45,000 Verizon workers go on strike over contract

45,000 Verizon workers go on strike over contract

NEW YORK — Unions representing tens of thousands of Verizon Communications Inc. workers have called a strike after failing to reach an agreement with the company on a new labor contract.

Verizon says negotiations in Philadelphia and New York with the Communications Workers of America fell apart early Sunday.

The previous contract that expired at midnight Saturday covered 45,000 workers, including 10,000 represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

They work as telephone and repair technicians, customer service representatives and operators from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.

CWA says the concessions are unjustified, given that Verizon is highly profitable — the company's revenue rose 2.8 percent to $27.5 billion in the second quarter.

But Verizon says its wireline business