The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved Frontier Communications' Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan Wednesday, agreeing to expand its fiber network and pledging not to reduce its workforce in the state for at least two years.

Frontier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April. The company received Federal Communications Commission approval for the plan earlier this month.  With Connecticut’s approval, 12 of the 25 states in which Frontier operates have approved the plan.

The Communications Workers of America, which represents about 1,600 Frontier technicians and call center workers in Connecticut, had pressed for the approval to include conditions to improve service quality and preserve jobs in the state. The CWA had pointed out that Frontier has jettisoned about 740 employees in the state, about 30% of its workforce, since 2016. The union also wanted the PURA to use the oversight process to ensure the company stayed accountable to its workers and customers and not Wall Street hedge funds.     

As part of the reorganization, Frontier said it would reduce debt by about $11 billion and build out its fiber network across its footprint. It expects to emerge from bankruptcy early this year. In December, the company named former Vodafone executive Nick Jeffery as CEO.  Jeffery, who is expected to take the helm on March 1, replaces Bernie Han, who will remain on the board of directors and assist in the transition.  

Among the conditions for approval in Connecticut, Frontier agreed to add at least an additional 100,000 locations in the state in a four-year period ended Dec. 31, 2024, pledged not to reduce its technicians and call center workforce through involuntary attrition for two years and promised to maintain its corporate headquarters in Connecticut.

In a statement, CWA Local 1298 president Dave Weidlich said the PURA approval commits Frontier to expanding its fiber network and offers some protections for employees, but fell short of the mark.

“However, we believe this was a missed opportunity to follow the lead of other states who have put stronger conditions on Frontier related to capital investment, broadband deployment and workforce retention,” Weidlich added. “CWA remains committed to working with Frontier to provide the best possible service to Connecticut customers and to ensure that Frontier lives up to both the letter and spirit of this decision. We hope that this decision will serve as a starting point for Frontier’s continued investment and that Frontier makes a strong, ongoing commitment to Connecticut homes and businesses to provide Connecticut with the connectivity we deserve.”

The unions that represent the production teams for TV shows and movies have agreed to a COVID-19 testing regime that will allow productions to resume filming. It includes a compliance supervisor who must be on site "from crew call to wrap."

It is based on the "Safe Way Forward" report issued by the unions in June and developed with the guidance of epidemiologists and other experts.

“SAG-AFTRA members, along with their peers in other entertainment unions, are anxious to get back to work, but safety has to be the highest priority," said Gabrielle Carteris, president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG/AFTRA). "This agreement establishes sensible, science-based protocols that allow members to return to doing the work they love while managing risk. I am grateful to our sister unions, who pulled together during this extended crisis, as well as to the studios for collaborating on this important issue.”

Basics of the new protocols include testing regimes, zone-based systems* and use of PPE.

The regime also includes COVID-19-related sick leave and quarantine pay.

Issuing the new protocols were the Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Teamsters and the Basic Crafts, and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), in conjunction with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

According to the protocols each cast and crew member will be tested on the first day of work, then periodically throughout the production. Some form of lab-based test will be required. Antigen and antibody tests will not be accepted. Cast members will be tested more frequently given that they "are not able to utilize PPE and physical distancing when cameras are rolling" (unless, of course, those are part of the storyline).

For others, the frequency will be 1) a minimum of once a week for those who work on set but not when performers are present; 2) every two weeks for workers in areas other than the set, like the production office; and 3) on the first day for remote workers not in the actual production environment.

All employees get 10 days of COVID-19 paid sick leave, which could be used for testing positive, exhibiting symptoms, taking care of a sick household member, isolation, or quarantine. There are exceptions, but, generally, employees will receive quarantine pay.

* Zone-based systems are "barriers within which those on set can flow based on proximity to cast, level of testing, PPE and the extent to which physical distancing can be observed in the performance of their work."

Altice USA workers in Oakland N.J., narrowly voted for IBEW representation on March 1, making it one of the few union shops in the cable operator’s footprint.

Electricians, technicians and warehouse workers at Altice’s Oakland, N.J. facility vote 49-46 in favor of representation from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – Local 827. According to the National Labor Relations Board, about 100 employees at the shop were eligible to vote, with 95 casting ballots. Oakland is the second Altice USA shop to approve union representation – its Brooklyn, N.Y., facility which has about 300 workers is represented by the Communications Workers of America.

