NEW YORK — About 39,000 Verizon landline and cable workers on the East Coast walked off the job this morning after little progress in negotiations since their contract expired nearly eight months ago.

The workers, members of two unions — the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — represent installers, customer service employees, repairmen and other service workers in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., for Verizon’s wireline business, which provides fixed-line phone services and FiOS Internet service.

“We’re on strike to maintain good jobs and maintain our standard of living,” said Keith Purce, president of CWA Local 1101 which represents about 3,500 workers in Manhattan and the Bronx.

Standing on a picket line in Manhattan with hundreds of union workers, Purce said they were prepared to stay out “as long as it takes.”

He said talks broke off last week and no new talks were scheduled.

Verizon spokesman Rich Young said the company was very disappointed that union leadership has called a strike. He said it has trained thousands of non-union workers to fill in for striking workers and “we will be there for our customers.”

The workers’ latest contract expired in August, and the unions and management say negotiations have been unsuccessful.

The unions have said Verizon wants to freeze pensions, make layoffs easier and rely more on contract workers. Verizon has said there are health care issues that need to be addressed for retirees and current workers because medical costs have grown.