About 40,000 Verizon workers go on strike

Nearly 40,000 Verizon Communications workers walked off the job on Wednesday in one of the largest US strikes in recent years after contract talks hit an impasse.

The strike was called by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers that jointly represent employees in such jobs as customer services representatives and network technicians in Verizon's traditional wireline phone operations.

The strike could affect service in Verizon's Fios Internet, telephone and TV services businesses across several US East Coast states, including New York, Massachusetts and Virginia.

Workers protested at various Verizon locations along the East Coast. Verizon said it had trained thousands of non-union employees over the past year to ensure no disruption in services.

"They have given people some training but they have no experience," CWA representative Bob Master said. "There's no way that these 10,000 people ... can make up for 40,000 people who have decades of experience (in highly technical jobs)."