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PSC Approves
Verizon/Frontier Deal in
Split Decision; Union
Weighing Options
The Communications Workers
of America said today they
are weighing their options
after yesterday’s approval
by the West Virginia Public
Service Commission of the
sale of the Verizon’s phone
lines in the state to
Frontier Communications.
“We’re in the process of
evaluating the order,” said
CWA District 2
Vice-President Ron Collins.
“After full review we’ll
look at what we can do that
will best serve West
Virginia consumers and CWA
members.”
The union has 10 days to
file a motion for
reconsideration. It can also
appeal directly to the state
Supreme Court.
“Of course, we’re
disappointed but we’re
heartened by the fact that
at least one person on the
three-member commission
agreed with us and more than
80 legislators, several
county commissions and a
broad coalition of consumer,
union and first responder
organizations that this deal
is too risky and not in the
public’s interest,” Collins
said.
“The split decision shows
our arguments about the deal
had validity.”
Collins also pointed out the
commission’s ruling earlier
this week requiring Verizon
to put $72 million into an
escrow account to improve
the company’s aging copper
network shows the commission
agrees with the union on the
issue of Verizon’s quality
of service.
“The ink was barely dry on
the first ruling which, in
essence, says Verizon hasn’t
done its job in taking care
of its operations,” Collins
said. “To give them a pass
to leave the state and turn
over these problem-riddled
lines to a smaller company
doesn’t make a lot of sense
to us.
“The $72 million ruling also
shows Frontier didn’t know
what it was buying when it
entered into this deal. Had
they known the true
conditions of the operations
and that the PSC would
require $72 million of
improvements, would they
have committed billions to
this deal?”
CWA, which has opposed the
deal since it was first
announced one year ago,
maintains Verizon shouldn’t
be allowed to leave West
Virginia without first
fixing its problems. As a
public utility, the PSC has
the power to take action and
Collins said the $72 million
isn’t enough. Today is the
deadline for Verizon to put
the $72 million into an
escrow account.
The PSC ruling also set out
conditions that must be met
by Frontier. CWA is
reviewing those conditions,
too.



Washington State Approves Frontier Takeover Of Verizon
Landline
APRIL 16, 2010, 6:57 P.M. ET, DOW JONES
NEWSWIRES
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100416-714530.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
Frontier Communications Corp. (FTR) said a Washington state
regulatory commission approved its purchase of Verizon
Communications Inc.'s (VZ) landline operations Friday.
In May, Frontier agreed to buy local phone businesses in 14
states from Verizon in an all-stock deal valued at $5.25
billion at the time. The acquisition would roughly triple
the company's size.
Rural telecommunications companies are vying to buy more
operations to spread their sizeable capital expenditures
across a wider base of customers and gain purchasing power
when buying equipment.
Washington is the seventh state to approve the
Frontier-Verizon deal. Regulators in Illinois and West
Virginia and the Federal Communications Commission still
need to approve the transaction or related transfers.
Frontier shares were up 0.8% at $7.82 in after-hours
trading. The stock is up only modestly in the last year,
underperforming the broader market.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com
Rand Wilson
Center for Strategic Research, AFL-CIO
c/o IBEW Local 2222
1137 Washington Street, Dorchester, MA 02124
w) 617 929-6000, f) 617-929-6099
c) 617 803-0799
February 19, 2010
PSC advised to reject Frontier-Verizon deal
By Eric Eyre, Staff writer
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201002190601
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The state Public Service Commission's
staff and Consumer Advocate Division said Friday that
Frontier Communications' application to buy Verizon's
telephone landlines in West Virginia should be rejected
outright because the companies failed to file any details
about the proposed $8.6 billion deal.
The consumer division and PSC staff said Frontier and
Verizon only submitted "general information" about the
transaction.
"They didn't even file the merger agreement and 11 other
associated documents," said Byron Harris, who heads the
Consumer Advocate Division. "It was not put into evidence in
the case. On that ground alone, the case fails from a legal
standpoint."
Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell said the accusations were
"outlandish." Mitchell said all required paperwork and
testimony was filed.
"We've done exactly what we needed to do to make sure the
transaction is approved," he said. "We've met the
conditions. We've laid out why this transaction benefits
West Virginia and satisfies the commission's charge in the
case."
If the three-member PSC doesn't dismiss the proposed
purchase outright, it should reject the sale because it's
not in the public's best interest, the consumer division and
agency staff asserted in reports filed Friday.
Harris said Frontier wouldn't have the financial resources
to keep promises to expand high-speed broadband Internet and
improve phone landline services after the sale.
"We're still concerned Frontier didn't do its homework,"
Harris said. "Our overarching concern is that Frontier is
less financially strong than Verizon."
Frontier said the exact opposite would happen, according to
a 78-page report also filed Friday.
"The transaction will leave Frontier in a better financial
position than it is today the way this is structured,"
Mitchell said.
Harris' office recommended that the PSC require Verizon to
spend $150 million to "clean up the mess they have created
in the state," if the sale is approved.
Mitchell said there is no "mess" to clean up. Verizon has
spent millions to improve its West Virginia landline network
and complaints have dropped significantly during the past
year, he said.
"Frontier will get an excellent network and will continue to
invest," he said.
In a filing Friday, Stamford, Conn.-based Frontier
reiterated its plans to spend $48 million to expand
broadband access and $200 million to improve the state's
wire line network.
Frontier said it's the ideal company to acquire Verizon.
Frontier already has more than 144,000 landline customers in
West Virginia.
Frontier plans to purchase Verizon's wire line business in
West Virginia and 13 other states. Utility regulators in
five states already have approved the sale.
Frontier would have more phone access lines in West Virginia
than in any other state, after the deal closes. The company
also plans to establish its southeast regional headquarters
in Charleston.
Frontier has promised not to raise rates for at least a
year.
The company said it would offer high-speed broadband to 85
percent of households in West Virginia. Verizon now provides
broadband to 60 percent of its customers across the state.
"Frontier has the proven financial strength, technical
capability and strategic imperative to serve lower-density
areas like those in Verizon's West Virginia territory," the
companies wrote in Friday's filing.
Also Friday, the Communication Workers of America union
intensified its opposition to the Frontier-Verizon merger.
The union urged the PSC to reject Frontier's plan to
purchase 617,000 landlines from Verizon in West Virginia.
"The financial facts show a post-transaction Frontier will
lack the resources needed to provide adequate and reliable
telecommunications services," said Elaine Harris, a union
spokeswoman. "This deal isn't about the best interests of
West Virginia, but about increasing profit margins for Wall
Street."
The PSC is expected to decide whether to approve the
landline deal by May at the latest.
Friday was the deadline for the companies and others to file
briefs in the case.
© Copyright 1996-2010 The Charleston Gazette
Verizon Sale in a Nutshell and more articles
Click Here to read the
December Special Edition WVA Newsletter (304) 411.
Click Here to read the (304) 411 Special Edition
of Testimony (11-09)
Click Here to read the (304) 411 November Lobby
Day (11-09)
_____________________

