CWA Condemns Verizon/San Diego 2019 Small-Cells Deal

for 10 years in exchange for “limited community benefits” that are “are only unlocked if the agreement’s unrealistic benchmarks are met,” CWA said. Verizon isn’t transparent about what workers it’s contracting, the union said. “It is particularly troubling that the City of San Diego does not track which subcontracted companies are working in its rights-of-way,” said San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Keith Maddox: “Subcontracted workers often earn lower wages and are subject to more dangerous working conditions.” CWA Local 9509 Secretary-Treasurer Orlando Gonzalez urged the city to hold a hearing. “With a massive budget shortfall expected next year, these types of corporate handouts are just unacceptable,” he said. “The Verizon deal does nothing to address the city’s digital divide and homework gap, which COVID-19 has shown is a critical issue.” The San Diego partnership will benefit local residents and businesses for years, a Verizon spokesperson responded. The company spent $1.5 million on an inventory of city-owned streetlights, committed to $400,000 to deploy lights on 200 poles in underserved communities, gave $100,000 to a San Diego digital literacy effort and shipped 500 smartphones to police and 50 tablets to the fire department, he said. "Verizon is at the beginning of a four-year build and as we obtain more permits, we are actively working and excited to continue expanding our 5G [ultra wideband] network to neighborhoods across San Diego." San Diego didn’t comment Thursday.