Previous reports

IBEW 2320

Previous Reports

This page contains previous reports that appear on the front page.

At 4:26am the Ibew System Council T-9 and Fairpoint Communications reached an agreement on a five year Contract extension, with several significant upgrades. The extension begins on April 1st, 2008 is scheduled to expire on Aug.3, 2013.
Some of the negotiated benefits include:

-Annual 3% wages increase for the life of the Contract, Cost of Living increases the last 2 years

-Across the board Pension Band increases:
Year 1 3% increase
Year 2 All Wage Tables increase 1 Pension Band
Year 3 3% increase
Year 4 All Wage Tables increase 1 Pension Band
Year 5 3% increase

-Lump Sum Availability
Lump sum not available from August 3, 2008 until December 31, 2008
Lump sum available from January 1,2009 until June 30,2012
Lump sum not available from July 1,2012 until December 31,2012
Lump sum available from January 31,2013 until Contract expiration.
*If a Surplus condition in declared during a closed window, the Lump sum will be made available for 60 days.

-Healthcare
No premiums for healthcare for any active or retired member

-Expense treatment improvements
Both Article P15 & P16 have improved expense treatment, as well as improved accomodation language in P16

-Successor Language
A successor clause is now part of our Contract. This will help to protect our memberships from losing benefits in the event of another sale

-401k
Company match stays the same, but all matched funds come as cash, not Fairpoint stock. At closing of sale, Verizon shares and newly issued Fairpoint shares will be exit only funds. 401k is being managed by Fidelity

-$250 Signing bonus
Payable August 2008
payable August 2009

-Next Step
The class which has just signed up will be the last Next Step class. Everybody who is currently enrolled will be allowed
to complete the program

-Corporate Profit Sharing continues

-Dependant Care Reimbursement continues

-Work and Family continues

-No Wage Zone changes

-No change to the rating system

A more complete synopsis will be made available over the next few days. Dates and times for ratification will be announced as soon as they can be scheduled.

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Friday March 21st 3:00PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Our bargaining team has been in talks with FairPoint all day working towards a contract extension. These talks are continuing and we will update the tape with any breaking news.

Another date has been scheduled for the members who are required to take the asset test for the NextStep program.

The asset test will be given again in Nashua on Tuesday March 25^th at 8:00 AM. Any member who is interested in entering the class of 2009 can contact Jack Marshall at 508-460-4689 as there are still openings available.

The halls position on brothers and sisters taking set-ups hasn’t changed. We are reminding all our members to do the right thing when asked to take a set-up.

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Tuesday March 18th 3:00PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Talks continue this week with Fairpoint as our bargaining team works to secure a contract extension.

The names of the new companies are:

Northern New England Telephone Operations (ME+NH)

Telephone Operating Company of VT

The halls position on brothers and sisters taking set-ups hasn’t changed. We are reminding all our members to do the right thing when asked to take a set-up.

Wednesday March 14th 8:30 AM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Our bargaining team put in another long day yesterday finishing up around 1:00 AM this morning. There are still issues to be resolved and the team is asking us to be patient. They will take the necessary time to insure they get what’s right for the membership. Talks will resume next week in an attempt to bring this process to a conclusion.

The halls position on brothers and sisters taking set-ups hasn’t changed. We are reminding all our members to do the right thing when asked to take a set-up.

IBEW and CWA will be collecting and delivering proxies for Verizon’s annual meeting. Please vote, sign and date the proxy card and bring them to your local by April 21st.

Remember to Keep Safety First and Make it Last!

Thank-you for your support!

Tuesday March 11th 4:30 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Tomorrow our bargaining team will resume talks with Fairpoint as they look to make more progress in their efforts to secure a contract extension.

The IBEW campaign in support of Comcast workers rights kicks of on Wednesday March 12^th. Please extend to all Comcast workers warm IBEW regards if approached for information.

The halls position on brothers and sisters taking set-ups hasn’t changed. We are reminding all our members to do the right thing when asked to take a set-up.

IBEW and CWA will be collecting and delivering proxies for Verizon’s annual meeting. Please vote, sign and date the proxy card and bring them to your local by April 21st.

Friday march 7th 12:30 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Our bargaining team will resume talks with Fairpoint on March 12^th to continue efforts to secure a contract extension.

Today and tomorrow several NH IBEW locals will be leafleting at the Walmart Distribution Center off Main Street in Raymond, NH.

The times are: Friday March 7^th from 4:00-5:00 pm

Saturday March 8^th from 4:30-5:00 AM

All volunteers are welcome.

The IBEW campaign in support of Comcast workers rights kicks of on Wednesday March 12^th. Anyone wishing to volunteer some time to aid in this effort please contact the hall for more information.

