FairPoint employees, currently working without a contract, expect to decide late this week whether to go on strike.
New England chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Communication Workers of America authorized a strike in July, but have yet to walk out. Their contracts expired Aug. 2.
In a message to union members Wednesday, IBEW Local 2326 business manager Mike Spillane said a meeting between union leaders and the company’s top executives will take place this week.
“We will decide based on the progress in that meeting (or lack thereof) whether or not we will strike in the immediate future,” Spillane said. He said an announcement would be forthcoming late in the week.
In August, the publicly traded FairPoint Communications moved to freeze worker pensions, reduce company contributions to worker retirement savings, and discontinued health care benefits for retirees, among other changes.
Company officials say containing personnel costs is crucial to FairPoint’s viability in a competitive marketplace. The unions say such policies serve shareholders at the expense of employees.
After the company declared an impasse in negotiations in August, the unions filed grievances with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming unfair labor practices. They alleged FairPoint had not negotiated in good faith.
An ensuing investigation turned up “insufficient evidence” to establish that FairPoint had violated labor law in its dealings with the unions, who plan to appeal.
