CWA and Frontier Reopen Talks

CHARLESTON. W.Va.—Frontier Communications has resumed contract talks with the Communications Workers of America in an effort to settle the strike by about 1,400 workers that began March 4. The two sides met Mar. 20-21, according to Ed Mooney, vice president of CWA District 2-13. Job security remains a major issue: The union wants all workers protected against layoffs, while Frontier has offered to protect 85%. “This strike’s not really about money,” CWA Local 2011 treasurer Allan Renquest told WDTV in Bridgeport while picketing Mar. 19. “It’s not about health care. It’s about keeping jobs in West Virginia.” Both sides also agreed Mar. 19 to a court order that prohibits strikers from “causing physical violence or harm, or making threats of physical violence or harm” or blocking access to Frontier facilities and worksites. “We made sure our members are still allowed to effectively orchestrate the strike, picket the scabs, and communicate to the public what our issues are,” Mooney said. Frontier has also notified strikers that it will suspend their health-care coverage if they are still out at the end of the month, CWA spokesperson Beth Allen said, but the union has funds to take care of them. Read more