Verizon strikers take their fight to shareholders

Verizon strikers want shareholders to fight for them at the company's upcoming annual meeting. The Communication Workers of America, who have been on strike since April 13, say they will want shareholders to vote to cap executive pay and shares. They also want to require that the board chair be an independent director.

CWA spokeswoman Candice Johnson noted that Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam got paid $18 million in 2015. The union is a sizable shareholder, owning about $1.3 billion in company stock. But the shareholder resolutions that the union is voting for are not expected to pass. Verizon's annual meeting will be held on May 5. The CWA and Verizon have been battling for a month over workers' pay and long-distance work requirements. The union claims that Verizon is skimping benefits while raking in multi-billion dollar profits. Call center employees are angry that Verizon has been outsourcing their jobs to other countries. In particular, the strikers want the company to stop sending them long distances to work at a moment's notice. But the company and the strikers provide conflicting statements as to how far they're expected to travel.