Verizon reaches deal with unions for 4-year contract

Reporting from NEW YORK —  Striking Verizon employees may be back to work next week after the company and its unions reached an agreement in principle for a four-year contract.

About 39,000 Verizon Communications Inc. landline and cable employees in nine Eastern states and Washington, D.C., have been on strike since April. They had been working without a contract since August.

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Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said Friday that the agreement is being written and will be submitted for approval from union members of Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

“I expect that workers will be back on the job next week,” Perez said in a statement.

Details of the contract were not disclosed.

Verizon declined to comment.

CWA President Chris Shelton said in a statement that the agreement is “a victory for working families.” The IBEW did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Verizon and the unions have been negotiating at the Department of Labor for the last 13 days, Perez said.

Verizon Communications Inc. shares rose 40 cents to $50.56 in afternoon trading on Wall Street. They are up 2% over the last year.

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UPDATES:

12:26 p.m.: This article has been updated with a statement from the CWA president.

11:42 a.m.: This article has been updated with a statement from Labor Secretary Thomas Perez.

This article was originally published at 11:27 a.m.