The families of on-strike Verizon employees are joining in the push for better benefits and keeping jobs in the U.S. In Saturday's Kids and Families Day of Action, family members hope to show the impact the strike, now in its 39th day, has had not only on the employees, but on them, as well. Kayla Bowes, 26, is one of many local workers participating in the strike.
"We’re just trying to get everyone involved and show that we are real people. We do have families that we’re trying to support. We’re just all coming out uniting together as one," Bowes told WBFO.
For the single mother and her two young children, living without healthcare has been the greatest struggle they have faced. Bowes is a Verizon Wireless customer representative. Her family lost healthcare after 17 days on strike.
“The union really stepped up and helped us as far as finding what was out there that we were eligible for that we could afford,” Bowes said. “Luckily, we did have the union with the 40,000 people all stepping up together to try to find what was affordable, what we could do to keep that coverage there.”
Bowes and her 8-year-old son Brennan and 6-year-old daughter Riley are participating in Saturday’s event. She says she expects hundreds of people to show up to the rally, which is being held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the Verizon store on Union Road in Cheektowaga.