Frontier Bargaining Report #119

2/13/2023

Sisters and Brothers:

We were all honored to hear from Alan Gardner (NOT) via email with his take on contract negotiations to date. Unfortunately, he has not accepted our invitations to join in negotiations and actually get in the game as opposed to his sideline point of view. While they presented this package on Wednesday, we did not receive a copy for review until Thursday. 

We are amazed that he would post to the members that the Company has offered a 9% wage increase to Texas when our California Brothers and Sisters actually received an 11.5% increase from 2022 through 2025. They aren't even keeping up with inflation. You can fact check him on the CWA District 9 website. He is also trying to take credit for proposing the EAR Bonus. A LIE!!! The Union proposed it and also proposed increases to it. He said it is a continuation of it at $500 annually. If he would ever open the contract, it clearly was $750 the first year and $500 the following years.  Maybe by posting that he thinks Texas can’t do simple math or worse, that we are stupid. That may work for the people he gives his speeches to, but we know he is lying. He mentions the bridge to Medicare, it is a bridge (to help them save money and a cliff for you and your dependents to dive off into) that was accepted by California (after it was voted down the first time). That is a true statement. He tries to portray it in a positive light, when in fact it strips our members who retire after contract ratification of any Company funded healthcare if you are 65. Worse yet, it also ends all dependent insurance when the retiree reaches 65. If he wants to post what has been offered by the Company, then he should be transparent with the employees and stop trying to put lipstick on this pig! Post it, Alan!  Comparison after comparison was made with California and what Texas should accept. He didn’t mention that California secured a “no-lay-off” good through the end of the 2025 agreement. Our proposal to have the same was rejected numerous times. The only comparison that can be made there are apples to a shit sandwich! He mentioned Healthcare and the Union had not agreed yet. Once again, his assertion was misguided and not the whole truth. We verbally agreed with the Company’s latest Healthcare proposal on Friday.

As far as the Work at Home proposal is concerned, we are simply making sure that the membership is protected. From where they started to where we are is vastly different from their original proposal which is a win/win. The true fact is they have emptied out the 7979 center and only going to use a small portion of the building that they say can only house about 35 people. So who would be the winner in saving rent, utilities, janitorial, security, etc? Think about that. 

During the months we have been bargaining, both sides have had holidays off, funeral leave, and several arbitrations among other obligations. Let us remind Alan that California went well over a year without a contract. While the company feels they only had a few proposals, they all are concessions to what you already have. 

While the Chief Pettiness Officer may want you to think they know how to run a business, let us be reminded who put us in bankruptcy....Frontier did!!

We will not be threatened by the Company bargaining in the field. We are adding this to a number of Labor Board charges we have filed and will be filing on this. They have no regard for Federal Law. 

 While there are numerous other differences between the California agreement and ours, we just wanted to point out his misguided email.

Remain United and Strong and tell the company to treat you the way you need to be treated.

We will continue bargaining in good faith until we reach an agreement for Texas. 

In Unity,

The Bargaining Committee

TS/cmt
opeiu#13