Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Gov. Manchin Joins Public Rally Against Sale of Verizon
Charleston, WV -- Just days before the first hearing at the Public Service Commission, Governor Joe Manchin made a surprise appearance at a large rally of labor and community groups opposed to the proposed sale of Verizon's telephone lines to much smaller Frontier Communications.
Gov. Manchin joined CWA President Larry Cohen, CWA District 2 VP Ron Collins, United Mineworkers President Cecil Roberts and many other labor and community leaders on the stage to say that he would do everything in his power to make the proposed deal work for the working families of West Virginia -- not just for the Wall Street bankers.
Other rally speakers included Sen. Jack Yost, Del. Mike Caputo, state AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue, and representatives from the firefighters, nurses and senior citizens.
Pictures from the rally may be viewed on a photo sharing website at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/randwilson.aflcio/WestVirginiaRallyToStopTheSale
Over 400 people attended the rally that was one of the last opportunities for the public to voice opposition to the proposed deal before the West Virginia Public Service Commission begins its hearings on the matter on Tuesday, January 12.
"We need to bring high speed broadband to West Virginia and communities across the country, to foster economic growth," Cohen said. "Instead, Verizon is using a tax loophole to do a tax free deal that will leave West Virginia without a platform for achieving the speeds that are necessary for economic development. This deal is only good for Wall Street, not Main Street."
Matt Vinci, a firefighter from Vermont, warned West Virginian's about the impact a similar Verizon landline sale to now bankrupt FairPoint had on 911 service in Northern New England.
The rally took place in the Culture Center. Live music was provided by the Carpenter Ants.
The PSC can deny the deal if it determines the sale isn't in the public's best interest. In November, expert analysts on the staff of the PSC and at the Consumer Advocate Division submitted testimony in opposition to the deal due to the risks CWA and others have pointed out.
Gov. Manchin joined CWA President Larry Cohen, CWA District 2 VP Ron Collins, United Mineworkers President Cecil Roberts and many other labor and community leaders on the stage to say that he would do everything in his power to make the proposed deal work for the working families of West Virginia -- not just for the Wall Street bankers.
Other rally speakers included Sen. Jack Yost, Del. Mike Caputo, state AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue, and representatives from the firefighters, nurses and senior citizens.
Pictures from the rally may be viewed on a photo sharing website at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/randwilson.aflcio/WestVirginiaRallyToStopTheSale
Over 400 people attended the rally that was one of the last opportunities for the public to voice opposition to the proposed deal before the West Virginia Public Service Commission begins its hearings on the matter on Tuesday, January 12.
"We need to bring high speed broadband to West Virginia and communities across the country, to foster economic growth," Cohen said. "Instead, Verizon is using a tax loophole to do a tax free deal that will leave West Virginia without a platform for achieving the speeds that are necessary for economic development. This deal is only good for Wall Street, not Main Street."
Matt Vinci, a firefighter from Vermont, warned West Virginian's about the impact a similar Verizon landline sale to now bankrupt FairPoint had on 911 service in Northern New England.
The rally took place in the Culture Center. Live music was provided by the Carpenter Ants.
The PSC can deny the deal if it determines the sale isn't in the public's best interest. In November, expert analysts on the staff of the PSC and at the Consumer Advocate Division submitted testimony in opposition to the deal due to the risks CWA and others have pointed out.
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