American telecom operator Verizon today said it offered 2 percent wage increase to nearly 38,000 Verizon East Wireline employees.
Verizon is offering a two percent increase in wage effective August 2, 2015; a 2 percent increase one year later; and a $1,000 lump sum payment in the third year.
As per the revised package, the average annual salary and benefit package for a Verizon associate in the East is $130,000. Verizon technicians in the New York City/Long Island region currently have an average total wage-and-benefit package worth in excess of $160,000 a year.
Verizon will offer a choice of continuing to earn pension benefits under the defined benefit plan with some limitations and forgoing the existing 401(k) company match, or opting for the enhanced 401(k) plan currently offered to management employees with a frozen pension benefit.
Verizon is proposing an increase of $8.10 per week next year for individual healthcare premiums. The cost of medical coverage for an East associate and one or more family members averages nearly $20,000 a year. In one of the company’s East plans, the annual cost for this coverage is over $23,000 annually. In comparison, the national average for family healthcare coverage is about $16,800.
The proposed wage increase is part of a three-year offer submitted by Verizon to address issues that would help propel the company’s wireline unit in the digital age.
“We’ve put a comprehensive offer on the table to encourage a productive dialogue on the issues as early in the process as possible. We are committed to negotiating meaningful changes,” said Robert Mudge, executive vice president for wireline operations at Verizon.
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