The labor board has ruled that YOUR RIGHTS were violated. Among the findings: The company violated the law by having rules which reasonably could be interpreted as squelching workers’ rights to organize unions.
These illegal rules are found in the “Speak Up Do the Right Thing Because Its the Right Thing to Do” section of their Code of Conduct, and also in their “Solicitation and Fundraising Rule,” as well as their “Monitoring on the Job” rule, which had permitted management to monitor, record and inspect and/or search at any time without consent, worker’s personal property, including vehicles.
The judge also found that Verizon had illegal polices which prohibited “participation and activity in outside organizations or activities in outside organizations or associations” which the company thought conflicted with their interests. The judge also found that the company’s restriction on emails, instant messaging, the Intranet and Internet” violated your rights.
The judge is ordering Verizon and Verizon Wireless to post a notice within 14 days which says, in part, that Federal Law Gives You the Right to “Form, join, or assist unions,” and to “Act together with other employees for your benefit and protection.”
We are sure that management will appeal this ruling, because that is what they do when they lose. But its good to know that after an investigation and trial, the Federal Government has agreed with CWA that this company has been violating your rights and has ordered them to stop.