Frontier Members to Revote Offer

NOTICE TO ALL IBEW LOCAL 1245 MEMBERS
AT FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS
(ELK GROVE AGREEMENT)

See links below to all relevant documents

Dear Members,

As you are aware, Frontier’s Last Best and Final Offer dated Oct. 12, 2011 was rejected by our membership in a recent vote.

Following the membership rejection, the company requested that the union reconvene with the company on Dec. 14, 2011. The union’s negotiating committee met with the company on Dec. 14 as requested.

The company offered the union’s negotiating committee two options:

Option 1: Re-vote the terms of the company’s Oct. 12, 2011 Last Best and Final Offer, and the company will hold employee meetings to explain that the terms of this offer are reasonable, and the impact to benefit changes are not as detrimental to employees as some might have expected. During the Dec. 14 meeting the company also provided the union with medical premium co-share information and examples of the financial impact to employees due to the new 10% coinsurance for outpatient advanced diagnostic radiology services. The intent of this information was to show that the 10% coinsurance was not going to be as costly for employees as some may have originally believed.

Option 2: The second option proposed by the company shifted four Article 10 Sick Leave Hours into Article 12 Personal Day hours and exchanged the second year 1% General Wage Increase to a $600 lump-sum payment. The union’s committee quickly agreed that the company’s Option 2 was of lesser value than the Last Best and Final Offer already rejected by 2/3 of our voting membership at Frontier, and was not worthy of membership consideration.

At the company’s request, the union is agreeable to allow a membership revote on company Option 1, which is essentially the exact same provisions of the company’s Last Best and Final Offer of Oct. 12, 2011. The company will be holding employee meetings in order to address any concerns or questions which employees may have regarding the changes in employee benefits. As we have already done so prior to the previous vote, the union will not be holding special membership meetings regarding this re-vote; however, we will be discussing the terms of the re-vote at all regularly scheduled Frontier Unit meetings.

The union’s bargaining committee remains neutral and is not recommending that the membership vote either to accept or reject the terms of the company’s Last Best and Final Offer. We nonetheless encourage all of our members covered by the Frontier Elk Grove agreement to vote.

Ballots will be mailed no later than Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. Once you have decided how you will vote on the re-vote of the company’s Last Best and Final Offer, follow the instructions on the ballot that you receive in the mail, and then mail your completed ballot. In order to be counted, ballots must be received in the union’s P.O. Box no later than 10 am on Jan. 9, 2012.

In Solidarity,

Raymond S. Thomas
Assistant Business Manager
IBEW Local Union 1245

LINKS TO ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTS:

Frontier_Option_1.pdf

Frontier_00_Cover_MOU_Oct_7.pdf

Frontier_1-B Art 6 GWI & Progression Increases when Absent 31+ days Oct 7.pdf

Frontier-1-D Art 11 VACATION Carryover Sept 30.pdf

Frontier_1-E Art 12 HOLIDAYS & FLOATING HOLIDAYS Oct 12 Version 2.pdf

Frontier_1-F Art 13 OVERTIME & MEALS Oct 7.pdf

Frontier_2-A Performance Recognition Plan + RSS Oct 7.pdf

Frontier_3-A Art 18 PHONE CONCESSION Sept 19.pdf

Frontier_3-B Art 24 BENEFITS Oct 7.pdf