NFL Union Pledges Its Support For Striking Verizon Workers

The National Football League Players Association, the labor organization that represents professional American football players in the NFL, has pledged its support of striking Verizon workers in a letter.

36,000 Verizon workers have been striking for 3 weeks now and had been working without a contract since last August. The workers have cited a number of issues that have held up negotiations: pensions, healthcare, relocations, the outsourcing of jobs, and the inability to collectively bargain. The NFL's union, which has existed since 1956, expressed their solidarity with the Verizon workers in a letter, addressed to Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers President Lonnie Stephenson:

The National Football League Players Association has a proud history of being the Union that represents the best interests of professional football players. Much like the rest of organized labor, the NFLPA strives to ensure that all of our members are fairly represented in matters concerning safety, wages, benefits, and working conditions. Consistent with this tradition, the NFLPA and its members the nearly 1,700 football players of the National Football League pledge their support towards the approximately 39,000 fellow union members of the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who are engaged in a long strike against Verizon and Verizon Wireless across the eastern United States.

The letter also identifies the important contributions Verizon workers make to the NFL. "The NFLPA recognizes the hard work and dedication of CWA and IBEW employees who make it possible for millions of football fans to enjoy NFL games on their TVs and smart phones," it reads.

You can the entire letter here.