Unionization has been a hot topic for Altice USA ever since it said it would transfer its field service, construction & fiber, design, outside plant maintenance, inside plant and field-based employees serving commercial accounts to a separate company, Altice Technical Services USA. That transition began in February with Optimum employees and is continuing through April, with sources saying a large majority of workers electing to move over to ATS. Altice USA has stressed that ATS would afford workers more opportunities for advancement and training, while unions have warned it could enable the company to circumvent pledges to keep its employee rolls constant.

So far, the unions have had little luck. Altice USA employees in the Bronx, N.Y.; and Piscataway, N.J. voted down CWA representation in January. The CWA has withdrawn petitions to unionize in Brooklyn (for workers it doesn’t already represent), West Nyack and Hawthorne, N.Y.; and the IBEW has done the same in Newark, N.J.

“We are disappointed that a small group of Oakland, N.J. employees narrowly voted for IBEW union representation in what was an extremely close election, and we are assessing our options regarding the outcome,” Altice USA said in a statement. “This is a time of tremendous opportunity for our company, and Altice USA strongly believes that a direct relationship with our employees promotes an environment of trust, respect and collaboration, which ultimately drives a superior experience for our customers.”

The battle for the hearts and minds of 264 Cablevision Systems field technicians and dispatchers in Brooklyn continued Thursday, after the cable company said a non-binding vote proves workers at the site no longer want union representation, while union officials claim the company is using strong-arm tactics to intimidate employees.

Cablevision workers in Brooklyn have been represented by Local 1109 of the Communications Workers of America since 2012,  but the relationship has been a rocky one. Months after its Brooklyn workers decided to unionize, Cablevision sued the CWA in state Supreme Court in New York, claiming the union defamed it by making false statements regarding the cable operator’s service. In 2013, Cablevision said several employees had petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to decertify the union, a move the CWA said was made to cover up the illegal firing of 22 workers at the location for airing grievances. Cablevision, which said the employees refused to work, reinstated them about a month later.

Cablevision said that on Sept. 10, Brooklyn workers in an anonymous poll conducted by independent third party The Honest Ballot Association, voted 129-115 against union representation, the first time a clear vote on the matter has been conducted since 2012. Cablevision claimed about 93% of total workers at the facility turned out for the vote.

While the Sept. 10 vote will have no effect on union certification – only an NLRB sanctioned vote could do that – it throws another spotlight on what has been a hot button issue in the borough for years. Workers at the Cablevision facility have been without a contract since certifying the union nearly three years ago and the ongoing fight has drawn in politicians from around the area – current New York Mayor Bill de Blasio supported the unionization efforts when he was Public Advocate for the city. The CWA supported de Blasio in his successful run for Mayor in 2013.

“For the first time in nearly three years, our Brooklyn employees have expressed their feelings about the CWA in a vote,” Cablevision said in a statement. “Yesterday, they rejected continued CWA representation.  It is time for the CWA to respect our employees’ wishes and withdraw.  In addition, Mayor de Blasio is repaying a political debt to the CWA and the Working Families Party, and is advocating the union’s agenda against the wishes of our employees.  Mayor de Blasio should tell the CWA and his political friends to stop blocking our employees’ rights.  We call upon the Mayor, the Working Families Party and the CWA to act promptly and allow our Brooklyn employees’ voices to prevail.”

Brooklyn is the only Cablevision unit represented by a union – the CWA unsuccessfully tried to unionize workers in the Bronx in June 2012. Cablevision has about 14,000 total employees.

While Cablevision claims a majority of workers want the union out, The CWA points to a June 2103 advertisement in the New York Daily News where 174 workers reaffirmed their support of the union and petitions individually signed by 189 workers sent to Cablevision CEO James Dolan two months ago stating their desire to stick with the union.

“The only election that matters happened almost three years ago when Cablevision workers voted 180-86 to join CWA in an election supervised by the Federal government,” said CWA District One vise president Chris Shelton in a statement. “Today’s [Sept. 10] vote was illegal because it was conducted under the cloud of multiple Unfair Labor Practices that are being adjudicated by the National Labor Relations Board and make it impossible to conduct a fair and free election.  Under no circumstances would the NLRB permit this type of election to take place.  No union observers were involved.  There was no security in the vote count.  This bogus sham was a waste of time and money. What’s really needed is for James Dolan to sit down and bargain a fair contract that includes equal pay with other Cablevision employees.”