Click to Read:
Governor Wants Some Guarantees In Landline Deal
Click to Read:
Frontier to lay off
3 percent of state work force
Click Here to
Listen to the Ad Running in West VA to
Stop the Sale.
01/11/2010
Preparing For A Crowd
MetroNews, Charleston, Kanawha County
http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=34581 The
state Public Service Commission is expecting a lot of
interest in Tuesday's evidentiary hearing on the proposed
sale of Verizon's landline phone service to Frontier
Communications. Because the case involves two large
companies and hundreds of telecommunications workers here in
West Virginia, it's garnered a lot of media attention.
Sarah Robertson with the PSC says they're planning for a big
turnout. "We fully expect this will be a very well attended
hearing and we're doing everything we can to try and
accommodate for that," she told MetroNews.
The PSC hearing room can seat 56 Twenty additional folding
chairs can be set up along the wall, bringing the total
occupancy of the room to 76. If that isn't enough space,
the PSC has a second hearing room where people can watch the
hearing on closed circuit TV.Robertson says they haven't
finalized anything yet.
"It's just something we're going to have to look at tomorrow
(Tuesday) and see how many people do show up." The first
part of the hearing will be for public comments. The PSC
has already received dozens of written comments from those
for and against the project.
"They [the PSC] do kind of have a gauge as to what a lot of
public comment is: the good, the bad, the ugly, etc..."
If you want to speak at the hearing, you'll need to sign up
before the hearing starts. Robertson says depending on how
many people want to voice opinions, the PSC may have to
limit comment.
If you can't attend the hearing but want to follow it, you
can log on to the PSC website at
www.psc.state.wv.us and watch the proceedings. The
hearing gets underway at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
It's expected to last through Thursday.
Gov. Manchin Joins Public Rally Against Sale of Verizon
Charleston, WV -- Just days before the first
hearing at the Public Service Commission,
Governor Joe Manchin made a surprise appearance
at a large rally of labor and community groups
opposed to the proposed sale of Verizon's
telephone lines to much smaller Frontier
Communications.
Gov. Manchin joined CWA President Larry Cohen, CWA District
2 VP Ron Collins, United Mineworkers President Cecil Roberts
and many other labor and community leaders on the stage to
say that he would do everything in his power to make the
proposed deal work for the working families of West Virginia
-- not just for the Wall Street bankers.
Other rally speakers included Sen. Jack Yost, Del. Mike
Caputo, state AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue, and
representatives from the firefighters, nurses and senior
citizens.
Pictures from the rally may be viewed on a photo sharing
website at:http://picasaweb.google.com/randwilson.aflcio/WestVirginiaRallyToStopTheSale
Over 800 people attended the rally that was one
of the last opportunities for the public to
voice opposition to the proposed deal before the
West Virginia Public Service Commission begins
its hearings on the matter on Tuesday, January
12.
"We need to bring high speed broadband to West Virginia and
communities across the country, to foster economic growth,"
Cohen said. "Instead, Verizon is using a tax loopholes to
do a tax free deal that will leave West Virginia with
without a platform for achieving the speeds that are
necessary for economic development. This deal is good for
only good for Wall Street, not Main Street."
Matt Vinci, a firefighter from Vermont, warned West
Virginian's about the impact a similar Verizon landline sale
to now bankrupt FairPoint had on 911 service in Northern New
England.
The rally took place in the Culture Center. Live music was
provided by the Carpenter Ants.
The PSC can deny the deal if the three-person panel
determines the sale isn't in the public's best interest. In
November the expert analysts at the PSC and consumer
advocate submitted testimony in opposition to the deal due
to the risks CWA and others have pointed out.
Ivan Seidenburg speaks:
Verizon Boss Hangs Up on
Landline Phone Business
Read:
Ron Collins' Reply

