The Communications Workers of America announced that in light of progress that has been made in bargaining for a new contract with Verizon, it has agreed to "stop the clock" on the expiration of the current contract and postpone strike action for the time being, according to CWA spokesperson, Jaclyn Kessel.

The current contract will remain in effect, and negotiations are set to resume Sunday morning. 

The current contract, which covers 65,000 members of the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) who work for Verizon from Massachusetts to Virginia, was slated to expire at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, August 3^rd.

Bargainers reported progress on several major issues, including protecting health care coverage for active and retired employees, protecting retirement security, and strengthening job security provisions of the contract.  However, the union bargaining teams said significant additional bargaining still lies ahead before a settlement is possible, particularly in the areas of employment security and union jobs and recognition.