The halls position on brothers and sisters taking set-ups hasn’t changed. We are reminding all our members to do the right thing when asked to take a set-up.

IBEW and CWA will be collecting and delivering proxies for Verizon’s annual meeting. Please vote, sign and date the proxy card and bring them to your local by April 21st.

Wednesday March 5th 10:30AM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Our bargaining team met with Fairpoint in two marathon sessions over the past two days, finishing at 4:00 AM today. Significant progress has been made in benefit and compensation levels. The team feels this progress will allow them to present to the membership an early extension of our current contract. These talks will resume on March 12^th.

The halls position on brothers and sisters taking set-ups hasn’t changed. We are reminding all our members to do the right thing when asked to take a set-up.

IBEW and CWA will be collecting and delivering proxies for Verizon’s annual meeting. Please vote, sign and date the proxy card and bring them to your local by April 21st.

Friday February 29th 4:00 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Yesterday, the Office of the Consumer Advocate presented a motion for an immediate clarification of the PUCs order which came out this past Monday. There’s been no response to this in the media regarding what impact if any it will have on the sale.

As we said earlier in the week our bargaining team will meet again with Fairpoint next week to continue their efforts to secure us a contract extension.

According to a Fairpoint’s Gene Johnson in a press release the closing date is scheduled for March 31, 2008. We are strongly urging any member considering retirement to push their date out to the 2^nd or 3^rd week in March.

IBEW and CWA will be collecting and delivering proxies for Verizon’s annual meeting. Please vote, sign and date the proxy card and bring them to your local by April 21st.

Remember to Keep Safety First and Make it Last!

Thank-you for your support!

Tuesday February 26th 10:00 AM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Yesterday the NH PUC gave their final approval to the Verizon-Fairpoint sale. Last evening around 6:30 PM, in a 2-1 split decision, the commission announced, “we are persuaded that FairPoint has demonstrated that the proposed transaction is for the public good”. The dissenting vote came from Cmmr. Morrison who in his report echoed

many of the arguments we’ve been presenting over the past year.

Additional conditions include:

-Fairpoint must establish a trust to pre-fund some of Fairpoint’s non-cash Other Post Employment Benefits expenses.

-Additional financial assurances against line losses up to $30 Million.

-Fairpoint may not without commission approval eliminate or reduce the workforce of the new call center it’s developing in Littleton and the new data center it’s developing in Manchester.

More information is available through links on our website and on the discussion boards.

As we said earlier in the week our bargaining team will meet again with Fairpoint during the first week in March to continue their efforts to secure us a contract extension.

We are strongly urging any member considering retirement to push their date out to the 2^nd or 3^rd week in March.

IBEW and CWA will be collecting and delivering proxies for Verizon’s annual meeting. Please vote, sign and date the card and bring them to your local by April 21st

Remember to Keep Safety First and Make it Last!

Thank-you for your support!

Friday February 22nd 3:00 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

We’ve been told the NH PUC commissioners have spent most of the week at a conference. Today their spokesman recited the same old line, “there is no timetable for an announcement”. We are hoping for some word to come out next week.

As we said earlier in the week our bargaining team will meet again with Fairpoint during the first week in March to continue their efforts to secure us a contract extension.

We are strongly urging any member considering retirement to push their date out to the 2nd or 3rd week in March.

The Corporate Profit Sharing Award for 2007 is $777.00

The award will be paid on March 6, 2008.

The Collette Lemay Scholarship applications are available. Please call this office at 669-8657 to receive the application for your students today.

Remember to Keep Safety First and Make it Last!

Thank-you for your support!

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Thursday February 21st 10:30 AM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

The IBEW bargaining team finished their second marathon session of the week late last night. There is a lot of work remaining in their attempts to secure a contract extension should the sale be approved. These discussions are scheduled to resume the first week in March.

The new closing date for the Fairpoint transaction is scheduled for March 31, 2008. At this point we are strongly urging any member considering retirement to push their date out to the 2^nd week in March.

The last Unit Meeting in February is on:

Thursday, Feb. 21^st 4:30 PM Unit 3 Keene

American Legion Court St., Keene

Immediately following the meeting there will be a social hour to honor recent retirees Griz Baribeau and Tim Lepisto.

The Collette Lemay Scholarship applications are available. Please call this office at 669-8657 to receive the application for your students today.

Remember to Keep Safety First and Make it Last!

Thank-you for your support!

Tuesday February 19th 12:30 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

It was announced late Friday afternoon that the Vermont Public Service Board gave their final approval to the deal. We are still awaiting word from the NH PUC.

The IBEW bargaining team is meeting with Fairpoint today and tomorrow to continue efforts to secure a contract extension.

