"The longer the picket line, the shorter the strike."
(Laura Clawson)
On
Saturday, Verizon and the unions representing its workers reached an agreement to end the strike and get 45,000 striking CWA and IBEW members back on the job starting tonight. The return to work comes not because the two sides have agreed on a contract, but because they have agreed on a way forward in bargaining—basically, Verizon has signaled that it may now be ready to bargain in good faith, and the bargaining has been restructured to focus on a few key issues first.
According to Larry Cohen, president of the CWA:
"Everybody knew we faced a long list of management demands and that’s why there was a strike, and we would go back into bargaining when the talks could be meaningful," Mr. Cohen said. "We don’t consider this a victory in any way. We consider it progress toward a good process at Verizon."
[....]
Mr. Cohen acknowledged that the bargaining ahead might still be lengthy. He said Verizon initially seemed so dismissive of the two unions’ position and so unwilling to budge from its original stance that union negotiators felt the company was seeking in effect to wipe out the unions’ bargaining rights.
"The unions have been working with Verizon to restructure bargaining in a way that represents progress for everyone," he said. "We believe that Verizon management shares the goal of meaningful bargaining."
While they continue bargaining, the expired contract remains in force indefinitely. According to the terms of the return to work agreement (PDF),
Either the Union or the Company may terminate the CBAs by providing seven (7) calendar days written notice to the other party, but such right to terminate may not be exercised prior to thirty (30) days from August 22, 2011.
Further, under the return to work agreement, overtime caps will be lifted for a week "to reduce the work backlog resulting from the strike." The unions will withdraw their unfair labor practices complaints and Verizon will likewise withdraw any complaints it has filed against the unions. The agreement also puts in place a procedure for dealing with disciplinary actions against workers for things that happened during the strike.
This is certainly not over in the sense that there is still no contract, but the workers showed that they were strong enough to at least get Verizon back to the bargaining table in a real way. Hopefully they will reach an acceptable contract without having to go back out on strike.