Frontier Bargaining Report #64

1012/2022

Brothers and Sisters,

Once again your Bargaining Committee has to address the obfuscation information put out by Greg Stephens once again. Below is an email sent out by Greg Stephens, today October 12, 2022 at 12:24pm.  We would like to point out the misguided information he provided you.

· In reference to the company’s comment around the “…tentative work-sharing agreement…”  This is a long standing agreement actually titled Cross-Functional Worksharing and is Union proposal 20 in which your Bargaining Committee proposed changes initially on July 25, 2022.  It took the company nearly 2 months to respond to our proposal.  Don’t be fooled by the positivity of this comment.  If your Bargaining Committee had not proposed changes to this MOA the company would have let it stand as is.

· In reference to the company’s comment “We updated a proposal to add a new paid holiday, giving you the choice of taking off Juneteenth or Veteran’s Day.”  THIS IS MISINFORMATION!  FACT:  It was your Bargaining Committee that initially passed a proposal on July 22, 2022 attempting to add MLK, Juneteenth AND Veteran’s Day.  The company did not respond to our proposal until September 7, 2022 in which they only wanted to add Juneteenth.  On September 9, 2022 your Bargaining Committee sent an amended proposal to give you the choice between Juneteenth or Veteran’s Day.  It was not until October 7, 2022, that the company finally decided to respond to our amended proposal from September 7, 2022 and in essence agreed to our proposal to give you a choice of Juneteenth or Veteran’s Day.  At no point did the company ever pass a proposal or update a proposal to give you the option to choose between Juneteenth or Veteran’s Day.

· In reference to the company’s comment “We also proposed adding Irving ATS to the list of call centers we’ve committed to keeping open in Texas.”  THIS IS MISINFORMATION! FACT: The company initially passed their proposal on the Texas Call Center Operations MOA on August 1, 2022.  In their proposal the ONLYchange they proposed to make was to commit to keeping operations in Texas until December 31, 2022.  On August 5, 2022 your Bargaining Committee countered their initial proposal to include Irving ATS and to extend the commitment out for the life of the contract.  On September 16, 2022 the company once again passed their proposal from August 1, 2022, again with the only proposed change was to commit to keeping operation in Texas until December 31, 2022.  During that bargaining session your Bargaining Committee suggested that the company add Irving ATS to the proposal.  At that point the company chair stated that it would not be a problem to add Irving ATS.  On September 30, 2022 the company passed their proposal again but this time they proposed to commit to keeping operation in Texas until December 31, 2023,YET, they DID NOT include Irving ATS in their proposal.  It was not until October 7, 2022 that the company finally sent over their proposal that included Irving ATS.  The only reason the company included Irving ATS in the Texas Call Center Operations MOA is because your Bargaining Committee suggested it.  The company did not add it out of the kindness of their heart.

· In reference to the company’s comment about Blue Cross Blue Shield.  While what they stated was true it is not wholly accurate.  BCBS was in fact in negotiation with not one but TWO Texas Network Providers; UTSW and THR. The company denial that this had nothing to do with them is a BLATANT LIE. The company is the one that selects Anthem as their administrator for healthcare. They are fully aware of the contract length BCBS has with the networks. In fact, while this has been rectified for now, the newly negotiated contract between them will expire again in March of 2025 before a 3 year agreement between CWA and the company expires in August of 2025. To not understand or take any responsibility that you may have had to go out of network for your care and could cost you hundreds and in some instances, thousands more in deductibles and maximums. It is obvious your health is not in their business objectives.

 
Mr. Stephens, the CWA Bargaining Committee once again cordially invites you to join us at the bargaining table so you have firsthand knowledge as to what takes place so when you send out the company bargaining report you can provide the most accurate and up to date information.  If you choose not to attend bargaining, refrain from trying to control a narrative on a subject you know nothing about. The Union having to put out fires from the membership with Senior Vice President’s emails takes away from productive time at the table. Snake Oil Sales went out in the 19th Century.

Local 6132 and 6171 Members,

 At this point you should be beyond frustrated with the misinformation not only being sent out by Mr. Stephens but also the misinformation being sent by Mary Pat Rodriguez and Nick Jeffry.  Enough is Enough!!  Don’t tolerate this any longer.  Take a Stand! Should you need any questions answered, please call or email the author of the company’s report. If needed, send an email with your questions to cwa6171mobilization@gmail.com and we will submit it in the form of a request for information and post the company response. This will remain anonymous from you.

 From: Stephens, Gregory

Team,

We made progress again last week at the bargaining table with the CWA.  

 1. We reached a tentative work-sharing agreement that enables our call center employees to serve our customers without transferring them to another group.

 2. We updated a proposal to add a new paid holiday, giving you the choice of taking off Juneteenth or Veterans Day. This is in addition to the 7 designated and 7 personal holidays you already receive. 

 3. We also proposed adding Irving ATS to the list of call centers we’ve committed to keeping open in Texas. This is tied to the acceptance of our work-at-home proposal.

 Lastly, we know many of you have been following the dispute between BlueCross Blue Shield and a large Texas network provider. While this has nothing to do with us, we wanted to share the good news: The dispute has been resolved.

 We will continue to keep you updated. 

 In Unity,

Your Bargaining Committee

(Your source for accurate and truthful information)

CD/cmt
opeiu#13