Frontier: 12 Days Without Pay

Frontier Communications has formally announced, it will seek to require bargaining unit employees to take a total of twelve days off without pay during the remainder of 2009.  It has already imposed this on its current non-bargaining employees.

The company has stated it is taking this action to address the current faltering economy and the resulting decline in business activity.  Certainly these are difficult economic times for our members, the company, and the country.

The company states its goals are to insure its financial viability and to prevent layoffs as the reasons for this proposal.  It also invites suggestions for other cost savings that would help the company’s bottom line.

CWA has several suggestions that would help.  First before the company asks its employees to take days off without pay it should release its contractors and utilize its own employees to do its work.  This would reduce cost and demonstrate commitment to its own employees.

Secondly, it should stop its current practice of overly rewarding its executives.  According to MSN Money Insider Trading report, the CEO of the company since November 2008 has received as a gift, 158,996 shares of company stock.  Even at today’s depressed stock price that is a gift worth more than 1 million dollars.  That does not include the stock dividend, which is currently worth another $158,000 additional dollar.

Third, the company’s dividend policy should be changed.  Currently the dividend is $1 per share which equates to a return on investment of over 14%.  If the company is to survive this economic downtown and meet current and future customer demands it must invest more in its network.  It continues to loose more and more access lines because it simply is not meeting customer demands for higher network speeds and new and innovative service lines.

CWA believes in difficult times everyone has to share the burden, and make sacrifices for the common good.  The plan we have seen from the company is unacceptable because it places an inordinate share of the sacrifice on the employees without true sacrifice by the officers and shareholders of the company.