Vermont Business Magazine FairPoint strikers are mounted two actions on Thursday, including on the steps of the State House in Montpelier. The strike is more than a month old and a group of bitter union workers endured bitter cold to state their case. A recent mediation session in Boston was short and fruitless. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin joined IBEW President Edwin D Hill in headlining the rally in Montpelier. Meanwhile, a delegation of workers and allies were in Boston protesting against the telecom company’s biggest shareholder. The 1,700 FairPoint workers of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have been on strike for more than a month. Strikers say that damaging cuts the company is seeking would make it impossible for them to provide quality service to their New England customers.
Governor Shumlin attended the union rally at the State House Thursday. Vermont Business Magazine photos.
“FairPoint is tearing up the foundations of the American middle class – all just to line the pockets of hedge fund managers and Wall Street raiders,” Hill said. “FairPoint workers have made many sacrifices to help save this company through tough times in the past. It’s time for FairPoint to end this strike by returning to the negotiating table and giving its employees a fair deal.”
Hill led the rally at the State House and was joined by supporters from across the Northeast. The presence of Hill and other high-profile leaders and allies marks a major escalation in the fight to win a fair deal for New England.
RELATED STORY: FairPoint strike continues after mediation fails
"These hard-working men and women are fighting for good middle-class jobs across our region," said Frank J Carroll, Vice President of IBEW's Second District, which includes New England. “This struggle isn’t just about FairPoint. It’s about the entire telecommunications industry. Whether it’s FairPoint or Verizon, we will not let these companies hurt the customers we serve by driving down standards and outsourcing jobs to low-wage temp workers.”
Governor Shumlin also spoke at the rally, though not as stridently as others. He said he spoke to FairPoint CEO Paul Sunu earlier in the week and told him, "We've got to get back to the table and work this out."
FairPoint which continues to lose money, has stated that it needs more flexiblity in hiring to deal with the realities in new technology and in the event of weather disasters, while trying to align union-worker benefits with non-union workers.
Since the strike began on October 17, FairPoint, which is headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Vermont’s Department of Public Service reported on Monday that it has received 271 complaints from FairPoint customers during the strike, a significant increase.
RELATED STORY: FairPoint unions go on strike, operations to continue
In Boston, a delegation of strikers is gathering outside an investors’ conference attended by officials of Angelo, Gordon & Co., the Wall Street hedge fund that owns more than 20 percent of FairPoint’s stock. The union said in a statement that striking workers were joined by dozens of Boston-area union members and activists, all of whom are calling on Angelo, Gordon to intervene in the FairPoint strike.
Angelo, Gordon manages billions of dollars in public pension funds, yet has not publicly intervened in the contract dispute.
“Wherever we've taken this fight, from Charlotte to New York to Boston, we’ve received tremendous support from fellow union members and the public,” said Diane Winton, President of IBEW Local 2327 in Maine. “They understand that we're not just fighting for ourselves, we're standing up for the good pay and benefits that every worker deserves.”
The strikers and their allies are protesting outside the Taj Hotel, where Angelo, Gordon officials are briefing attendees at the North American Family Office Conference. The conference is billed as “the leading, private meeting for ultra-affluent families in North America.” The Boston protest follows a similar rally last week in Manhattan, where Angelo, Gordon executives attended a conference for investment managers. Nearly 60 activists greeted attendees at that November 12 meeting.
“No matter how far FairPoint executives and shareholders travel, we’re going to be there,” said Don Trementozzi, president of Communications Workers Local 1400. “We will not let this North Carolina company and its Wall Street investors evade their responsibilities to the people of New England.”
The negotiations for a new contract began in April, and from the outset FairPoint pressed to increase outsourcing, cut pay for new workers and slash benefits for all employees. The workers have offered more than $200 million in cost-saving compromises during the talks. But the company has not altered its initial demand for $700 million in deep and damaging cuts.
FairPoint officials did attend talks Tuesday in Boston arranged by a federal mediator. But once again the company refused to modify its demands.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council T-9 includes local unions in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont and represents nearly 1,700 employees at FairPoint Communications. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1400 represents nearly 300 FairPoint employees in the three states.
For its part, FairPoint released a "fact" sheet Wednesday.
In a statement, the state's largest telecom said:
"There comes a point in every strike where the public asks "why?"
"As the strike called by the IBEW and CWA against FairPoint enters its second month, and many members of the public have likely concluded that they'd be pretty happy to have what FairPoint strikers have been offered, the Unions have resorted to bending the facts to justify their strike to the public. Perhaps that's not surprising, but it's important to straighten things out.
"FairPoint's priority is to move its old monopoly-era contracts with the Unions into the mainstream while preserving generous base wage rates for current employees that are, on average, significantly above the median income level of northern New England.
On the other hand, Unions are seeking to avoid the backlash from customers whose needs they have abandoned and to preserve the benefits many of the residents of northern New England could only dream of. Take a look:"
"Under our implemented proposals," the FairPoint statement said, "both strikers and new employees will receive a good pay and benefits package that reflects the Company's desire to maintain its skilled workforce in northern New England. We want to reach agreements with the Unions. To move this negotiation forward, we have asked that the Unions provide counterproposals that meaningfully and substantially address the core issues in this negotiation. To date they have failed to do so. The ball is in their court."
Source: FairnessAtFairpoint.com 11.20.2014. FairPoint 11.19.2014.