Stamford-based Frontier Communications Corp. and the Communications Workers of America District 1 recently signed an agreement that will honor and extend the current collective bargaining agreement between the two parties until April 2018.
Highlights of the agreement include the addition of 85 union jobs, job security and guaranteed workforce size, priority routing to Connecticut call center representatives, a new service center for technician support, a “Single Tech Out” policy allowing all technicians to service all customers, and all union employees receiving 100 shares of Frontier stock upon closing of the transaction.
Frontier bills the agreement as “an important step forward in the process to complete Frontier”™s planned acquisition of AT&T”™s wire-line business and statewide fiber network” that “will benefit CWA-represented employees and the citizens of Connecticut.” The AT&T deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, Frontier reported.
Connecticut has been Frontier Communications”™ home since 1946.
The agreement between Frontier and CWA is contingent upon the approval of the proposed transaction by the Federal Communications Commission, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority “and the consummation of the proposed transaction.”
“We are very pleased the CWA acknowledges the transaction”™s benefit to the public,” said Daniel J. McCarthy, president and chief operating officer of Frontier. “We value our positive relationships with our employees and unions and rely on them to ”˜put the customer first,”™ to deliver an exceptional communications experience to our customers. Our discussions with the CWA about the Connecticut acquisition have been open, honest and ongoing. We look forward to a strong partnership that will mean the best service and products for our customers and their evolving communications needs.”
Bill Henderson, president of CWA Local 1298, said, “After several months of complex negotiations, we are very pleased with the agreement reached today with Frontier. We believe it is in the best interests of Connecticut”™s telecommunications workers and consumers, and we look forward to continue providing our customers with the best possible quality service.”
