by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Unions representing Consolidated Communications workers in Northern New England say an overwhelming majority of members have authorized leaders to call a strike if negotiations do not lead to an acceptable outcome. Negotiations began in April on a contract that expires August 4. The union is concerned over the company's plan to use subcontractors for some work, while the Consolidated said that plan, which is intended to give it more flexibility, will not result in layoffs of any union workers.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council T-9 and Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1400, together now represent more than 1,000 workers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. They held meetings in the three states over the last 10 days where union members heard from the bargaining committee and then voted on whether to authorize a strike.
CWA workers walk the picket line during a strike in October 2014. VBM photo.
A brutal strike that lasted from October 2014 to February 2015 under previous owner FairPoint did not result in job security even after it settled, as many workers were eventually laid off. The two unions at that time represented about 1,700 workers. In May of 2015 FairPoint eliminated 260 positions across the 17 states in which it operated, which included the closing of its call center inSouth Burlington and with it most of the CWA workers. A union representative at the time told VBM that 73 unionized workers in Vermont (22 percent) lost their jobs. FairPoint said then that the workforce reductions approximated the level of voice-lines lost in recent years.
FairPoint, Vermont's largest telecommunications company, sold to Illinois-based Consolidated (NASDAQ: CNSL) in December 2016 in an all-stock merger transaction valued at approximately $1.5 billion. The New England entity was recently rebranded to Consolidated Communications.
“Despite more than three months of bargaining, we are still far from an agreement that protects consumers and good jobs in our communities,” said Peter McLaughlin, Business Manager of IBEW Local 2327 in Maine and co-chair of the bargaining team. “Management continues to insist on outsourcing work, and we strongly believe that will hurt consumers and the hard-working employees who support, build, and maintain Northern New England’s critical telecommunications infrastructure.”
“The goal is to reach a fair agreement and avoid a strike, but our members are unified and ready to stand together for a fair deal, no matter how long it takes,” said Don Trementozzi, President of CWA Local 1400 and co-chair of the bargaining team. “Just three and a half years ago, our members walked the picket lines for 131 days in a historic strike that garnered massive support from our communities. If we have to, we're ready to do it again.”
“We want nothing more than to continue working to provide the best service possible to our customers,” said Sandy Tumosa, Business Manager of IBEW Local 2326 in Vermont. “Unfortunately, management has other ideas. They claim that ‘Community Matters’ to them, but at the same time they’re determined to raise the cost of workers’ health care and slash paid time off, including sick days.”
"A strike authorization vote is a necessary precursor to a strike, but does not require the union members go on strike. Consolidated workers say they are not just fighting to protect good jobs in their communities but to ensure the best service to customers across Northern New England. “We’ve seen it time and time again when companies hire outside contractors to do the work of skilled, local employees, customers are the ones who suffer,” said Steve Soule, Business Manager of IBEW Local 2320 in New Hampshire. “We are the ones who know the specific needs of Northern New England customers and have been meeting those needs for decades.”
Ryan Whitlock, Vice President of Human Resources at Consolidated, sent VBM this statement: “We have been negotiating in good faith for months with union leaders in a mutually respectful manner to secure labor agreements that provide flexibility to effectively and efficiently meet our customers’ needs. We operate a competitive business which means effectively managing our resources to ensure competitive services for our customers.
"Consolidated Communications has a long history of positive and respectful labor relations across the country and we have successfully negotiated over 20 new labor agreements in the past four years. We’re committed to doing the same with both the IBEW and the CWA contracts. We are hopeful to negotiate contracts that will allow us to more effectively and efficiently serve our customers, benefit our employees and ensure we are a sustainable and competitive Company.
"The Company is pursuing subcontracting flexibility to allow for the use of additional labor resources to expedite the repair, maintenance and installation of services for customers. The Company has proposed no IBEW-represented employee will be laid off as a result of using subcontracted resources. The Company has also offered to hire additional IBEW represented jobs to assist in overseeing the quality and safety of these resources. Like most Companies in our industry, access to flexible resources to address the changing workload demands from storms, investment in our broadband network expansion or everyday maintenance of our plant facilities is critical. Access to flexible resources means delivering better and faster service to our customers.
"At this point, our goal is to work with union leadership to continue to negotiate and reach an agreement; however, we have a comprehensive contingency plan in place to minimize any potential service disruptions.”
Sources: IBEW. Consolidated. 7.25.2018