Verizon Workers Strike Amid Contract Dispute

Tens of thousands of Verizon (NYSE: VZ - news) workers from states along the US East Coast have walked off the job amid a contract dispute.

Some 39,000 landline and cable workers have been doing their jobs without a contract since August, union leaders say.

Verizon said it wants to address healthcare issues, citing the rise in medical costs for both retirees and current employees.

But union leaders accuse the telecom giant of wanting to freeze pensions, make layoffs easier and rely more on contract workers.

On Wednesday, Verizon workers from nine states and Washington DC took to the streets to pressure the company into a deal.

Verizon spokesman Rich Young said the company was disappointed that union leaders initiated a walk-out.

He said the unions, "unfortunately, have been unwilling to negotiate in good faith".

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who is fighting rival Hillary Clinton for union support, appeared at a strike in Brooklyn to lend his voice to the workers.

The Vermont senator called the contract dispute "just another major American corporation trying to destroy the lives of working Americans".

Verizon, meanwhile, has trained thousands of non-union employees to fill in during the walk-out.

In Philadelphia, about a hundred striking workers shouted, "Go home, scabs!" at non-union replacements showing up to work.

The last Verizon strike was in 2011 and lasted for two weeks (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .