Verizon Strike Update: Workers Plan to Rally Outside CEO McAdams? NJ Home

Striking Verizon workers plan to take their grievances directly to the home of the company’s chief executive, Lowell McAdam, who lives in Mendham Borough, a tiny upscale hamlet about 45 miles west of New York City.

Last week, Verizon strikers also demonstrated in the front of the home of the company’s chairman, Ivan Seiderberg, in West Nyack, N.Y.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) unions will stage a rally Thursday night at McAdam’s residence on Balbrook Drive, where the median family income exceeds $160,000.

Borough police chief, John Taylor told the Inquirer he was prepared for the rally.

"I'm talking with the union representatives and their attorneys and we're setting up parameters for a peaceful and safe candlelight vigil," he said.

"It's something you have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. I'm hoping it's going to be the latter.”

Taylor’s police force only has a dozen members, so he may seek reinforcements from neighboring townships.

CWA official Hetty Rosenstein told the paper that hundreds of Verizon strikers are expected at the rally.

"One can't possibly go up to the mansions in Mendham and not be struck by the grossness of destroying the standard of living of working-class operators and technicians while living in the lap of luxury. It is worth marking the contrast," she said Hetty Rosenstein.

Meanwhile, the company has criticized these types of demonstrations as a pointless exercise.

"It's meaningless theatrics and a total waste of time," said company spokesman Rich Young in an e-mail to media.

"They have no idea whether anyone is at home. The only thing it may do is annoy the neighbors. The union bosses would be much better off concentrating on bargaining and working to reach a deal that will put the membership back to work."