Frontier Bargaining Report #125

2/22/2023

Sisters and Brothers,

Your committee met with the company today. We were able to TA a new MOA (Training Opportunities To Succeed) "TOTS"  Training initiative and a new LOU (Training Advisory Board) "TAB" that will oversee the program your committee introduced into these negotiations. We anticipate that this will be a positive opportunity for training for those who wish to move into higher-paying craft positions from other titles that have been bypassed due to the company saying they did not have the training or experience.

We informed the company that we have no desire to change the name of an MOA that is moot just to allow the company to continue giving your jobs to contractors, and we will stand firm on that!!

We discussed the company's counter proposal on the Telematics/GPS MOA. After some intense discussion over this topic, we have rejected the company's counter proposal in favor of our own and holding on it.

In Unity,

The Bargaining Committee

As promised, below is a timeline of events since the 2016 Acquisition as well as a side-by-side comparison of the California wages and the company's proposed wages for Texas. 

Frontier Timeline of Events

 Frontier acquired Verizon CTF properties beginning April 01, 2016

 California CWA Agreement was set to expire in March 2017

 Texas CWA Agreement was set to expire in August 2016

 Florida is an IBEW Agreement and not relative in this instance
 

GWI relevant information 

 California received an increase of 2.5% on March 13, 2016, 18 days prior

to Acquisition

 Texas’ last GWI prior to Acquisition was 2.0% on August 09, 2015

Extention Agreements

 Frontier agreed to extend California Agreement to March 02, 2019, with

wage increases of 2.0% on March 05, 2017, and 2.0% on March 04, 2018

 Frontier agrees to extend Texas Agreement to August 04, 2018, with wage

increases of 2.0% on August 07, 2016, and 2.0% on August 06, 2017

 Acquisition Agreements for both California and Texas include Frontier’s

commitment to commence bargaining of new Agreements at least 6

months prior to the expiration of Extension Agreements.

Negotiation for New Agreements
 

 True to Frontier’s commitment to begin bargaining at least 6 months prior

to the August 04, 2018 Extension expiration, Texas begins negotiations

with Frontier in February 2018

 During Texas negotiations in February 2018, and 1 year prior to the March

2019 expiration, California and Frontier agree to an additional Contract

Extension of 18 months to September 04, 2020, with Wage increases of

2.25% on March 05, 2019, and 2.0% on March 08, 2020

 Texas continues to bargain a new Agreement and comes to a Tentative

Agreement in August 2018. The Texas Membership ratifies a new 4-year

agreement in effect from August 05, 2018, through August 06, 2022

 Wage increases for the 2018 Texas Agreement are

 2.25% on August 04, 2018, retroactive to August 05, 2018

 2% on August 04, 2019

 2% on August 02, 2020

 2% on August 08, 2021

 The 2018 Agreement also included a new Employee Annual Recognition

Bonus that the Union negotiated to replace the Team Performance Award

that Frontier had already reduced from 4% with Verizon to 1% for the

2018 Plan year. In so doing the Union agreed to forfeit TPA already

earned for 2018 for the initial EAR Bonus of $700 payable in September of

2018. Subsequent EAR payouts were $500 for 2019, 2020, and 2021

 California has continued to participate in the TPA with the final payout in

April 2023

 The new California Agreement ratified in December includes retroactive

Wage increase of

 2.0% back to March 05, 2021

 1.5% March 6, 2022

 1.5% September 4, 2022

 1.5% March 5, 2023

 1.5% September 3, 2023

 2.0% March 03, 2024

 2.0% September 01, 2024

 1.5% March 02, 2025

 The agreement is set to expire September 06, 2025 – the first year of the Agreement

has already passed prior to the ratification in December 2022.

 Combined GWI of California Agreement from 2022 through expiration in

September 2025 is 11.5%

 These are true and factual numbers taken directly from the Collective

Bargaining Agreements, Contract Extensions, 2015 Acquisition

Agreements and Historical Data. 

Side by Side Comparison of California New Wages and Frontier Proposed Texas Wages

             California                                                                         Texas

  GWI 2021  

Retro at December 2022  ratification                  Final GWI in the 2018 contract

2%         3-5-21                                                       2%        8-8-21   

_______________________________________________________________                                                                                                                                                          

                                                           GWI 2022

1.5%          3-6-22                                                                     1.5%      8-7-22                                                              

1.5%          9-4-22

                                                            GWI 2023

1.5%          3-5-23                                                                     1.5%       2-5-23

1.5%          9-3-23                                                                     1.5%       8-6-23

                                                             GWI 2024

2%             3-3-24                                                                      1.5%       2-4-24

2%             9-1-24                                                                      1.5%       8-4-24

                                                             GWI 2025

1.5%          3-2-25                                                                      1.5%       2-2-25

_________________                                                              ________________

11.5%     California                                                                  9% Texas

TS/cmt

opeiu#13