Charlotte-based FairPoint reaches tentative contract deal with unions
FairPoint
Related Blog Posts
On The Web
Site Search
Get the latest news alerts: Follow LTW at Twitter.
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine - FairPoint Communications and unions representing nearly 3,000 employees in northern New England have reached a tentative agreement on a contract as FairPoint prepares to submit its bankruptcy reorganization plan.
FairPoint was seeking $30 million in concessions from workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America as it works to restructure its debt load and reduce costs. The unions agreed last year on a five-year contract that was set to expire in August 2013.
Details of the reworked contract have not been released, but union officials said Tuesday it calls for restructured compensation packages, a one-year contract extension and increased cooperation between labor and management. The pact also calls for deferring a 2010 wage increase until the final year of the contract.
Union members will review and vote on the tentative agreement over the next week.
"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, business manager of IBEW Local 2327.
Charlotte, N.C.-based FairPoint, which filed for bankruptcy Oct. 26, operates telecommunications companies in 18 states. It has suffered under heavy debt and technical problems since buying Verizon Communications' land line and Internet operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in 2008 for $2.3 billion.
The company had been seeking concessions from the unions even before it filed for bankruptcy. The new agreement will help FairPoint reach its financial objectives set forth in the bankruptcy filing, said Gary Garvey, a senior vice president at FairPoint.
FairPoint officials say they are close to finishing up talks with banks, unions, regulatory agencies and other parties and that the filing of its bankruptcy reorganization plan is fast approaching.
The reorganization plan will be hundreds of pages long and will outline how FairPoint proposes paying creditors while also providing financial projections for the future, said FairPoint spokeswoman Rose Cummings.
In December, January and again this month, FairPoint pushed back deadlines on when it intended to submit its reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. The filing is now "imminent," Cummings said.
Copyright 2012 WRAL Tech Wire. All rights reserved.
Featured
Hot Off The Wire
- Red Hat's new Fedora lead; Cree LED breakthrough; Google, Cisco top 'green' list; Oracle rejects SAP settlement; Yahoo board shakeup
- Will Cisco report progress in its turnaround efforts?
- Cisco server fire threat; Lenovo Android upgrade; cloud startup vs. Cisco; Epic's Blesinski to host awards; Google 'Solve for X'
E-mail Preferences
The Skinny
- Epic Games' Tim Sweeney reaps arts Hall of Fame honor today
- Charlotte's startup efforts pick up steam as more data pours in
- 'Battle in Bay 7' returns - Are you techies ready for some basketball?
- Inside RTP's new angel fund: Founders meeting 'significant' need
- Who won 'Social Bowl'? Super Bowl ads paying fans to play
- RTP broadband firm Overture, minus two top execs, launches new look
- Will RTP-based ChannelAdvisor go public? They're thinking
- What brands are winning Super Bowl hype? Two Durham firms to find out
- In Super Bowl of social media, Patriots win, Triangle firm says
- Big job cuts coming at IBM? Don't be surprised