Union sues Verizon; claims 2 executives listened in on call

Verizon Communications, the largest U.S. local-phone carrier, is the subject of a suit by a union that accuses company executives of eavesdropping on an Aug. 13 conference call with reporters.

The suit by the Communications Workers of America claims that Verizon violated federal anti-wiretapping laws, the union said in an e-mailed statement.

Verizon, based in New York, is in contract talks with the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represent 80,000 employees in the Northeast. Verizon is seeking greater leeway in firing and relocating workers as it tries to reduce expenses amid a decline in demand for local-phone service.

"This can only be described as ludicrous," Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe said. "It's time for the CWA leadership to put their time and energy into the bargaining."

The Verizon officials who joined the call "identified themselves, and were admitted," he said. "There weren't any restrictions mentioned on the e-mail that was circulated" announcing the call, he said.

Investor-relations executives Thomas Bartlett and Dominic Di Bucci monitored the call without CWA's permission, according to the suit filed in federal court in New Jersey, the union said in its statement.

CWA officials learned that Verizon officials joined the call when they reviewed a list of participants, said CWA spokeswoman Candice Johnson.

The CWA is seeking unspecified damages, a declaration that Verizon violated the law, and that the two officials be barred from future such moves, the statement said.

The contracts being discussed, with the assistance of a federal mediator, expired Aug. 3. The unions are seeking assurances that their members will be employed to help Verizon expand its high-speed Internet access network and more freedom to organize workers at the company's wireless business.