decides to strike, I would never buy Verizon. Currently I'm with Cingular - only because my parents demand I have a cell phone. If it wasn't for them, I'd chuck it. Personally I'd rather use Vonage or Skype. Or better yet, no phones period.

http://www.unionvoice.org/jobswithjustice/grinch05vote.html

They are one of three candidates for Grinch of the Year:

Verizon Wireless
For more than a decade, Verizon Wireless has shown total disregard for labor law and the rights of workers to a voice in the workplace and to a fair contract. Workers at Verizon Wireless who want a union voice have been fired and laid off, harassed and intimidated by supervisors, required to attend “captive audience” meetings and mandatory anti-union training. Call centers that had a growing number of union supporters were shut down between 2000 and 2004, putting 2,000 people out of work in MA, NY, and NJ. Verizon Wireless has refused to abide by the agreement it made with CWA to remain neutral in union organizing efforts in the Northeast and is instead using endless litigation to prevent employees from making use of the agreement. There are numerous complaints of labor law violations pending against Verizon Wireless.

The contrast between Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless, which supports full employer neutrality and card check, couldn’t be clearer. At Cingular, where there is true neutrality, more than 13,000 workers have joined CWA just since July 2005, when those agreements went into effect at what was AT&T Wireless. It’s clear that when fear and intimidation are removed from the workplace, workers choose a union voice. That’s what is happening at Cingular and that’s exactly what would happen at Verizon Wireless. Nominated by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

and signed on for flat-rate phone service with my cable company (Optimum Online) . . . though my usage has not increased at all, over the past few years my Verizon bill more than doubled, and I finally got tired of all the fees and other charges that they continued to tack on . . . new service is great, and I pay a single bill for my cable, internet service, and phone . . . and since I have all three services, I get a nice discount, too . . .

Just tell me the best alternative and I will do it. I am paying them a fortune right now. I used to pay about $25 a month for home phone service. Now it's $50 for the home phone and $80 for the cell - it's ridiculous. Help!

I will check it out.