Frontier VA-WV Bargaining 2023 Final Bargaining Report

On Saturday, August 26, the CWA Bargaining Committee reported that a Tentative Agreement was reached with Frontier:

CWA has reached a tentative agreement with Frontier Communications for a four year contract covering all members in CBA 142. The contract with Frontier achieves significant wage increases, preserves existing job security language, and maintains quality health and welfare benefits.

The following are highlights of significant changes. 

13.1% Compounded Wage Increased Plus Other Compensation:

Wage increases of 3.25% effective the first Sunday following ratification retroactive to August 6, 2023, 3.0% effective August 4, 2024, 3.25% effective August 3, 2025 and 3.0% effective August 2, 2026.*  This amounts to a 13.1% wage increase with compounding.

Job Security:

Existing job security provisions for all employees hired prior to April 18, 2018 remains in place. 

The 0.7% restriction on the Company’s ability to relocate work out of the state is preserved intact.

All provisions of the Broadband Agreement continue.

West Virginia State Based Call Center routing remains intact.

Retirement Security:

The pension plan will retain the lump sum cash out provisions through December 31, 2027.

The 401(k) plan is enhanced to increase the employee contribution maximum from 25% to 75%. 

New Bargaining Unit Jobs:

Frontier will create and fill vacancies for 25 full time regular Outside Plant Technicians and 10 full time regular Engineering Assistants.

Work At Home:

The emergency work at home agreement has been replaced with an agreement that includes a long term Work-At-Home Letter of Understanding.

Medical Plan:

Minimal increases across the four years of healthcare costs to our members.

Payroll deduction for the MCN and MEP PPO medical plan options will increase only slightly per week as follows:  2024 $1.85 employee only / $3.69 employee plus family, 2025 $2.08 / $4.15, 2026 $2.31 / $4.62, and 2027 $2.31 / $4.61. 

Co-pays remain unchanged with the exception of emergency room visits effective in 2026 and specialist copays effective in 2027.

Retiree Benefits:

Existing Retirees’ Health benefits maintained as defined.

Accreted Employees from St. Marys and Bluefield will now have retiree benefit available of $576 per years of service after accretion date available when they retire starting January 1, 2024.

Accreted Employees from St. Marys and Bluefield will now have life insurance benefits of $20,000. 

Employees with NCS on or after August 3, 2008, who retire on or after January 1, 2024, will have an increase to the amount of retiree benefit they receive from $480 to $576 per each year of service with a max of 25 years.

The company sought to completely eliminate all Medicare supplemental and dependent coverage as they have done across the country. We negotiated to maintain coverage with a modification to Medicare Supplemental Coverage that provides for an employee to have coverage for 5 years post Medicare. We successfully fought to maintain coverage for dependents that the company demanded to eliminate.

HRA option expanded to all retirees.

We started this round of bargaining with one of the best contracts in the telecommunications industry.  Your bargaining team is convinced that despite the intense pressure for give backs on retiree benefits post Medicare, we negotiated a contract that remains the Best at Frontier and one of the Best in the telecommunications industry. 

BE INFORMED! BE INVOLVED! IT’S YOUR FIGHT! IT’S YOUR CONTRACT!

*Dates corrected from original draft.