Tentative 4-year contract reached between CWA and Frontier

The Communication Workers of America and Frontier Communications have reached a tentative agreement on new four-year contract.

CWA International Representative Elaine Harris said the deal was reached early Monday morning.

“It’s come after more than a year of negotiating,” Harris said.

The old contract ran out Aug. 2, 2013 but union members didn’t strike instead they agreed to a half-dozen contract extensions during the past year.

“We are pleased to announce that Frontier and the Communications Workers of America have reached a tentative contract settlement in West Virginia,” Frontier East Region Area President Ken Arndt said in a prepared statement. “Throughout our negotiations, we worked to achieve an agreement that treats employees fairly and allows the company to provide excellent customer service and succeed as a business in a highly competitive industry.”

Harris, who couldn’t release many details about the tentative contract Monday morning, supports the proposal.

“We believe we’ve got an agreement that is good for our members and most importantly our customers here in the state of West Virginia,” she said.

Health care had been a big sticking point during negotiations.

The proposal is retroactive until to Aug. 2013 and, if ratified, would run through Aug. 2017. It impacts 1,500 Frontier workers in the Mountain State. Harris said the ratification process should be wrapped up by the end of the month.

“The package will be put together and it will be put out to the membership for ratification,” she said.

A few dozen CWA members rallied last week in downtown Charleston calling for a deal to be reached.