Frequently Asked Questions about a Strike 1. How often is picket duty? Every member is required to perform picket duty every day for the first 14 days of a strike. You should report to your regular work location and your Chief Steward will let you know if you are staying there for the day, or assigned to mobile picketing or a Verizon Wireless store. After the first two weeks we will make an announcement about picket duty requirements, which will likely be two days a week, but could be more. Every members’ active participation will let the company know we are serious about getting a contract, and will educate the public on why we were forced out on the street, and will help end the strike earlier. 2. How do member relief payments work? The CWA Members Relief Fund provides payment of $200 per week per striker beginning on the 15th day of a strike, increasing to $300 week on the 29th day of a strike, and increasing to $400 on the 57th day of a strike. Members must complete their picket duty (or alternate strike duty if physically unable to picket) in order to quality for member relief payments. 3. How does unemployment work? Unemployment benefits in NY begin after 49 days of a strike. Unemployment insurance in New York is generally about half of your regular pay, with a maximum weekly payment of $420. Members should file for unemployment within the first couple days after a strike begins. If you work in one state and live in another, you must file your claim for unemployment benefits with the state where you worked (New York). NY claims can be filed online at http://www.labor.ny.gov/unemploymentassistance.shtm or by phone at 1‐888‐209‐8124 for New York State residents or 1‐877‐358‐5306 for out‐of‐state residents. Note: If you live in one of the following New Jersey counties you should call 1‐888‐209‐8124 (the NY State residents’ number): Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Passaic, and Union. 1 4. What happens to my medical benefits? The Company has already announced they will cancel coverage on the last day of the month the strike begins. If/when the company cancels our medical coverage, CWA’s Defense Fund will provide coverage for necessary medical and hospital expenses. In extreme cases, where a worker or his or her family members have ongoing need for care, CWA will pay the health care premiums, or COBRA, to continue the employer’s current health care coverage. The Defense Fund will pay for COBRA only for members or their dependents who have serious or chronic medical conditions. Pre‐approval is mandatory. Members who fall in that category should notify the Local immediately. Do not pay the COBRA on your own without submitting the bill to the Defense Fund because it will not be reimbursed unless it was approved beforehand. For the majority of workers, the union self‐insures and will pay bills directly if someone has an accident, heart attack or other emergency that requires immediate medical care. Routine medical care should be postponed until after the strike. Strikers who can obtain health care coverage through other sources, such as a spouse’s health plan, should rely on those sources during a strike. Anyone who has emergency medical bills after medical coverage stops should submit those bills to the Local, which will submit them to the Defense Fund for review and possible payment. Members should refill any prescriptions before the end of the month through Express‐Scripts and get a 90‐day supply. 5. What happens to my vision and dental benefits? If/when the company cancels our medical benefits, vision and dental benefits will be cancelled at the same time. Vision and dental payments will not be paid from the Members Defense Fund. 6. Can I take a loan out from my 401(k)? You can take a loan out from your 401(k) during a strike. You should call Fidelity or go to www.netbenefits.com to apply for a loan. You’ll have to make your payments during the strike using one of the methods below. If you have an existing loan, you’re responsible for making your regular payments during a strike. You can send payments to Fidelity via certified check, cashier’s check or money order. Or you can set up electronic payment from your bank account. To set up either method call Fidelity at 855‐877‐6243 or go to www.netbenefits.com. 2 7. What happens if I don’t make scheduled payments on my 401(k) loan during a strike? If Fidelity doesn’t receive your regularly scheduled payment within 30 days you will receive a notification from Fidelity regarding the missing payment. They will put the loan into delinquent status, with a date by which it will default. If the loan defaults, Fidelity will take the balance of the defaulted loan from your 401(k) as a distribution. You will receive a tax form showing it as a distribution, and the IRS will indicate how much you owe in taxes. If you are under 59.5 years old you may also be subject to an early withdrawal penalty of 10% of the balance that defaulted. 8. If I have a strike fund set up with the NEA Credit Union how do I access my funds? Call (855) NEA‐4YOU or go to https://www.neafcu.com/Home.aspx to find out how to access your account. 9. What happens to my tuition assistance that has already been approved? Tuition assistance payments and reimbursements will continue to be honored during a work stoppage for applications that were approved prior to the first day of the work stoppage, regardless of course start date. TAP Compliance Guidelines remain in effect and employees will be expected to provide proof of successful course completion and/or repayment for unsuccessfully completed courses, to include dropped, withdrawn from or failed, within the required timeframe outlined within the TAP Guidelines. Employees will continue to have access to the tuition portal to upload grades, receipts for reimbursements, tuition breakouts, etc., as well as access to all program resource documentation. 10. Can I apply for tuition assistance during a strike? New tuition applications submitted, during or after a work stoppage that have a course start date during the work stoppage period will be ineligible for coverage and will be denied. More information on tuition assistance during a strike can be found on the VZTap website https://tams4.tamsonline.org under TAP Work Stoppage FAQ under “My Learning Center” 11. What if I’m in the Next Step Program? Participants in Next Step should continue to attend classes until the end of the semester. You won’t be paid by Verizon for these days. You should inform your Chief Steward that you’re in school that day instead of on picket duty. 12. What happens to my scheduled vacation time? In the past, if vacation time was scheduled before the strike started, the company paid the vacation time during the strike. We don’t know for sure it this will be the case this time or not. Vacation time that is paid during a strike will not count toward the 49 day waiting period necessary to collect unemployment. 3 13. What unfair labor practices should I be on the look‐out for? An employer commits an unfair labor practice (ULP) if a manager, supervisor, guard, or other agent threatens or intimidates strikers or interferes with picketing. Unlawful conduct includes filming workers engaged in orderly picketing, rallies, and other strike‐related activities or writing down names; assaulting a striker; pushing a striker to the ground; driving dangerously close to a picket line; threatening to harm a striker or a member of the striker’s family; making a threatening gesture such as running a finger against a throat; parking heavy machinery or other equipment on sidewalks, streets, or public easements used by strikers; asking police to arrest picketers for trespass without a reasonable concern that they are on the employer’s property. If a manager, supervisor, guard, scab or anyone working during the strike commits any of these acts, document the incident on the “Unfair Labor Practice” form (available from picket captains and on http://local1101.org/content/forms) and get it to your chief steward right away. 4