PORTLAND, Maine — Union members at FairPoint Communications held an informational picket Thursday morning, protesting what they said is the company’s resistance to negotiate over a plan that would cut about 79 positions in Maine.
The company in May announced it would lay off 219 workers in Northern New England, cutting about 10 percent of the workforce that went on strike Oct. 16, 2014, in a dispute over contract terms. The strike lasted 131 days.
The unions said Thursday that they would demonstrate outside the company’s headquarters on Davis Farm Road in Portland to protest cuts they said will reduce FairPoint’s landline service quality. The company has said declining landline demand led to the cuts.
Peter McLaughlin, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2327, said in a news release that the union has not seen a shortage of work for its employees to justify the cuts.
“Right now, the company is forcing hundreds of workers to work overtime, and many are on permanent standby at locations where the company is planning to cut positions,” McLaughlin said. “It defies common sense.”
Paul Sunu, FairPoint CEO, said in a statement about the cuts in May that the steps would help the company to manage costs and increase productivity.
The unions speculated Thursday that the move could seek to improve the company’s balance sheet in advance of a sale. Sunu said in a recent earnings call that FairPoint would consider acquisitions or being acquired by another company as part of its long-term strategy.
The company has tried with the Legislature and Maine Public Utilities Commission to change or remove regulatory requirements that it offer “provider-of-last-resort” landline service to many parts of the state.