Unions in Ex-FairPoint Area Reach Deal With Consolidated Before Contracts Expire
Workers made a pact Saturday with Consolidated Communications in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, said unions and the company. About 1,000 workers represented by Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers last month threatened to strike…
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in the former FairPoint territory (see 1807250054). Consolidated reached agreement with unions hours before contracts were to expire. Separate agreements with CWA and IBEW “maintain high quality affordable health care, provide enhanced retirement benefits through a new 401K savings plan, and protect local jobs for the life of the agreements,” the unions said. Workers will vote to ratify the three-year agreements in “coming days,” they said. Consolidated is “optimistic our employees will ratify these new labor agreements,” which show an improvement in union-company relations since Consolidated acquired FairPoint one year ago, said Consolidated CEO Bob Udell. Meanwhile, AT&T workers represented by CWA launched a multistate "Broken Promises Tour" to talk about job cuts since the GOP tax bill. AT&T says it hired 8,000 U.S. employees gross, not subtracting those who left (see 1807300016). The CWA executive board in May approved a possible strike by 14,000 workers covered by AT&T Midwest and Legacy T contracts.