Vermont Rally to Oppose FairPoint Deal

CWA and IBEW members, community supporters and local elected officials will rally on June 2 in Burlington, VT., to show strong community opposition to the proposed sale of Verizon's telephone lines to North Carolina-based FairPoint Communications.  

The Vermont rally, like the recent demonstration in New Hampshire, is focusing public attention on the harm this sale will cause the residents of northern New England.

In testimony last week, CWA told the Vermont Public Service Board that consumers will suffer if the transaction is approved, "because FairPoint will have fewer resources to improve service quality than Verizon." 

"Verizon, if it wanted to, has the resources to improve service quality. Even if FairPoint wanted to improve service quality, it would be very difficult to achieve given its limited and strained resources," Kenneth R. Peres, CWA Ph.D economist, told the board.