Union Leadership with Frontier Leads to Improved Customer Experience and Investment in Outside Facilities
CWA Local 1170 leadership has been holding ongoing meetings with Frontier managers and union officers in operations, engineering, and commercial support to address operations, facility buildout, marketing, and efficiencies of Frontier Communications.
Partnership Between CWA 1170 and Frontier Communications
Monthly meetings have been held with the union and company to address overall customer support experience provides by local 1170 CWA desk technicians. These meetings have led to valuable collective input which has improved Frontier customer experience, a win for the CWA workforce, Frontier Communications, and Frontier customers. Discussions led to workflow improvements, so now, when premiere Frontier customers call in, local 1170 CWA desk techs can initiate an immediate diagnosis for a faster repair response and create a better customer experience.
CWA works for more than just benefits and pay – our aim is to improve the workplace in general. Through the partnership with Frontier management, CWA Local 1170 has helped address issues to improve the field operations relating to network techs, sales and service techs, lineman, splicers, and clerical support in the organization. The local union has also been informing Frontier about growth opportunities in the Rochester market, which have resulted in Frontier investing in four different fiber projects in the fourth quarter of 2017. The growth of business ensures job security for CWA 1170 members.
How the Union Represents Its Workers
In November of 2016, Frontier notified the union that they wanted to move and consolidate some job functions in the engineering clerical support area. This led to the union securing a memorandum of the agreement, which makes sure that certain job functions remain within the bargaining unit. Other issues on the forefront concerning bargaining unit work as relevant to network techs, sales and service techs, and other job titles involve the union enforcing provisions of the contract through grievances and arbitration. Contract provisions have secured job functions, such as ADSL switch work, other employees of the corporation who were prevented from performing bargaining unit work, and information concerning call out procedures that the company had failed to provide since they consolidated call out centers around the country.
Follow Up
Local 1170 currently is working to address members who have been bypassed for call out opportunities since January 2016. Union stewards from each job classification continue to work to address issues ranging from NLRB charges, movement of work, and all disciplines. They are also keeping an eye on technology changes that may impact the way work gets done in the future.
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