FairPoint Communications’ labor dispute with striking workers “involves FairPoint’s ability to be the 21st century telecommunications provider Vermonters want and Vermont’s economy deserves,” the company wrote the state’s congressional delegation Thursday. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D) and Bernie Sanders (I) and Rep. Peter Welch (D) wrote the company Wednesday urging FairPoint to negotiate an end to a strike in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont involving more than 1,700 of the telco’s workers (see 1412170059). In response, the company wrote the union’s demands “are not within the mainstream.” The company said the workers are seeking wage increases, maintaining accrual of defined pension benefits despite having a matching 401(k) plan and do not want to make “meaningful contributions" to their health plans. A spokesman for the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) locals representing the workers called FairPoint's letter "misleading."

Vermont’s congressional delegation urged FairPoint Communications to negotiate an end to a strike in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont involving more than 1,700 of the telco’s workers. “We are extremely disappointed that FairPoint management has not come back to the bargaining table with any meaningful concessions to end this strike,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I, and Rep. Peter Welch, D, in a letter to FairPoint, posted Wednesday. “It is becoming increasingly clear to Vermonters that management is more concerned with the interests of corporate owners of FairPoint than negotiating a reasonable agreement that is fair to your workers and customers.” Vermont’s Department of Public Service has received an amplified number of customer complaints about FairPoint since the strike began in October, prompting the state Public Service Board to begin an investigation into the complaints (see 1412090063). FairPoint CEO Paul Sunu blamed local chapters of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Wednesday for the protracted length of the strike, saying in a letter to Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin that FairPoint “has always been willing to compromise with the unions.” FairPoint’s efforts to reach an agreement have been unsuccessful, he said. Shumlin had sent a letter to FairPoint last week also urging an end to the strike. A spokesman for the local CWA and IBEW chapters said FairPoint has rejected the unions’ proposals.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., weighed in on a labor dispute involving FairPoint Friday. “I am encouraged to see that FairPoint, IBEW, and CWA have responded positively to the meeting requested by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS), scheduled to convene in Boston" Tuesday, Leahy said in a statement. “Hopefully the exploratory nature of this meeting, as part of the FMCS process, will present an opportunity for the parties to re-engage in dialogue.” Leahy emphasized the way New England customers rely on FairPoint: “A lengthy impasse benefits no one,” he said. “In our tradition of acknowledging our differences and working to resolve our problems in a respectful manner, I am pleased to see the parties have agreed to meet in Boston.”

FairPoint Communications is offering a $5,000 reward for information on who’s responsible for damage to its network and equipment, after what it calls a “recent spate of vandalism” to its property. FairPoint has investigated eight vandalism incidents against its infrastructure and facilities since 1,700 of its workers began an ongoing strike Oct. 17 (see 1410170025). The telco said it had only one incident in the five years before the strike. “Most of the strikers are exercising their legal right to stop working and to publicize their position, but it is no coincidence that these acts of vandalism are being committed during the strike,” a spokeswoman said in a news release. A coalition of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) chapters in the states where FairPoint workers are on strike -- Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont -- said in a news release that FairPoint is using the claims of vandalism incidents to distract the public. “In the course of mobile picketing, our members have witnessed replacement workers engaged in unsafe practices that endanger themselves and the public,” said Glenn Brackett, business manager for IBEW Local 2320, in the news release. “We are gathering these reports [of alleged safety violations] in order to file complaints with the proper authorities. Far from endangering the network, our members are taking actions to protect the public from replacement workers’ recklessness.”

FairPoint Communications said Tuesday it's “concerned” that employees affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), who are currently on strike, are disrupting services and intimidating employees and customers (http://bit.ly/1ouXtgZ). More than 1,700 CWA- and IBEW-affiliated workers went on strike Friday in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont (see 1410170025). Some of the striking employees “have followed and intimidated contractors and employees, blocked our trucks, surrounded our workers on job sites, trespassed on customer property and engaged in conduct that impedes the work FairPoint is doing to meet customer needs,” FairPoint said in a news release. The unions said in a statement that they will “continue to work hard to ensure that our labor action is safe and respectful to our neighbors and friends throughout northern New England, but we will not let the company use these spurious and unfounded allegations to take the spotlight off of the company's unfair practices.”

