Tentative contract gives raises for next five years
By KATE DAVIDSON, Concord Monitor
Mar 25, 2008
Two unions that represent more than 2,500 Verizon employees in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont have reached a tentative contract with FairPoint Communications, the North Carolina-based company that will take over Verizon's landline operations in the three states March 31.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America released a joint statement with FairPoint yesterday announcing the agreement. The two groups came to terms on wage and pension increases for active employees, health care benefits for employees and retirees, and 401(k) improvements.
There were few changes from the previous contract with Verizon, according to Glenn Brackett, the business manager for IBEW Local 2320 in New Hampshire. He said the agreement effectively extends the contract five years and provides 3 percent raises for all workers each year until 2013.
The agreements must be ratified by union members.
"We're happy with our contract," Brackett said. "Again, we're still concerned about the financial viability of FairPoint, but we're going to do everything we can to make them a successful company."
The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission approved the $2.4 billion sale of Verizon's traditional telephone service to FairPoint last month. The collective bargaining agreements reached between the unions and Verizon in 2003 were set to expire in August, but FairPoint bumped up negotiations when the sale was endorsed by regulators in the three states. If approved by union members, the contracts will take effect at midnight April 1.
Having the agreements in place when the merger is completed eliminates anxiety for hundreds of workers and will help the company move forward, said Walter Leach, FairPoint's vice president of corporate development.
"We have so much that we want to get done over the next six months that having the union negotiations behind us - all of the employees on the same page, not worrying about posturing or negotiations - frees everyone up to spend all their time doing their jobs, taking care of customers (and) taking care of the broadband build out," Leach said.
The company approached the two unions shortly before state utility regulators approved the deal Feb. 26, Brackett said.
The two unions had opposed the sale for months, questioning whether FairPoint had the financial resources to take over a company more than five times its size.
One of the sticking points for the unions was over health care benefits for retirees.
Verizon agreed to continue paying for benefits for retired workers, but FairPoint would not guarantee to fund the benefits for future retirees.
In its order last month, however, the Public Utilities Commission told FairPoint to set up a trust fund to pay for the benefits, a provision that was incorporated into the contracts, Brackett said.
"FairPoint understood our issue for retiree health care, and (with) this contract here at least, they've stepped up," he said.
Chris Shelton, the District 1 vice president for the Communications Workers of America, said the union was also pleased with its agreement.
"We know that the members that we represent are the best in the world at what they do," Shelton said in a prepared statement.
"With their experience and expertise and FairPoint's commitment to improving service to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, the future looks bright for telecommunication in northern New England."
