Verizon threatens to fire workers who fix copper phone lines

from Cabling Installation & Maintenance Posted October 7, 2016

Verizon has reportedly told its field technician crews in Pennsylvania that they can be fired if they try to fix broken copper phone lines. Instead, workers must try to replace copper lines with a device that connects to Verizon Wireless's cell phone network, Ars Technica's Jon Brodkin reports.
From the article:
This directive came in a memo from Verizon to workers on September 20. "Failure to follow this directive may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal," the memo said. It isn't clear whether this policy has been applied to Verizon workers outside of Pennsylvania. The memo and other documents were made public by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, which asked the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to put a stop to the forced copper-to-wireless conversions. The wireless home phone service, VoiceLink, is not a proper replacement for copper phone lines because it doesn't work with security alarms, fax machines, medical devices such as pacemakers that require telephone monitoring, and other services, the union said.

“Field technicians are required to have VoiceLink units on their trucks and to refuse to repair copper plant serving voice-only customers,” CWA local President James Gardler wrote in testimony presented to the state Utility Commission. "Our members are being told that if they actually try to repair copper plant instead of using VoiceLink, they will be subject to disciplinary action by Verizon." The memo to field technicians adds that in order to give customers the “best possible network performance in non-FiOS areas, Verizon will migrate as many customers experiencing trouble on their line to VoiceLink as possible.” ... Technicians can fix the copper line “if the customer does not qualify” for wireless service. In those cases, the tech must document the reason the customer didn’t qualify for VoiceLink.
“It is a requirement that migration to VoiceLink be your first option when the customer qualifies and the trouble is in Verizon's network,” the memo [emphasizes]. Another memo tells workers that they should only restore copper phone service if they can verify that the wireless VoiceLink won't work. VoiceLink devices connect a home's inside wiring to Verizon's cellular network.
Read the full story at Ars Technica.