A judge has granted Frontier Communications a temporary restraining order against striking workers in West Virginia and Ashburn, Virginia, preventing those workers “from engaging in certain unlawful violence, property damage and mass picketing” the company says has occurred during the ongoing strike.
But the roughly 1,400 striking members of Communications Workers of America Local 142 are maintaining that Frontier’s claims of unlawful activity are an overreaction to fair picketing methods the union has been practicing since the strike began March 4, adding that Frontier is unwilling to provide 100 percent job security for union workers.
Frontier is ultimately seeking an injunction against the CWA and its local affiliates, to protect those working during the strike, including outside contractors, against abuse it alleges has occurred during the strike. The company filed its request for an injunction Thursday in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
For now, the company has a temporary restraining order granted by Circuit Court Judge Charles King, which remains in effect until 5 p.m. Monday.
Under the order, those involved with the strike can’t interfere with Frontier business “by threatening, obstructing, intimidating, or harassing” replacement workers. They also are barred from “blocking or hindering access to” Frontier facilities and customer worksites, according to the order.
The order places a limit of six strikers at least 15 feet from any entrance to Frontier property or worksite premises, not including peaceful picketing on a public sidewalk. Strikers’ vehicles also cannot hinder the movement of a Frontier worker’s vehicle, the order states.
The order also bars striking workers from “[c]ausing physical violence or harm, or making threats of physical violence or harm,” along with knowingly following Frontier workers to places other than a worksite.
In their complaint, Frontier officials said the “unlawful mass picketing and other strike-related misconduct” resulted in more than 100 incidents of abuse reported to the company from subcontractors and others. But Ed Mooney, vice president of CWA District 2-13, said, “To our knowledge, there have been no incidents.”
In a statement Friday, Mooney said the court “has given the parties until Monday evening to come to an agreement on the parameters of that activity during this strike, and we will work to ensure that our members’ rights are protected.”
“The company’s action comes in the face of the tremendous support that residents and business owners across West Virginia have shown for the strike, and shows that the company is worried because that support has spread to Connecticut, where Frontier workers have set up informational pickets at work locations and at Frontier’s headquarters,” Mooney said.
Neither the union nor Frontier has budged from its original position when the strike was called after the two sides failed to reach an agreement prior to the previous contract’s expiration date.
“Our objective in these negotiations has been, and continues to be, to preserve good jobs with competitive wages and excellent benefits while addressing the needs of our ever-changing business,” Frontier spokesman Andy Malinoski said in a statement. “At this particular juncture, Frontier is electing not to comment further on the details associated with negotiations.”
Job security remains key for the striking workers, who say the company has been cutting middle-class jobs and replacing those employees with contractors unfit to service Frontier’s West Virginia network. They attribute a recent hike in Frontier service complaints filed with the West Virginia Public Service Commission to this practice.
The union wants 100 percent of employees to have protection against layoffs in the next contract, while Frontier is staying with its offer of 85 percent. Eighty-five percent job security would leave roughly 200 employees at risk of being laid off, with those potential cuts being concentrated in Ashland, Virginia, and in Bluefield and Wheeling, union members said Friday at a picket line near Frontier’s Charleston office.
“It’s not about pay, it’s not about health benefits,” said Kyla Clark, a Frontier consultant who has been with the company for nine years. “It’s about keeping 200 jobs in West Virginia.”
Clark said Frontier’s request for an injunction is “a major scare tactic” and an excuse the company can cite when contractors aren’t fulfilling customer needs.
“They don’t know the terrain, they don’t know how to fix it,” Clark said of those working for Frontier during the strike. “[The injunction request] is just an excuse to extend this strike until they come to their senses and contact our bargaining committee.”
Matthew Brogan, a Frontier central office technician, said allegations the company made about striking employees abusing those working during the strike are false.
“We know what’s happening with our members, we keep up with it all the time,” he said. “We know who’s doing what, and we’re not breaking the law.”
Striking workers noted an incident where a Georgia man slated to become a temporary Frontier worker allegedly pulled a gun on a striker. The man, Ato Oronde Clark, was arrested and charged with one count of brandishing a weapon. Malinoski said at the time that the man wasn’t doing work for Frontier yet and that his relationship with his contractor was terminated.
“The judgment on us needs to be reversed, because we aren’t the ones doing anything wrong,” Clark said.
As for how long the strike will continue, Vickie Wellman, a Frontier employee for 14 years, said she doesn’t see an end to the conflict surrounding job security. Everything else outside of that has been settled in negotiations, she said.
“The company has drawn a line; they aren’t going to budge,” Wellman said. “They want to lay those 200 off, and we’re saying no.”