On Sunday, August 7, 2011, some 45,000 members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), walked off the job and onto the picket line after their collective bargaining negotiations with Verizon broke down over the full gamut of employment issues.

On Friday, August 11, 2011, Verizon called in the FBI to investigate some 90 allegations of sabotage that occurred since the strike began. Landlines across the Northeast were cut, including those serving a hospital and a police station.

The CWA promptly issued a prepared statement that read, "CWA does not condone illegal action of any kind, and instructs its members to conduct all strike activities in accordance with labor law." That guarded statement, of course, did not deny the distinct possibility that individual union members, acting alone or in concert, were responsible for the cutoffs in service.

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(photo credit: Medill DC)

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