Citizens Communications must arbitrate an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers claim that the company violated a collective bargaining agreement by reducing employee retirement benefits, said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The court affirmed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Citizens argued that IBEW couldn’t arbitrate without first getting consent from the retirees currently eligible for benefits. The company cited two cases: Rosetto v. Pabst Brewing Co. and Cleveland Electric v. Utility Works Union. The court said Citizens’ reading of the cases was “plausible,” but “we decline to adopt such a broad rule,” because it “ignores the fact that reductions in retiree benefits may also affect current employees who are undisputably still represented by the union under an extant CBA.” The proposed rule “is based on unsound assumptions about the preclusive effect of arbitration involving retiree benefits,” it said.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract with Verizon promising more jobs, higher pay and increased pension bands, it said Friday. The IBEW said the agreement will create more than 2,500 union jobs in areas that were previously subcontracted, and convert many temporary jobs to permanent ones. It also promises a 10 percent wage increase over the next three years. The contract extends union coverage to several hundred former technicians and will allow union members to provide customer support at Verizon Business, the IBEW said. The agreement applies to 15,000 IBEW members and more than 50,000 Communication Workers of America members.

Six public interest groups urged the FCC to reject Verizon Wireless’s proposed acquisition of Alltel. Small carriers, fearing the impact on roaming and competition, also protested the merger, saying it would have a profound effect on competition across rural America. Verizon hopes to wrap up the deal this year under today’s FCC, industry and agency sources said. The $28.1 billion deal would make Verizon Wireless once again the nation’s largest wireless carrier, with more subscribers than AT&T.

Union members will rally Thursday at Verizon’s New England headquarters in Boston to support the Bell’s employees in their contract negotiation, said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The IBEW’s and the Communications Workers of America’s contracts with Verizon expire Saturday. Members are worried about job security as Verizon becomes a high-tech provider of video, Internet and wireless communications, the union said. The carrier expects to come to terms with the IBEW, Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl said in a conference call.

Verizon Communications shareholders voted down a proposal to separate the roles of chief executive officer and chairman filed by unions at Verizon’s annual proxy meeting Thursday, said a union spokesman. The proposal won 20.3 percent of the votes, he said. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and Communications Workers of America (CWA) proposal the separation.

Unionized Verizon workers in southern New Jersey picketed company offices in Ocean and Monmouth counties Thursday over health care, wage and pension issues expected to dominate contract talks set for June. Officials of IBEW Local 827, representing about 7,000 Verizon New Jersey employees, said the informational picketing was “a show of unity.” They said the demonstrations highlighted union discontent with a Verizon decision to terminate after a year 117 temporary technician jobs supposedly good for three years. The temporaries will be let go next month. The union said there’s more than enough work to keep them busy two more years. A Verizon spokesman said it’s in everyone’s interest to reach a fair settlement in the coming talks, which the company hopes to do so quickly. On the technicians’ early terminations, the spokesman said Verizon is trying to place as many as it can into permanent company jobs, and has found spots for more than 50.

Verizon customer-service workers, joined by customers, picketed company locations around Tampa Bay to protest policies they said keep them from solving customers’ service problems and answering their questions. “Informational” picketing took place before work Monday. Pickets carried signs reading “Honk for Better Service,” “Verizon Customers Deserve Better Service” and other slogans. Florida service complaints have drawn inquiries from local and state policymakers.

Verizon union leaders in Tampa are asking customer service employees to picket their workplaces Monday morning to protest working conditions they say are not letting them properly serve Verizon’s customers. Leaders of IBEW Local 824, representing 4,000 Verizon employees in the seven-county Tampa Bay area, said the company is diverting resources into securing new customers rather than taking care of the customers it already has. They said the result is that customers are suffering unreasonably long delays in getting questions answered and problems fixed. “Verizon isn’t letting us do our jobs. It’s not letting us take care of the customers,” said Doug Sellers, IBEW local president. The union distributed flyers across the region Wednesday and Thursday announcing the event. “It’s time to let the company know that we are quality employees who provide quality service. We will not churn and burn,” the flyers said. Union leaders stressed that this isn’t a walkout or other job action, characterizing the picketing as informational. They said the picketing Monday will take place in the morning before the workday begins. A Verizon spokesman said the company hasn’t done anything outside the bounds of the labor contract, and said the company “will continue to build on a shared commitment among our employees to ensure that Verizon customers experience quality service.” Meanwhile, two members of the Tampa City Council want Verizon to tell them why residents are expressing so much unhappiness with Verizon customer service, and what the company plans to do about it. Tampa Bay consumers have complained to municipal officials, the state attorney general and other parties about problems getting discounts, equipment and services promised with purchase of a bundle incorporating phone, Internet and video services, and getting answers from Verizon when they call to complain. Verizon has said it’s aware of the problems and is working to correct things. But Council Chairman Gwen Miller and Vice Chairman John Dingfelder said the level of discontent indicates Verizon needs to be moving much faster. The city hasn’t decided yet whether to take any formal action, they said.

FairPoint and two unions representing 2,500 workers being transferred from Verizon at month’s end announced agreement on a five-year contract replacing one expiring in August. The CWA and IBEW had opposed the $2.4 billion sale of Verizon landline assets in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, fearing the post-sale FairPoint wouldn’t be financially viable. But they agreed to negotiate with FairPoint when the sale seemed likely to be approved. The contract, which union members in the three states must ratify, sets three percent annual pay raises for all union workers through 2012, increases pensions, guarantees health benefits for active and retired employees, and improves the 401(k) plan. The contract incorporates a state merger- approval condition requiring FairPoint to create a trust fund to guarantee that retirement health benefits continue. All parties called the pact basically a five-year extension of the Verizon contract, with few modifications. If union members approve, the pact will take effect upon the sale’s closing, set for March 31. Walter Leach, FairPoint vice president for development, said the contract lets the company and employees “concentrate on doing their jobs, taking care of customers and taking care of the broadband buildout.” Union officials enthused about the contract, saying the unions “will do all we can to make FairPoint a successful company.”

Vermont regulators Friday rejected Verizon’s proposed $2.7 billion transfer of its landline assets to FairPoint. But the Public Service Board said it would reconsider its denial if the companies submit a revised proposal reducing the substantial financial risks that turned the board against this deal. The companies indicated they don’t see Vermont’s action as a deal killer, and that they'll try to ease board concerns.