Verizon Contract Negotiations Heat Up; Frontier Labor Relations Smooth Sailing
Contract negotiations heated up between Verizon and the Communications Workers of America in the Northeast, but workers in some Southern states were assured their contracts will stay the same once Frontier Communications acquires some wireline business from Verizon. Frontier Communications and the CWA District 6 signed an agreement extending workers’ contracts for two years, CWA spokeswoman Candice Johnson said.
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CWA’s contract with Verizon was to expire at 12:01 a.m. Sunday and Johnson said Friday that the two parties were still nowhere near a compromise. Failing to reach an agreement wouldn't necessarily lead to a strike, even though workers voted to authorize one if negotiations weren’t successful (see 1507270020), and employees could continue working without a new contract, the current contract could be extended or the company could lock out workers, Johnson said. "The company rolled out a purely concessionary proposal and hasn't really moved away from it," she said. "We hope we can reach an agreement -- that's our goal. We're focusing a lot on what Verizon should be doing to ensure quality service in places where it is not."
Verizon was preparing for all potential scenarios following the expiration of its contracts with CWA and IBEW, covering more than 37,000 wireline employees in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, the company said Friday in a news release. The company said it presented union leaders with an initial offer June 22 that included a "solid wage increase." Union leaders countered with a series of proposals that did "virtually nothing to advance the progress of negotiations," the release said.
Frontier views contract negotiations from a different angle from Verizon, said Steve Crosby, Frontier senior vice president-regulation and legislation. The focus is on ensuring the company keeps its employees happy, which in turn will keep consumers coming back to Frontier for broadband and wireline services, he said. “We want to make sure the workers are really focused right now on continuing to serve the Verizon customers because those customers eventually -- God willing -- will be ours,” Crosby said. “We’ve just take[n] a different tac[k]. We have a very good relationship with CWA as well as" the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Frontier differs from Verizon both in services provided and the bottom line, Crosby said. At Verizon, the wireless industry and acquiring spectrum are one part of the equation, with the wireline division on the other side, he said; Frontier has only wireline service. Frontier’s services also are more localized than Verizon’s. “We have general managers in all the areas where we provide service -- these men and women are on the ground, they’re working with customers and working with small businesses and large businesses and they’re really the eyes and ears on the ground,” he said. “Instead of getting orders from our corporate headquarters, they really are responsible for the profit and loss for their particular city. It’s just a different philosophy.” Verizon didn't comment.
The Frontier agreement will protect employee job security, add 60 new union-represented jobs in Texas and Missouri, and give all union employees 100 shares of Frontier’s restricted stock upon the closing of the transaction, which is contingent upon FCC approval of the proposed transaction, applicable state approvals and consummation of the transaction, a news release from Frontier said. CWA represents 2,000 Verizon workers in Texas and Missouri.