Background on New England Telephone Workers
In 1989, almost 60,000 telephone workers in New England and New York waged a fifteen week strike against NYNEX to protest a new contract that threatened cuts to medical benefits. For months, almost forty locals organized by the Communication Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers anticipated a showdown with management and when contract negotiations broke down, they were well prepared.
The strike of 1989 was one of the largest of the decade, with rallies of up to 15,000, and hundreds of arrests, firings, and suspensions. The strikers formed effective coalitions with a number of organizations, ranging from the Rainbow Coalition to the National Organization for Women to religious and community organizations, and after nearly four months of conflict, NYNEX agreed to drop its demand for weekly payroll deductions to cover the cost of medical coverage.
