BRUNSWICK

Workers at Brunswick’s FairPoint facility began picketing at 7 a.m., on Friday, joining 1,700 other employees across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, after a strike was called at midnight.

The Brunswick office employs about 25, about the same number of striking workers that could be seen along Bath Road Friday morning.

FairPoint employee Barry Todd said FairPoint has “misrepresented its commitment to the State of Maine.”

Union workers, Todd said, are required to run and upgrade systems installed at hospitals and state government offices.

Other consumers could also feel the effect of the strike, Todd said.

A FairPoint news release stated that the company “is disappointed by the unions’ decision to walk out, but the company has comprehensive plans in place to ensure continuity of service to its customers.”

Negotiations between FairPoint have been ongoing for months and previous contracts expired in early August, according to FairPoint spokeswoman Angelynne Beaudry.

The union made concessions in areas such as health care, said Steve Elrick of Yarmouth, a splice service technician who has worked at the company 15 years and who helped mobilize the Brunswick workers strike. 

However, the largest bone of contention is the use of contractors hired by FairPoint for less pay that represent a threat to the workers, according to Elrick.

“There’s 900 employees in the state of Maine. They could take the office people and they could route those to Canada or over to Europe or wherever they want to do it,” said Elrick. “They could replace us, eventually.”

“They put one deal on the table and that’s all they put on the table,” said. “We’ve tried to negotiate over the past six months with them. We gave up $225 million in concessions, which they didn’t like at all. They want $700 million in concessions. The CEO got a 17 percent raise last year, but we’ve got to give up everything.”

“They walked away from the negotiating table,” Elrick said. “They have imposed a contract on us — and we don’t even know what the contract is about. We made major concessions, and they don’t want to deal with any of it.”

“The previous contracts with our unions expired in early August and, unfortunately, despite months of negotiations the two sides remain far apart on the issues we think are key to the future of the company,” said Beaudry. “While we have implemented our final proposals, we have always remained willing to negotiate and have committed to evaluate and respond to any counterproposal from the unions that meaningfully addresses the core issues of these negotiations. So far we have not received any such counterproposals.”

Beaudry continued, “At no point in the negotiation did FairPoint propose to reduce base wages for existing employees. We sought instead to bring the existing health care and pension benefits in line with what we believe are mainstream for employees in the region, and transition union represented employees to the same or similar benefit plans as offered to other FairPoint employees, including management. We believe these changes are fair to our employees while enabling the company to provide modern telecommunication products and services to our customers, communities and states at a competitive price.”

Under the previous contracts, the company paid for all healthcare premiums for its unionized workforce, provided unlimited paid sick days, a defined benefit pension plan with no employee contributions, and a 401K plan with a company match. 

In total, under the old agreements, the average wage and benefit costs for FairPoint’s union represented employees in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont were approximately $115,000 per year — not including the future costs of pension and other post-retirement benefits, according to the company’s statement.

“We have service level agreements which is what we use to keep the customers happy. If we don’t meet those service agreements, we get fined by the (Public Utilities Commission), and the customers will expect rebates,” said Todd. “FairPoint is unable to meet those service level agreements when the union’s out on strike.”

“We value every customer and it is important for them to know that we have comprehensive contingency plans in place to ensure the service they, and the economy and communities of northern New England, rely on continues without interruption,” said FairPoint spokeswoman Angelynne Beaudry, in a statement.

According to Charlie Roscoe of Bowdoin, who has worked at the Brunswick location since 1988, FairPoint has tossed out agreements that have been in place for decades.

“You’re talking 30, 40 years and more of issues that have been negotiated, back when it was called NYNEX, New England Telephone, Verizon, which is what FairPoint took over.

“They’ve taken that contract and said, ‘It’s all gone. We’re going to rewrite it. If you don’t like it, there’s the door,’” said Roscoe.

FairPoint, Roscoe said, “isn’t what it claimed to be when it took over services in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.”

Pensions are being frozen for longtime workers, said Roscoe, while executives are getting raises.

Roscoe also objected to what he said was FairPoint’s hiring of a Brunswick Police detail to monitor what has been a peaceful protest.

Todd recalled a strike in 1989 at the same location that lasted 15 weeks, primarily over healthcare. 

“We got everything that we asked for,” Todd said. 

Todd said he didn’t think this strike would last as long.

Elrick said employs will strike “as long as we have to” and will picket every day.

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