NEW YORK, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Verizon Communications and two unions representing 78,000 of its workers said they are continuing to make progress in contract talks.
Candice Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Communications Workers of America, said, "We are making significant progress in bargaining although a few outstanding issues remain to be resolved."
The two sides said job security remained the overriding issue in the negotiations as management at Verizon, the nation's largest telephone company, pushed for greater freedom to lay off workers, the New York Times reported.
The unions had threatened to walk out this weekend, but union officials announced they were suspending the planned strike because they were encouraged by the negotiations.
The communications workers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers told their Verizon members at to report to work Monday.
A walkout would affect Washington, D.C., and states stretching from Maine to Virginia.