Yesterday’s inaugural meeting of the Ladies of Labor was a huge success. Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter was the guest speaker and took questions on a variety of pertinent topics. Their next scheduled meeting is on March 20^th at 4:30 pm at the AFL-CIO hall in Hooksett.

The last Unit Meeting in February is on:

Thursday, Feb. 21^st 4:30 PM Unit 3 Keene

American Legion Court St., Keene

Immediately following the meeting the will be a social hour to honor recent retirees Griz Baribeau and Tim Lepisto.

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Friday February 15th 4:00 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Deliberations are continuing in Vermont and New Hampshire. We realize the frustration that everyone is feeling as we await their respective decisions but there is no set timetable for an announcement. The Vermont House of Representatives issued a resolution requesting the Public Service Board to give consideration to the economic sustainability of the Verizon work force and land line business in light of the agreement.

The IBEW bargaining team met again with Fairpoint this past Wednesday and Thursday. At this time no agreements have been reached. The talks are scheduled to resume next week.

Thursday February 7th 4:00 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

While we await the outcome of the NH PUC deliberations, representatives of the IBEW and CWA are meeting in Maine to resume contract discussions. Bear in mind that these discussion are very broad in scope. Today the focus was on our Pension and 401K plans. We’ll try to keep everyone apprised of any developments.

The NH Office of the Consumer Advocate is rumored to be preparing to weigh in again over the agreement. At this point it is only a rumor.

The IBEW will be leafleting at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center located off Main St. in Raymond, NH on Friday and Saturday from 2-5PM. If you would like to help out be there a little before 2PM for instructions

Financial planner, Nuno Pereira, from Scarborough Alliance will be available in the union hall on February 12^th and 13^th. If you would like to schedule some time with Nuno please contact him at 877-699-1211

Friday February 6th 5:00 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

The NH PUC concluded its hearing process yesterday. They are now in the process of deliberating over the testimony and are expected to return with a decision

by the middle of the month. As we said, the next potential date for the Vermont public Service board to render a decision is set for February 11^th, but as we all know this is subject to change.

Friday February 1st 2:00 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

The NH PUC is continuing its hearing process. Today the technical hearing began at 9:00 AM where our representatives will be giving expert testimony on the affects of the agreement. The PUC has also scheduled hearings on Monday Feb. 4^th from 1-4:30 pm and if necessary will resume on Tuesday Feb. 5th from 10-4:30.

The Vermont PSB met yesterday for an evidentiary hearing. The next potential date to issue a Final Board Order based on the modified transaction is set for February 11^th. However, this may be pushed out if the PSB feel they need more time to review any post-hearing filings that may arise.

Discount Ski passes are available for the following Mountains: Cranmore, Waterville Valley, Loon. Please contact the hall for further information.

Monday January 28th 4:10 PM

President Ted Poulin Reporting

If your looking for more information and answers to your questions; log into our new, redesigned web site. Take the time to sign up for access to the discussion board. The turn around for participation in the discussion board is only a couple of days. This discussion board is a private, secure, union members only forum. Topics range from general discussions of day-to-day happening to contract talks and “STOP-THE-SALE” issues.

You’ve all heard me say it before “WE’RE ONLY AS STRONG AS OUR MEMBERS and OUR STRENGH IS IN OUR NUMBERS”.

This is a golden opportunity for each and every member to be heard, get involved and help propel our Local into the future of the telecommunications business no matter how hard corporate greed tries to shut us out. Take the time to sign up I guarantee you it will be worth your while.

The Collette Lemay Scholarship applications are available. Please call this office at 669-8657 to receive the application for your students today.

Thank you for your support!!!

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Tuesday January 22, 2008 1:15pm

Business Manager Glenn Brackett

It has come to our attention that the company has begun a new program to identify, harass and discipline alleged low producers in each garage. Effective immediately, this new ill-conceived and arbitrary process will commence by having a manager ride along with the alleged “poor” producer for 10 consecutive days. The company then intends to take the productivity average for those 10 days and this average will be the productivity number that will be required to be attained by that technician going forward. The low producer will then have their productivity checked on a weekly basis, with progressive discipline to follow.

So… it is imperative that everybody follow all company work rules & all State & Federal mandates. Federal law mandates that all DOT drivers perform a motor vehicle inspection every day, before taking the company vehicle onto the job. You must have all safety equipment available to you in good working order. It is a violation of company policy to work without the proper safety equipment. If you don’t have proper safety equipment notify your manager immediately as well as Safety Coach John Murphy at 493-5393.

