[U]nions representing more than a thousand workers across Northern New England have announced that they are ready to go on strike if negotiations over their contracts with Consolidated Communications, which expire on Aug. 4, are unsuccessful.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Communications Workers of America represent over 1,100 workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and have been negotiating with the telecommunications and internet provider since April.
“Despite more than three months of bargaining, we are still far from an agreement that protects consumers and good jobs in our communities,” Peter McLaughlin, co-chair of the unions’ bargaining team, said in a statement released Wednesday.
The Illinois-based Consolidated Communications inherited the current union contracts from Fairpoint when it bought the company in 2017, taking over its Northern New England business.
“Consolidated Communications has a long history of positive and respectful labor relations across the country and we have successfully negotiated over 20 new labor agreements in the past four years, Ryan Whitlock, vice president of human resources at the company, said in a statement.
“We’re committed to doing the same with both the IBEW and the CWA contracts,” he said.
The company is currently exploring the possibility of using subcontractors to expedite repair, maintenance and installation services for customers across the region as negotiations continue.
Consolidated Communications said it does not plan on laying off IBEW employees if it hires subcontractors and has offered to hire additional IBEW-represented employees to oversee the subcontractors’ operations.
However, hiring subcontractors is one of the most contentious issues, along with health care and paid leave.
“Management continues to insist on outsourcing work, and we strongly believe that will hurt consumers and the hard-working employees who support, build, and maintain Northern New England’s critical telecommunications infrastructure,” McLaughlin said.
When IBEW and CWA were in negotiations with Fairpoint three years ago for the current contracts, the unions staged a 131-day strike before approving new contracts with the company.
Fairpoint faced a slew of service delays for customers in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine for much of the four-month strike, which coincided with early winter.
In Vermont, the Public Service Board launched an inquiry into the delays and an outage that resulted in the loss of enhanced 911 emergency services.
This time around, both sides say they are hopeful it won’t come to a strike.
“We want nothing more than to continue working to provide the best service possible to our customers,” Sandy Tumosa, business manager of IBEW in Vermont, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, management has other ideas.”
