Verizon strike isn't likely to disrupt federal communications

Government customers of Verizon, a huge player in the federal marketplace, should not experience outages or data losses while the firm's wired communications employees strike for what observers say could be months, the company and telecommunications experts said Monday.

But the deployment of new services could be delayed by a prolonged walkout, some consultants said.

Verizon is the largest wire line carrier for the federal government, providing Web-based phone calling, high-speed Internet access and virtual private networks to several Defense Department agencies. The Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Labor, and Treasury departments, as well as other large civilian agencies also use its communications services.

More than 45,000 Verizon workers from Massachusetts to Virginia took to the picket line this weekend after their employer failed to meet unions' demands for a new contract.

Verizon officials would not comment Monday on the security duties that had been handled by the members of the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers -- or the specific capabilities of replacement staff.

"We are confident we have the talent and resources in place to meet the needs and demands of our customers," Verizon spokeswoman Stefanie Scott said Monday. "They work in a variety of areas of the business. They include technicians, network operations, customer service reps and more."

In a statement released Sunday, company officials said they have trained tens of thousands of management employees, retirees and other people to carry out the responsibilities of the striking workers. Verizon officials would not say how many of these personnel will perform data security work.

When asked whether the temporary staff hold information assurance degrees or certifications, Scott said Verizon believes its contingency plans provide appropriate training, and the business expects overall operations will continue to perform well.

She added, "We've been preparing for this job action for several months. The company has taken adequate steps and is confident that it can continue to maintain its network and systems."

Union leaders Monday did not have information on the number of data security workers who walked out.

A spokesperson for the General Services Administration, the government's contracting supervisor, said the carrier has assured GSA that there will be no interruptions to any federal services, including critical security functions.

The Verizon wire line employees decided to stop work midnight Saturday, when their existing contract expired. The two sides had spent six weeks negotiating wages, benefits and working conditions, union officials said Sunday.

Verizon officials said they are still trying to broker a new contract that balances employee needs with the demands of today's economic constraints.

"I don't think the company or the union would do anything to put Uncle Sam at risk," said Warren Suss, a government adviser and president of Suss Consulting. "I wouldn't anticipate any disruption in current services."

Highly specialized support such as communications security, including the data encryption, should not be in jeopardy, he added.

Verizon Communications was awarded civilian and defense contracts worth about $511 million last year, ranking the vendor 22 on an annual list of the top 50 technology contractors, according to Nextgov's sister publication Government Executive. On July 22, the company released second quarter financials showing that wire line cloud, security and information technology increased 17.8 percent compared with the same quarter in 2010.

GSA in October announced that Verizon was among 11 suppliers that will share a $76 million cloud computing contract for renting agencies access to IT infrastructure hosted remotely at corporate data centers.

A drawn-out strike could slow communications upgrades and requests for new services, Suss cautioned. "The biggest impact would be on agencies that are in the midst of transitions," he said. "For provisioning of new circuits, there may be delays."