VERMONT LEGISLATORS ISSUE STRONG LETTER TO FAIRPOINT CEO BACKING STRIKERS PRESS RELEASE NOV. 18 2014, 9:44 AM 1 COMMENT News Release — Fairness at Fairpoint Monday, November 17 Contact: Jim McNeill, C 202-213-1614, Jim@FairnessAtFairpoint – Legislative Working Vermonters’ Caucus sends letter to FairPoint CEO Paul H. Sunu warning of action in 2015 if strike still unresolved – The 36-member caucus highlights FairPoint’s history of broken promises to Vermont on good jobs and investment – Letter sent just before meeting of union and company officials Tuesday in Boston; strikers also preparing for major rally Thursday in Montpelier MONTPELIER — Vermont legislators are weighing in on the ongoing strike at FairPoint Communications. The 36-member Legislative Working Vermonters’ Caucus sent a strongly worded letter today to FairPoint CEO Paul H. Sunu urging him to reach a fair agreement with union workers. (Copies of the letter were also cc:ed to Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin and Public Service Department Commissioner Chris Recchia.) The strike began one month ago today, on October 17, and telecom service in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine has suffered ever since. The Vermont Public Service Department has reported a spike in service disruptions, and warned FairPoint that it will open an investigation if customer complaints continue. The release of the letter, signed by caucus co-chairs Rep. Susan Hatch Davis and Rep. John Moran, comes just one day before FairPoint officials are scheduled to meet with union negotiators in Boston. Tuesday’s meeting in Boston was arranged by a federal mediator in an effort to restart talks that broke down when FairPoint abruptly ended bargaining in August and imposed terms with $700 million in deep and damaging cuts. FairPoint’s union workers are also scheduled to hold a major rally this Thursday, Nov. 20 in Montpelier. The full text of the letter from the Working Vermonters’ Caucus is below: Paul H. Sunu, CEO FairPoint Communications 521 E. Morehead Street, #500 Charlotte, NC 28202 Dear Paul H. Sunu, When FairPoint Communications purchased our state’s telecom network in 2008, your company made promises to the people of Vermont. FairPoint promised that it would add 675 good jobs in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Today, FairPoint has 20 percent fewer workers in northern New England than it did five years ago. FairPoint promised that it would make major investments in our region’s telecom network. Instead, FairPoint went bankrupt in 2009 and since 2011 has lagged well behind its telecom peers in capital expenditures on key systems and infrastructure. FairPoint made those promises, but it failed to deliver. Now we see that FairPoint has abandoned good-faith bargaining with its union workers and has imposed terms and conditions that would turn good middle-class jobs into low-wage jobs with bare-bones benefits. Even after FairPoint imposed its unfair conditions, your workers stayed on the job for two months and tried to reach a reasonable compromise. They offered you $200 million in cost savings and yet you refused to work with them to find common ground. As a result, the workers of FairPoint made the brave decision to strike for good jobs and quality service in northern New England. We want you to know that we stand with the union workers of FairPoint and urge you to come back to the table to settle a contract that is fair to them — and to all the working families of Vermont. We expect you to settle a fair contract before the General Assembly meets again in January. A prolonged strike would not only be a burden to workers, it would be a major disruption to your customers, who are our constituents. Already, the state’s Public Service Department has expressed concern that your service has been seriously degraded during the strike. If you do not settle a fair contract by January, please know that the members of our caucus will work with our colleagues in the General Assembly to look more carefully at FairPoint’s past promises and current actions. It is time to determine whether your company has the financial strength and the managerial competence to properly serve the people of Vermont. Sincerely, Rep. Susan Hatch Davis, Co-Chair Legislative Working Vermonters’ Caucus Rep. John Moran, Co-Chair Legislative Working Vermonters’ Caucus
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 01:30:45 +0000
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