FORT WAYNE – Two unions say Verizon Communications Inc. is trying to silence employees opposed to the company’s plan to sell landlines in Indiana, Ohio and 12 other states.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents about 900 Indiana workers, and the Communications Workers of America objected to a memo the company sent asking workers to refrain from publicly discussing its $5.3 billion deal with Stamford, Conn.-based Frontier Communications Corp.
Verizon asked employees to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s quiet period for the Frontier deal, company spokesman Harry Mitchell said. The company cannot say anything to promote or discourage the sale until Frontier shareholders vote on it. Employees can discuss the deal as long as they are speaking as individuals, not on Verizon’s behalf, he said.
Workers have an interest in the transaction and should be able to discuss it, said Hetty Scofield, CWA staff representative for Midwestern Verizon workers. CWA represents about 900 Verizon employees in Ohio.
Union members are worried customer service will suffer if Frontier takes over 4.8 million residential and small-business phone lines, Scofield said. The deal, which does not affect Verizon Wireless, would triple Frontier’s size.
“They don’t have enough people to keep up the service quality and the infrastructure,” she said.
Frontier plans to take over Verizon’s billing system and workforce as well as its phone lines. The company has said that will allow it to handle such a large transaction. The company has made several acquisitions – including its largest market, Rochester, N.Y. – in the past five years. A Frontier representative did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.
Verizon’s Mitchell declined to comment on the transaction because of the quiet period.
Frontier has pledged to honor Verizon’s contracts and obligations to workers, but employee pay and benefits could decline after those expire, Scofield said. Frontier workers earn less than Verizon employees.
Local employees who are eligible to retire are concerned about Frontier honoring pension and health care benefits, said Bruce Getts, business manager for IBEW Local 723. Local 723, in Fort Wayne, represents about 900 Verizon workers statewide.
Verizon’s past landline sales have not fared well, Scofield said. One buyer, Hawaiian Telecom Communications Inc., filed for bankruptcy in December. Analysts have said FairPoint Communications Inc., which bought Verizon’s New England landlines last year, is struggling with its debt load.
“So far, there’s been no success with Verizon in this area at all,” Scofield said.
