Verizon alleges network sabotage as strike turns ugly

As 45,000 Verizon (NYSE: VZ) employees remain on strike, the company reported that it has seen at least 12 acts of sabotage to communications facilities in four states. Some of the damage to its network has resulted in outages for its FiOS TV, Internet and phone services.

Verizon said it has seen 10 incidents of fiber-optic lines being cut in the Bronx, Pomona, Farmingdale and Guilderland in New York, in addition to incidents in Tewksbury, Mass., Bel Air, Md., and East Dover, Oakland, and Plainfield, N.J. The company blamed one outage on electronic equipment that was stolen from a Cedar Grove, N.J. facility, and it said the heating system at its central office in Manhattan was tampered with.

Some violence has also been reported at the picket lines being organized by Verizon employee unions. Employees at a picket line in Amherst, N.Y., accused one replacement worker of driving his car through a picket line, resulting in injuries.

For more:
- see story in The Buffalo News about the strike
- and Verizon's news release about alleged sabotage to its network

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