KELLI ARENA, CNN ANCHOR: Marathon contract talks are still underway tonight between Verizon Communications and thousands of workers. The two sides agreed to negotiate past a midnight deadline that could have put union workers on the picket lines and disrupted service to customers. CNN's Jane King is monitoring the talks from New York -- Jane.</s>JANE KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Kelli -- good evening, actually and thank you. They talked into the wee hours of the morning, reconvened. And they have been at the bargaining table in Washington, D.C., in Rye, New York since 10:00 this morning. While the two sides tried to hammer out a deal, Verizon workers have stayed on the job. A strike deadline passed at midnight with unions deciding to stay at the bargaining table, citing some progress. At issue is job security and benefits. The two unions representing nearly 80,000 Verizon telephone operators and technicians want job security. Also, job stability. In other words, they don't want the company to relocate them without their okay. They also don't want to pick up the extra costs of rising healthcare benefits. Verizon, on the other hand, wants more flexibility with its workforce, which may include cutting or moving jobs. The company also wants to pass on increasing costs of healthcare benefits. These two unions did strike three years ago for 18 days. Verizon says the economy and technology are much different now. Both sides have expressed the desire to work out their differences and avoid a work stoppage. If there would be a strike this time, customers who are waiting for installation or repairs would be the first to be affected - Kelli?</s>ARENA: Jane, what is the next step from here?</s>KING: Well, there is a planned rally tomorrow morning, a small one for a few hundred union workers in Brooklyn. Also, Verizon spokesman tonight says they are still at the bargaining table. They plan to continue talking until they get too tired tonight and then reconvene sometime in the morning.</s>ARENA: All right, Jane King, thanks so much for staying on top of things. USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Verizon In Intense Negotiations With Employees