CWA Frontier workers sue Connecticut for anti-union contract interference

CWA Local 1298 filed a lawsuit against the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Agency (PURA) in December for recent rulings that could force telecommunications company Frontier to use non-union contractor labor for vital utility pole repair work. These rulings run counter to legal precedent, dating back over a century, explicitly barring state regulatory agencies from interfering in contracts between public utilities companies and their employees.

“CWA members work day in and day out to expand telecommunications access and provide safe infrastructure across Connecticut. PURA’s decisions have violated state law and put the jobs of 1,400 CWA members in jeopardy,” said CWA Local 1298 President David E. Weidlich Jr. “The men and women of Local 1298 will not allow this agency to operate with impunity and take away our jobs.”

In April 2024, CWA Local 1298 submitted a petition to PURA asking it to respect state law and cease its interference in CWA’s collective bargaining agreement. In October, PURA refused. Local 1298 is now petitioning the Connecticut Supreme Court to hold PURA accountable and prevent reliable, good-paying union positions from being replaced with low-wage contractors in violation of state and federal law.

Links:

CWA Frontier workers sue PURA for anti-union contract interference (CWA, Dec. 12, 2024)

CWA v. Connecticut Public Utility Regulatory Authority (Yale Law School, Dec. 5, 2024)