And just so we all understand what’s going on here…. If Verizon gets its way, all of us will be sold off. This intended sale has had significant negative impact on everybody in this state including Union, Management & our Customers. The customers are leaving in droves; employees are retiring as fast as they can. We have little to no work due to competition and a zero balance construction budget. We have had 3 fatalities in 18 months, yet the company is disemboweling its safety program. Nobody’s happy. And this new productivity program is just another exercise in stupidity. This is going to change things? No, this is just one more example of the moral irresponsibility being exhibited by management. So cover your ass, do nothing extra and make your boss do his job. Assume no responsibility for this disaster in waiting.

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Friday January 18th 2:00 PM

Vice-President Dave O’Connor reporting:

Brothers and Sisters, the results of our Lobby Day at the Statehouse in Concord on Wednesday are in. Our effort began outside of Representative Hall at 9:00 AM and finished late into the evening with our Legislative Reception held at the Capitol Grille. We were able to get 77 Senators and Representatives to sign letters urging the PUC not to approve the sale. Several leading representatives who had been sitting on the sidelines were moved by our presentation of the facts and took a stand against the deal. Jess Clark of the NH AFL-CIO said this level of response was phenomenal. Especially since our grassroots lobbyists had no prior experience.

We want to thank the following members who not only fulfilled their commitment to attend, but also represented Local 2320 very commendably. They were: Steve Soule, Casey Morgan, Bonnie Jennison, Dave McFadden, Mark Jutras, Sean Richard, and Roland Jacques. Thank-you all for a tremendous effort.

Discount Ski passes are available for the following Mountains: Cranmore, Waterville Valley, Loon, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf. Please contact the hall for further information.

Thursday and Friday our IBEW representatives resumed the exploratory discussions with Fairpoint that began last week. The feeling out process is continuing and we will keep you informed with any new developments.

We are looking for volunteers who are interested in our Local’s organizing effort. If you would like learn more please contact the hall with your personal contact information.

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Tuesday January 15th 4:00 PM

Vice President Dave O’Connor reporting:

The latest impact on the STOP THE SALE front is coming from the state of Maine where Deputy Public Advocate, William C. Black, has requested the PUC “rerun the numbers” in light of the amended Vermont agreement.

He States: “it appears from the Vermont stipulation and supporting Leach Supplemental Testimony filed in Vermont that FairPoint has agreed to additional conditions in Vermont that have a financial impact on FairPoint, and that are not supported by offsetting Verizon contributions

The cumulative impact of any uncovered additional FairPoint commitments in Vermont is likely to change materially the financial projections upon which the Maine Commission relied in approving (with conditions) the Maine Amended Stipulation and joint application”.

Stay tuned as this convoluted process continues.

The effort to get our message across to the New Hampshire PUC continues. Tomorrow our members will spend the day in Concord seeking to solidify support as we work to keep our legislators on point in our Stop the Sale campaign.

Open Enrollment for September Next Step ends this Friday the 18^th. So call 1-800-238-5455 if you plan to enroll in the September class.

Discount Ski passes are available for the following Mountains: Cranmore, Waterville Valley, Loon, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf. Please contact the hall for further information.

Bridges freeze up first; at least that’s what the signs say before every bridge on I-89 in Vermont! SOOOOO,

Remember to Keep Safety First and Make it Last!

Thank-you for your support!

Friday January 11th 4:00 PM

Vice President Dave O’Connor reporting:

The IBEW and CWA met again with Fairpoint on Friday to discuss the possibility of a contract extension. These meetings are being held that in the event the sale is approved, our memberships are protected. Discussions between the parties are scheduled to continue next week.

As we mentioned yesterday our local’s website is under- going changes. Take some time to check it out and don’t forget to register in the secure discussion area which will be available after verification of membership.

Open Enrollment for September Next Step class is now taking sign ups by phone. You must call 1-800-238-5455 to enroll. Calling hours are from 8 to 5 starting January 7^th through January 18^th. You can still register on line by going to NSPinfo.com. Remember, even if you have registered prior, you must still register again for the September class. If you have any questions or problems, please call Jack Marshall at 508-460-4689.

Thursday January 10th 4:30 PM

Vice President Dave O’Connor reporting:

The IBEW and CWA met jointly today with Fairpoint Communications to begin talks of a possible early contract extension. They will meet again on Friday when the parties will continue this exploratory process. These discussions are being held so that in the event the sale is approved our membership will be protected.

The company has begun canvassing members in the northern states on their retirement intentions. WE ARE NOT PARTICIPATING IN THIS CANVASS! The company did not request any input from the union when the deal to sell the Northern States was brokered a year ago and we are not going to start participating now!!!

Our local’s website is in the process of updating and enhancing some features. Over the next 24 hours it may be down intermittently. Please bear with us as we work to improve your site.