Verizon-WhiteWASHINGTON (AP) – Verizon and union officials representing about 39,000 striking landline and cable workers up and down the East Coast have agreed to restart negotiations. U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez says he met with both sides on Sunday in Washington, D.C. Perez says the parties had an “open, frank and constructive dialogue” about finding a way to move forward to resolve the issues and get people back to work. Both sides have agreed to return to the bargaining table on Tuesday. Workers in nine eastern states and Washington, D.C., walked off the job on April 13. They had been working without a contract since August. So far, negotiations have been unsuccessful.