Verizon fires 40 union workers for misconduct during August strike

Four months after Verizon (NYSE: VZ) accused employees on a labor strike of blocking access to its facilities, damaging property and threatening violence, the company has fired 40 employees for alleged misconduct.

The two-week strike organized by Verizon's labor unions left it with a backlog of orders for its FiOS TV and Internet services, and impacted its customer service and field operations. Verizon had accused striking employees of damaging its network and blocking access to facilities.  

"We respect the rights of our employees to peacefully picket and protest during a strike. However, the actions of many individuals in the August 2011 strike violated our code of conduct and in some cases, violated the law," Verizon said in a statement to the Boston Globe. "This has nothing to do with their rights to peacefully picket. It has everything to do with making threats of violence, engaging in physical violence, running people off the road, making outrageous profane or racist comments and more. Many of these activities were egregious and unacceptable and as a result, we've taken appropriate action."

The firings of the Verizon employees could cause more tension with its labor unions.

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