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Prospective Five-Year FairPoint
New England Deal Reached

March 27, 2008

The ink hasn’t even dried on its acquisition of Verizon’s landlines in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, but FairPoint has already come to a tentative five-year agreement with the IBEW.

Workers totaling 2,200 in the three states will earn a 15 percent raise over the life of the contract; the contract goes to the affected members for ratification, and the results will be known in April. The current contract was set to expire this summer, but the company proposed early talks in hopes of promoting good labor-management relations when it became clear the purchase would win approval by regulators in all three states.

The agreement that expires in 2013 calls for 3 percent yearly wage increases, with additional cost of living hikes in years four and five of the contract, an annual increase in pension benefits and a continuation of the current practice of not charging members or retirees with any portion of health care premiums.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperation of the local unions, the Second District and the Telecommunications Department, who worked so hard to bring our members a good contract during a tumultuous time,” said IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill.

Negotiators for Manchester, N.H., Local 2320, Montpelier, Vt., Local 2326 and Augusta, Maine, Local 2327 also won neutrality and card check recognition for FairPoint’s unrepresented units in New York, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The pact also includes corporate profit-sharing, the establishment of a 401(k) program with an employer match, a $500 signing bonus for each member, a restriction on work transfers and the creation of a labor-management work and family committee.

Telecommunications Department International Representative Robert Erickson said the agreement gives members some stability going forward. “It’s been a long, difficult year, but the hard work and vigilance of the members helped secure a contract we can be proud of,” Erickson said.

“This long-term agreement is a big step in alleviating the apprehension of our membership in changing companies,” said Local 2327 Business Manager Peter McLaughlin, who led the IBEW’s negotiating committee. “Now that this is out of the way, we can concentrate on making the transition in the three northern states as seamless as possible for our customers.”