Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and US Representative Peter Welch, D-Vermont, on Tuesday called upon the CEOs of FairPoint Communications and the Illinois company that is set to purchase it, Consolidated Communications Holdings, to reverse the planned layoff of nearly 10 percent of FairPoint’s workforce. FairPoint cut pay and benefits in 2014, which led to a strike, and then after settling the union action, it eliminated the South Burlington call center, with the loss of 70 workers. See their letters to FairPoint and Consolidated below.
“It is particularly callous to destroy the livelihoods of loyal FairPoint workers just as the cold weather approaches and as families prepare to celebrate the holiday season,” Sanders and Welch wrote to FairPoint CEO Paul Sunu. “These workers helped build the company’s value, yet they are being discarded as collateral damage of a sale designed to maximize profits for a tiny group of Wall Street hedge fund investors.”
FairPoint sold to Consolidated in all-stock deal
In their letter to the CEO of Consolidated Communications, which is in the process of purchasing FairPoint, Sanders and Welch outlined FairPoint’s checkered history in dealing with its Vermont workforce, stating “FairPoint’s relationship with its workforce was unnecessarily antagonist.” The Charlotte, N.C.-based phone company purchased Verizon Communication’s landline phone operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in 2007.
“Instead of negotiating a reasonable labor agreement, [FairPoint] pursued drastic cuts to pay and benefits that led to a four-month strike in 2014-15,” Sanders and Welch wrote. “Just three months after the strike ended, FairPoint closed its South Burlington call center and laid-off more than 70 unionized workers. Most recently, FairPoint announced last month that it was laying off nearly 10 percent of its remaining workforce, presumably to make the company more attractive for the sale to Consolidated.”
Sanders and Welch said reversing the layoffs would “be a significant demonstration of good faith” on Consolidated’s part.
“We urge you to reverse FairPoint’s decision and send the clear message that Consolidated values its workers and the communities in which the company operates. We know the CWA and IBEW welcome the opportunity to work with Consolidated to help make its New England operations successful again,” Sanders and Welch wrote.
In response to the letters, Mike Spillane, Business Manager for IBEW Local 2326 in Vermont, issued this statement: "Since FairPoint is leaving - why not let the new company make these important issues?"
Meanwhile, Angelynne Beaudry, FairPoint Director of Corporate Communications, sent a statement to VBM which said: "In recent years, FairPoint has successfully developed what many consider to be one of the best operating platforms in the industry and years of investment has yielded a robust fiber based network. The company has received the letter from Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch which does not acknowledge the more than $900 million FairPoint has invested in the region, including more than $100 million in the Vermont broadband infrastructure, since 2008. That investment has allowed FairPoint to increase the broadband coverage in its Vermont footprint from approximately 65% to over 90% during that time, enabling the residents of the state to participate in the information age economy. The company has also been an active participant in the community, donating more than $1 million to local charitable causes including a donation of over 10,000 square feet of space in the company’s downtown Burlington central office for use by the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies in their work to foster business development in the state.
"The realities of rapidly evolving technology, changing consumer preferences and an ever-more-competitive telecommunications landscape have led to a significant decline in our legacy services and revenues. As any prudent business would, we have reduced our workforce to match our workload and the size and composition of our revenue.
"We look forward to working with Senator Sanders, Congressman Welch and other elected officials and regulators as we take the needed steps to successfully close the transaction."
Source: BURLINGTON, Vt., Dec. 14, 2016 – Sanders and Welch