The Verizon Strike Is Not Just About Wages. It Is About Power and Domination Over Workers. [telecom]

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BY ALEX GOUREVITCH

Bruce has worked construction for Verizon for nearly thirty years and he is on strike. Walking a picket outside a Verizon Wireless store, he explains why: "I love this job. It's outdoors, you get dirty, you get to do things. You see that island over there, I can tell you where each of the manholes are. I've been in every one of these buildings here," he says, pointing to a cafe, then some office buildings, a travel agency, and a few restaurants. "I don't like not working, just standing around here. But we gotta do this. I mean, I love this job but I don't want it for my children."

Only a few Verizon workers are picketing this Massachusetts location, standing calmly in the signature red shirts of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) holding placards emblazoned "On Strike!"