Alyssa Leahy: Corporate’s need for more leaves workers with less

There are 14.8 million workers in unions in the United States. Nearly 40,000 of those workers are on strike against Verizon and their corporate greed.

Verizon is a Fortune 500 company where executives make millions in bonuses, and expect concessions from their workers. Additionally, Verizon stock has prospered because of the success of the company. For the first three months of the year, Verizon reported a net profit of $4.4 billion or $1.06 a share, up from $4.3 billion or $1.03 a share a year ago.

The Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are fighting against corporate greed at Verizon. The union called a strike recently because the company refused to negotiate fairly. Talks have stalled. The billion-dollar corporation intends to outsource jobs, cut employee benefits and pension, and take away  workers’ job security. Although the unions have been on strike for days, they have been negotiating their contract since August 2015 in hopes of a fair and equitable agreement.

This is not the first time a corporation has tried to take advantage of its workers. In the last few years, we have seen economic productivity soar, but most of the benefits have gone to CEOs, shareholders and corporate assets instead of ordinary workers.

According to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, millions of Americans work longer hours for lower wages. Median family income is almost $5,000 less than it was in the late ’90s.

Meanwhile, look at the success of the wealthy and the corporations.