FairPoint Communications said Tuesday it's “concerned” that employees affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), who are currently on strike, are disrupting services and intimidating employees and customers (http://bit.ly/1ouXtgZ). More than 1,700 CWA- and IBEW-affiliated workers went on strike Friday in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont (see 1410170025). Some of the striking employees “have followed and intimidated contractors and employees, blocked our trucks, surrounded our workers on job sites, trespassed on customer property and engaged in conduct that impedes the work FairPoint is doing to meet customer needs,” FairPoint said in a news release. The unions said in a statement that they will “continue to work hard to ensure that our labor action is safe and respectful to our neighbors and friends throughout northern New England, but we will not let the company use these spurious and unfounded allegations to take the spotlight off of the company's unfair practices.”

FairPoint Communications’ contract with 1,700 of its 2,550 workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont expired Saturday amid continued negotiations over a new deal. The two unions representing the 1,700 workers -- the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) chapters in the three states -- had “dug in on almost all of their current benefits under contracts from a bygone era,” a FairPoint spokeswoman said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1sn1ceh). Points of contention include pensions, retiree medical benefits or changes in union involvement in subcontracting, FairPoint said. CWA and the local IBEW contractors said in a joint statement that they would continue to negotiate “until we reach a fair and equitable contract.” The 1,700 workers will continue to work under most terms of the expired contract. FairPoint said it has a plan in place to maintain its infrastructure in the three states if the workers strike.

FairPoint Communications’ contract with 1,700 of its 2,550 workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont expired Saturday amid continued negotiations over a new deal. The two unions representing the 1,700 workers -- the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) chapters in the three states -- had “dug in on almost all of their current benefits under contracts from a bygone era,” a FairPoint spokeswoman said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1sn1ceh). Points of contention include pensions, retiree medical benefits or changes in union involvement in subcontracting, FairPoint said. CWA and the local IBEW contractors said in a joint statement that they would continue to negotiate “until we reach a fair and equitable contract.” The 1,700 workers will continue to work under most terms of the expired contract. FairPoint said it has a plan in place to maintain its infrastructure in the three states if the workers strike.

Capitol Hill lobbying spending on video marketplace issues largely rose in the latest quarter, as it did in the fourth quarter of 2013 (CD Jan 23 p7). Various factors propelled spending spikes, largely involving the possibility of overhauling retransmission consent rules, the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization process, and the brewing debate over the Comcast purchase of Time Warner Cable.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers wrote members of Congress Monday “in support of our broadcast partners and their ability to negotiate retransmission consent agreements,” IBEW said (http://bit.ly/19y9BTZ). The union sent the letter on behalf of about 750,000 active members and retirees, it said. “Recent lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill by pay television providers (cable and satellite) to hamstring broadcaster’s ability to monetize their investments through retransmission consent agreements will have an adverse impact on the broadcasting industry as well as those who rely on over-the-air television.” The letter signed by IBEW President Edwin Hill said that “legislative efforts that undermine retransmission consent would have a negative impact on the livelihoods of IBEW members in the broadcasting industry.” Hill lamented the “alliance” of pay-TV operators that are trying to hurt broadcasters’ market leverage and the ways they have “sought to alter retransmission consent negotiations through a multitude of legislative proposals,” such as through a standstill, “a contract that never ends regardless of its eventually outdated terms and conditions.” Such a contract would never work in collective bargaining, Hill added. Retrans “is fueling broadcaster consolidation,” an American Television Alliance spokesman told us, “which is in turn leading to fewer and fewer jobs in television. Why is IBEW supporting a system that is killing jobs and leading to skyrocketing blackouts and fees for consumers?"