LEWISTON — The Twin Cities will be among the first to lose dedicated, bare-minimum landline telephone service in August, and the American Association for Retired Persons wants to make sure people know about it. “We want to make sure the information provided is understandable,” AARP spokesperson Amy Gallant said. “These changes are very confusing and […]
FairPoint
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Fairpoint to use federal funds to expand rural Maine broadband
AUGUSTA — FairPoint Communications is getting nearly $80 million over six years to provide broadband Internet service to more rural Maine residents. The Portland Press Herald reports that the money is coming from the federal Connect America Fund, which was developed by the Federal Communications Commission to expand broadband service in high-cost areas. The company […]
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FairPoint posts profitable quarter on lower employee expenses after strike
PORTLAND — FairPoint Communications posted net income of $40.3 million Wednesday morning, driven largely by cuts in pension and retirement benefits from the contract signed with workers after a 131-day strike. The company in the second quarter reported a 5 percent drop in total revenue, to $214.1 million, with the steepest declines in voice service […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Fairpoint strike adds to quarterly losses
PORTLAND — The pace of FairPoint Communications’ quarterly losses accelerated during the 131-day strike by 1,700 employees in two unions, with $73.6 million in costs related to negotiations and hiring temporary replacement workers. The losses were steeper than analysts’ forecasts for the company, but the company said Wednesday it expects a new contract to dramatically […]
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FairPoint more attractive to buyers with new labor pact
PORTLAND — FairPoint Communications said it needed to bring costs and benefits into sync with competitors in the telecommunications industry. By doing just that in a new labor pact, the company has made itself more attractive to potential buyers, an analyst and workers say. Workers said during a four-month strike in northern New England that […]
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FairPoint Communications, unions reach deal to end strike
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Northern New England’s primary landline provider, FairPoint Communications, and two unions representing more than 1,700 workers announced Thursday that they had reached a tentative agreement to end a four-month strike. The tentative agreement follows more than a month of federally mediated negotiations. FairPoint workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont went […]
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FairPoint, unions into 2nd day of talks
PORTLAND — Negotiations between FairPoint and two unions representing striking workers in northern New England are continuing with the help of a federal mediator in Washington, D.C. Top leaders from both negotiating teams met on Sunday for mediated talks, the first discussions in more than a month. Another session was scheduled for Monday. Both the […]
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Fairpoint unions, management return to bargaining table
PORTLAND — FairPoint Communication and unions representing more than 1,700 striking workers are headed back to the bargaining table. Top leaders from both negotiating teams are to gather in Washington, D.C., at the request of Allison Beck, acting director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The unions said the meeting is Sunday. The last […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
2014: A year of tragedies, triumphs and tribulations
At first glance, 2014 looks like a year of staying the course — of familiar faces and the unchanging Maine way of life. We elected a new governor who wasn’t new to us at all. We voted against a referendum that would have changed the way sportsmen hunt bears in the Maine woods. A popular […]
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NLRB rejects ‘bad faith’ claims against FairPoint
PORTLAND (AP) — The National Labor Relations Board has dismissed complaints by two unions who accused FairPoint Communications of bargaining in bad faith, delivering a blow to striking workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, officials said Tuesday. The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said they were appealing the […]