VERIZON'S NEW
"FRONTIER"
Verizon is attempting to abandon rural
customers, communities, and employees by
selling off it's network to Frontier.
There is also another "new frontier" at
Verizon-a frontier that forgets who
forged their path to success.
A new frontier that includes:
Sale of WV to Frontier
Unfair Productivity Standards
Lack of respect
Poor management
Poor communications
Unreasonable work rules
Unjust discipline
WHAT'S NEXT??? CWA
will fight to insure that our members
and customers will not be "SOLD OUT".
STOP VERIZON'S NEW
FRONTIER
___________________________
Verizon's Announcement
to Sell Off WV Access Lines
In the wake of Verizon's announcement of their plan to sell
off its West Virginia access lines to Frontier, CWA has
begun analyzing the situation and developing a plan.
We intend to be fully engaged utilizing all of our resources
which include, among other things, our members, political
allies and the Public Service Commission. To predict the
outcome or the specific impact on our members, at this time,
would be premature and merely speculation. It is now more
important than ever to be involved and stay informed. By
phone, we can be reached at 304 344-2001. Recorded
information is available by calling 304 342-8000.
Membership meetings are held the second Thursday of every
month at 7pm
In unity,
Letha "Lee" Perry
President CWA Local 2001
304 344-2001
CWA Mourns Death of
Senator Edward Kennedy, A Hero to
America’s Working Families
August 26, 2009
Washington, D.C. -- The Communications
Workers of America and all working
families have lost a great champion.
Throughout a lifetime of public service,
Senator Kennedy made improving the lives
of working men and women his cause.
Health care for all, an end to
discrimination, fairness and respect for
workers, these were Senator Kennedy's
passions, CWA President Larry Cohen
said. "He has a special place in the
hearts of CWA members," Cohen said.
"We met the day before President Obama's
inauguration and he said he would
complete two goals -- passage of the
Employee Free Choice Act and real health
care reform. Paraphrasing his own
words, that dream will go on, and we
will do so in his name."
Every major advance, every step forward
for working families came about because
of his efforts. Medicare and Medicaid,
family and medical leave, workers
rights, retirement security, equal
rights and fair treatment for women,
civil rights for people of color, the
list goes on and on, Cohen said.
Because of Senator Kennedy, millions of
American families have been able to
achieve the American Dream, afford an
education for their children, are safer
on their jobs and have a secure
retirement, Cohen said. We will extend
that legacy when we achieve one of
Senator Kennedy's greatest passions,
health care for all, he said.
CWA Vice President Catucci Passes Away
CWA Vice President Pete Catucci passed away
earlier today, April 3, 2009. Pete's two
year battle with ALS took him from union halls
to the White House in his ongoing battle to see
the stem cell research ban lifted. Shortly
after he attended the White House signing his
condition worsened. We will always remember the
dignity, grace and humility he taught us during
his battle. Please pray for Pete and his
family.

Click here to read about Pete Catucci
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Click Here to Read the 2008 CWA
Convention Report
__________

New District
2 Vice President Ron Collins
Click Here to read more
about Ron.
__________

Pete Catucci
Retiring as District 2 Vice
President
Click Here to read
about Pete.
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