Frontier Communications and the IBEW announced agreements on Oct. 2 regarding the company’s planned $10.54 billion acquisition of Verizon’s wireline service in California, Florida and Texas.
The agreements, which pertain only to the California and Texas portions of the deal, add union jobs, guarantee job security for Verizon employees and extend current contracts for an additional two years in both states.
In recognition of Frontier’s commitments, the IBEW and its affected locals agreed to support the Verizon sale, which is expected to close sometime in early spring 2016.
Tampa, Fla. Local 824, which represents 2,700 Verizon workers in the state, will add at least 100 new union jobs after the completion of the Frontier deal.
San Bernardino, Calif. Local 543, which represents another 200 Verizon employees, is guaranteed an additional 25 jobs by the Connecticut-based company.
International President Lonnie R. Stephenson added his voice to the chorus urging regulators to complete the deal in the next few months.
“We believe that labor and management can achieve more by working together, not against each other,” he said. “This agreement is a win for our workers, a win for management, and most of all, a win for the consumer.”
The IBEW already represents more than 4000 Frontier workers in New York, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Montana, Tennessee, Oregon, Washington and the Carolinas.
Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user Mike Mozart.