Delaware judge threatens Verizon protesters with contempt order

A Delaware judge issued a stern warning Thursday to the unions representing striking Verizion employees, threatening to hold them in contempt if they don't accept responsibility for threatening and intimidating replacement workers.

"I will not allow people to be threatened or put in danger of being hurt," said Delaware Chancery Court Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster. "It's not just a violation of my order, but it really runs contrary to what you are trying to achieve, which is respect for your own positions."

Laster stopped short of issuing a contempt order telling attorneys on both sides he was concerned such a ruling would give Verizon a "major public relations victory."

The judge said if the unions — Communications Workers of America Local Nos. 13100 and 13101 — do not disavow such actions, he would not only hold them in civil contempt, but would also consider criminally contempt and possibly fine them.

"You need to take responsibility for the problems you've created," Laster said to the unions' lawyers.

The vice chancellor also ruled that picketers have to stay 30 yards away when following replacement workers on highways where the speed limit exceeds 55 miles per hour. Protesters are also banned from using racial and sexual slurs to describe the contract workers.

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Thursday's court hearing was the latest in a bitter war between Verizon and the unions that represent nearly 40,000 landline and cable workers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. The two sides have been battling over wage increases, retaining jobs and benefits. On April 13 the union workers walked off the job.

Since the strike began, several incidents of harassment and intimidation against replacement workers have been reported. Striking workers allegedly told employees of a Newark hotel that the contractors are "child molesters who had criminal records."

Some of the incidents have caused contractors to fear for their safety. On May 10, a three-vehicle accident occurred when a picketer was following a replacement worker on I-95 in Wilmington. The contractor's car was rear-ended and the picketer was cited for an improper lane change, according to Delaware State Police Master Cpl. Jeffrey Hale.

On another occasion, Verizon alleged a protester throw a wooden block as a replacement worker drove to a work site.

John DiNome, an attorney with Philadelphia law firm ReedSmith, said the I-95 car accident was deliberate and part of an event chain that began when the contractor left the hotel.

"Simply stated, that accident was not the result of some unfortunate incident and decidedly not unintentional," he said.

Union attorney John Bielski of Willig Williams & Davidson countered that Verizon had no evidence CWA or its members condoned such actions.

"There is hearsay in those papers," Bielski said of Verizon's motion for contempt. "Hearsay of hearsay is the support for their motion here."

Bielski emphasized to the court that ambulatory picketing — the act of following a contract worker to a job site — stopped after the I-95 accident. He said after the incident occurred, union officials met picketers to discuss safety and responsibility while conducting mobile protests.

"There have been no incidents of ambulatory picketing since that meeting," he told the court.

Laster ordered the union to return to the court next week to accept responsibility for their actions and avoid contempt charges. He encouraged picketers to treat contract workers with more respect.

"Until you know someone's situation, it is not really fair to call someone a scab or a scumbag or assume they are involved in a job because of some anti-union position," he said. "They may just need the job."

Attorneys on both sides declined to comment after Laster's ruling.

Contact Jeff Mordock at (302) 324-2786, on Twitter @JeffMordockTNJ or jmordock@delawareonline.com.