The fight to reform communications law in Illinois has quietly evolved in recent months, as industry delivers broad rhetoric while consumer advocates wait with concern, both sides told us. AT&T has emerged as one of the primary proponents of what it sees as needed changes, even from 2010 Illinois law, and has come out with public statements, ads, a study the telco funded and a website to that end. The AT&T message ties communications reform to public safety, with repeated references to the benefits wireless broadband gives first responders, as well as economic investment. But no legislation has hit the Illinois floor, leaving consumer advocates worried that industry might try to rush a bill through.

Hawaiian Telcom said its union-represented employees voted to ratify a five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will take effect Wednesday. Hawaiian Telcom and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1357 leaders announced they had reached an agreement on the CBA Dec. 14, and the IBEW held a mail-in vote on ratification over the following two weeks, Hawaiian Telcom said Friday. The CBA includes guaranteed annual wage increases, a 401(k) matching program and a fixed-percentage employee contribution to health insurance premiums, Hawaiian Telcom said (http://xrl.us/bn8cau). The agreement comes months after the National Labor Relations Board’s appeal office “conclusively” dismissed an unfair labor practices charge the IBEW filed against Hawaiian Telcom after the company implemented Last, Best and Final Offer employment terms last year (CD Aug 30 p11).

Members of the Communications Workers of America formally accepted contracts with two AT&T divisions and are considering “tentative” contracts with three others, CWA announced Friday. AT&T wireline employees represented by CWA have voted to accept three-year contracts with AT&T Midwest and AT&T Corp., AT&T said. The CWA reached a tentative agreement on the contracts July 21, the carrier said. The AT&T Midwest agreement covers more than 13,000 employees in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. The AT&T Corp. agreement covers 5,700 employees across the country, AT&T said.

AT&T and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) reached a tentative agreement for a one-year extension of a contract covering some 7,000 wireline workers, the company said. Union members will vote on the deal over the next few days. The current contract, which expires June 23, covers IBEW members in Illinois, northwest Indiana, New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and the Northwest. Under the proposed one-year agreement, union members will get a 1 percent base salary raise. Employees who will make less than $50,000 following the salary increase will get a lump-sum payment of $500, while those who will make more than $50,000 after the salary increase will receive $300. The company’s labor negotiations with the Communications Workers of America continued.

Communications workers lobbied senators of the Antitrust Subcommittee Thursday, one day after the subcommittee’s hearing on the Verizon/SpectrumCo deal (CD March 22 p6), said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 827. IBEW condemned the transaction and asked senators to seek more information on the cross-marketing deals between Verizon Wireless and cable companies. “Consumers will be paying more and more for less and less reliable service if this deal is approved,” IBEW Local 827 President William Huber said.

Contract negotiations between Hawaiian Telcom and its union employees reached an “impasse,” the company said. Beginning Jan. 1, the company will implement modified employment terms that reflect previously proposed offers, it said. IBEW, which had rejected the company’s previously updated collective bargaining agreement, has told the provider that it will file a legal challenge of the bargaining process. However, the two sides are continuing talks, with an agreement not to strike through Jan. 6. While most of the company’s modified employment terms are scheduled to be in effect Jan. 1, the 1 percent wage increase is being applied as of Dec. 18 and changes to union retirement benefits like a pension plans freeze will occur on March 1.

There hasn’t been an increase in consumer complaints or service outage reports since Verizon’s union workers went on strike, state commission officials told us. Negotiations continued in Rye, N.Y., and Philadelphia Thursday between Verizon and the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Verizon has sought injunctions to prevent “illegal” and “reprehensible” strike activities, a spokesman said. It got an injunction in Pennsylvania and filed for one in Delaware, he said. Some activities by striking workers (CD Aug 9 p4) at some Verizon sites are “reckless,” he said. The Communications Workers of America doesn’t condone illegal action of any kind, and instructs its members to conduct all strike activities in accordance with labor law,” a CWA spokeswoman said. CWA and IBEW members are prepared to return to work when management demonstrates its willingness to begin bargaining for a fair agreement, she said.

Contract negotiations between Verizon and unions representing wireline workers continued Monday. The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) called a strike after the contract for 45,000 employees throughout the mid-Atlantic region expired 11:59 p.m. Saturday without agreement on issues like healthcare and pensions. Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., “is monitoring the situation and encouraging the parties to work towards an agreement,” his spokeswoman said.

The Communications Workers of America voted to authorize CWA leaders to call a strike if contract negotiation with Verizon fails. Authorization votes don’t mean the union is about to strike, a Verizon spokesman said, saying it’s a routine measure during labor negotiations to enable the union to go on strike. It’s also a “tactic to gain attention,” he said. The unions took similar votes in 2008 and 2003 but no strike occurred, he said. “In fact, there’s never been a negotiation that we can recall in which there wasn’t an overwhelming vote to authorize a strike,” he said. Contract negotiations are underway on behalf of about 35,000 CWA-represented workers at Verizon, with the contract expiring effective 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 7. Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, bargaining along with CWA, are holding a separate strike authorization vote. CWA and IBEW members will rally on July 30 outside Verizon headquarters in New York City, they said. The sentiment among CWA workers at Verizon is that the company is asking for concessions in almost every area, a CWA spokeswoman said. “These negotiations are all about good jobs,” said CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton.