Unions representing more than 36,000 Verizon landline phone and cable workers are threatening a strike starting Wednesday morning if the company doesn't agree to a new contract.
The unions, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said Verizon wants to freeze pensions, make layoffs easier and rely more on contract workers.
Verizon said there are health care issues that need to be addressed for both retirees and workers as medical costs have grown.
The latest contract had expired last August. Both sides said negotiations have been unsuccessful.
Verizon Communications Inc. said it has trained thousands of non-union employees to fill in if the strike takes place in nine Eastern states and Washington, D.C.
The last Verizon strike was in 2011 and lasted for two weeks.
