Verizon Communications Inc. managed to overcome the prospect of a strike for now, extending a deadline for talks with the company's two largest unions. The second-biggest U.S. telephone company needs to negotiate a new labor contract covering 65,000 workers, after the previous one expired Saturday night.

The Communications Workers of America's 50,000 members and the 15,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have previously authorized a strike should negotiations fail. Verizon allegedly did not want to budge on some major issues such as retiree healthcare. The company wants to, essentially, make workers pay more for less coverage. Other problems included job security and outsourcing.

Overall, Verizon has 230,000 employees nationwide, and needs to have a dedicated workforce in order to overcome the challenges ahead, which include its upcoming FiOS service in New York City. Days ago, the company began selling its FiOS service in NYC. However, because of its insufficiently developed fiber optics infrastructure, the company is not going to be able to reach all the city’s residents, at least not until 2014.

In order to expand in the huge market provided by New York, Verizon needs its employees to work without delays caused by strikes. FiOS can deliver 622 Mbps downstream and 155 Mbps upstream - bandwidth shared among 32 users, much faster than any DSL or cable solution.

The last Verizon strike occurred in 2000, when about 85,000 workers went on strike for about three weeks.