Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/666544
ByMichaelBalsamoand Karen Matthews The Associated Press NEW YORK Democratic presidential candidate Ber- nie Sanders cheered on striking Verizon workers Wednesday after 39,000 landline and cable employ- ees walked off the job. Sanders told workers at a picket line in Brooklyn they displayed courage by stand- ing up to the telecommuni- cations giant. "I know your families are going to pay a price," Sand- ers shouted. "On behalf of every worker in America who is facing the same kind of pressure, thank you for what you're doing. We're go- ing to win this thing!" Sanders' rival, Hillary Clinton, said in a statement earlier Wednesday she was "disappointed" that nego- tiations had broken down between Verizon and its unions. "Verizon should come back to the bargaining ta- ble with a fair offer for their workers," Clinton said. "To preserve and grow Amer- ica's middle class, we need to protect good wages and benefits, including retire- ment security." The two striking unions, the Communications Work- ers of America and the In- ternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, repre- sent installers, customer ser- vice employees, repairmen and other service workers in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Massachu- setts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., for Verizon's wireline business, which provides fixed-line phone services and FiOS In- ternet service. Verizon spokesman Rich Youngsaidthecompanywas disappointed by the strike. He said Verizon has trained thousands of nonunion workers to fill in for strik- ing workers and "we will be there for our customers." But some customers said the strike was affecting them. Jennifer Aguirre, 27, said she and her husband had an appointment scheduled for Wednesday to install cable and Internet at their home in Washington. Her hus- band called to confirm and was told that systems were down and the appointment was canceled. "We'rekindofstuck,wait- ing to see what's going to happen," Aguirre said. She said Verizon is the couple's only option for home Inter- net service. Keith Purce, president of CWA Local 1101 in New York City, said the unions have been without a contract for eight months. Between 300 and 400 union members walked a picket line outside the com- pany's office in downtown Albany, where workers set up an inflatable "greedy pig" and rat. In Philadelphia, about a hundred striking work- ers took to the streets near the company's regional headquarters and chanted, "Scabs, go home!" at non- union replacement workers. The unions say Verizon wants to freeze pensions, make layoffs easier and rely more on contract workers. The company has said that health care issues need to be addressed for retirees and current workers because medical costs have grown and that it wants "greater flexibility" to manage its workers. Verizon also is pushing to eliminate a rule that would prevent employees from working away from home forextendedperiodsoftime. In a television ad, the unions said the company was try- ing to "force employees to accept a contract sending their jobs to other parts of the country and even over- sees." "The main issues are job security and that they want to move workers miles and miles away," said Isaac Col- lazo, a Verizon employee who has worked replacing underground cables in New York City for nearly 19 years. "We have a clause cur- rently that they can't just lay anyone off willy nilly and they want to get rid of that," said Collazo, a single father of three children. "I feel if the company had the opportunity, they would just lay people off." But Young said the unions' talk about offshor- ing jobs and cutting jobs is "absolute nonsense." "These contracts have provisions that were put in place decades ago. ... They need to take a look at where the business stands in 2016," he said. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE Sa nd er s ch ee rs s tr ik er s as 3 9K V er iz on w or ke rs w al k ou t MATTROURKE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Verizon workers picket outside one of the company's facilities Wednesday in Philadelphia. By Don Babwin and Jason Keyser The Associated Press CHICAGO Police in Chi- cago have "no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color" and have alienated blacks and Hispanics for decades by using excessive force and honoring a code of si- lence, a task force declared Wednesday in a report that seeks sweeping changes to the nation's third-largest po- lice force. The panel, established by Mayor Rahm Emanuel late last year in response to an outcry over police shoot- ings, found that the depart- ment does little to weed out problem officers and routine encounters unnecessarily turn deadly. The group concluded that fear and lack of trust in law enforcement among minor- ities is justified, citing data that show 74 percent of the hundreds of people shot by officers in recent years were African-Americans, even though blacks account for 33 percent of the city's pop- ulation. "Reform is possible if there is a will and a com- mitment," the report said. But change must start with an acknowledgement of Chi- cago policing's "sad history." The task force pointed to examples that spanned gen- erations, including the 1969 killing of Black Panther Fred Hampton, allegations of torture from the 1970s to the 1990s under former commander Jon Burge and controversial stop-and-frisk practices in the early 2000s. The report "raises con- sciousness," activist Greg Livingston said. "It shines a light into the darkness." The city's new police chief said the department welcomed "a fresh set of eyes" but was not waiting for recommendations from the task force or from a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Justice Department be- fore making changes. LAW ENFORCEMENT Report: Chicago police have 'no regard' for minority lives By Mary Clare Jalonick The Associated Press WASHINGTON House Re- publicans on Wednesday abruptly canceled a com- mittee vote on a plan to help Puerto Rico deal with its $70 billion debt in the face of conservative opposition. A vote on the bill estab- lishing a control board had been scheduled for Thurs- day with a sense of urgency, as Puerto Rico faces a dead- line for a multimillion-dol- lar bond payment next month. The government has said it will likely default, which would mark the first time Puerto Rico would de- fault on general obligation bonds protected by the is- land's constitution. A spokeswoman for the House Natural Resources Committee said Thursday's meeting has been canceled and has not yet been re- scheduled. Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said there was still uncertainty in both parties and the ad- ministration was still push- ing for changes. "It is unfair to all mem- bers to force a vote with provisions still being ne- gotiated," Bishop said in a statement. Obama administration officials warned at a hear- ing Wednesday that the is- land is facing total financial collapse if Congress doesn't step in. Republicans agree on the urgency of the mat- ter, but have faced opposi- tion from within their own caucusandfromDemocrats. Democrats worried that the control board would be too powerful, prompting echoes of colonialism. Legislation released by the panel this week would create a control board and allow the board to facili- tate some court-ordered debt restructuring, though it does not give the island the broad bankruptcy au- thority that territorial offi- cials had sought. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla has warned that a debt restructuring mea- sure needs to be approved soon as the deadline for a $422 million bond payment looms in May. Some conservative Re- publicans had objected to the debt restructuring, say- ing it's a bad precedent. In an attempt to satisfy those lawmakers, the most re- cent draft of the bill would give creditors more of a say on debt plans, allowing them a preliminary vote on whether they wanted to vol- untarily restructure debt. But it was not enough. At Wednesday's hearing, several Republicans on the panel expressed concern about the debt restructur- ing, making the outcome of Thursday's committee vote unclear. "I believe we're going down a slippery slope here," said Rep. Jeff Duncan, R- S.C. Rep. John Fleming, R-La., also opposed the bill, and said Bishop had tried to en- courage members to easily pass it in committee or leave the room when the vote oc- curred. "Tobeaskedtowalkaway — to be told to miss a vote — is a request that flies in the face of every member's conscience. Leadership had no business making such a request," said Fleming, who vowed to defeat the legisla- tion. The committee did not respond to Fleming's state- ment. The House Republican Study Committee, a group of around 170 conservatives, had expressed concerns about the debt restructur- ing provisions. Texas Rep. Bill Flores, the group's leader, said members were encouraged by a new draft this week made some con- cessions to the island's cred- itors, but the group still had not endorsed the bill. At the hearing, Treasury Department official Anto- nio Weiss said prompt ac- tion was needed because Puerto Rico is in distress. But he said the administra- tion is concerned that al- lowing creditors to vote on debt restructuring could de- lay the process. CONGRESS House GOP abruptly cancels vote on package for Puerto Rico (530) 529-1220 100 Jackson St. Red Bluff UnlimitedTanning $ 25 .00 only April Tanning Special! THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B