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Unions, Management Look to Bolster FairPoint’s Recovery

February 8, 2010

Following months of tense negotiations, FairPoint’s labor unions and management have come to an agreement to help the bankrupt company bounce back by increasing cooperation, restructuring wages and extending the contract with workers for another year, pending ratification by IBEW members.

The plan to revive the ailing company establishes a Joint Committee for Operational Savings that will “pursue all ideas to reduce costs, improve revenue and increase productivity,” the company states in memos released this week. The current contracts will be extended an additional year for IBEW members at Manchester, N.H., Local 2320; Montpelier, Vt., Local 2326; and Augusta, Maine, Local 2327. This year’s general wage increase is deferred until 2014, the last year of the contract.

“Although FairPoint’s financial and operational problems had nothing to do with our wages or working conditions, once again we’ve gone the extra mile to help FairPoint get back on its feet,” said Pete McLaughlin, chairman of IBEW System Council T-9 and business manager of Local 2327. “Our goals were not only to protect our members but to restore financial and operational stability, improve service to customers and expand broadband availability.”

The company’s financial woes were compounded by an inability to deliver quality customer service in the wake of the Verizon sale. FairPoint couldn’t replicate the intricate computer systems and tricky work processes that made Verizon successful in New England, contributing to a Chapter 11 filing last October.

Photo used under a Creative Commons License from Flickr user Mr.Thomas.