Union Sues to Hold PURA Accountable

 

Communication Workers of America Local 1298 (CWA) filed suit in Connecticut Superior Court against the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to halt its interference in CWA’s collective bargaining agreement with Frontier Communications.

CWA’s labor contract protects job security and limits Frontier’s use of non-union contractors. Recent PURA decisions purport to compel Frontier to use contractors for vital utility pole repair work, however, in violation of a state statute that prohibits PURA from interfering with labor contracts.

Jordan Cozby, a law student intern in the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School, which represents CWA Local 1298, stated, “Without legal authorization, PURA has gone to extraordinary lengths to undermine union jobs in Connecticut and make utility poles less safe. This is the kind of behavior we’re accustomed to seeing from corporations who ship jobs overseas, not from a state government agency. By holding PURA accountable in this lawsuit, CWA Local 1298 will protect Connecticut jobs and infrastructure.”

Collective bargaining agreements have always been central to protecting Connecticut telecommunications workers’ jobs, wages, benefits and safety. This protection strengthens the local economy and investment in skilled workforces.

That is why, when the Connecticut legislature created PURA’s predecessor in 1911, it explicitly barred PURA from interfering in contracts between public utilities companies and their employees. The law remains in effect today, and is supposed to protect CWA’s collective bargaining agreement with Frontier from interference by PURA.

Despite this law, PURA has issued a series of decisions since 2021 that mandate Connecticut public utilities employers outsource telecommunications work long protected by CWA’s collective bargaining agreement to contractors.

CWA petitioned PURA in April 2024, asking it to respect state law and cease its interference in CWA’s collective bargaining agreement. In October, PURA refused, concluding that its actions were above the law and immune from the review of courts.

CWA is now asking the Connecticut Superior Court to hold PURA accountable and to prevent reliable, good-paying union positions from being replaced with exploitative contractors in violation of state and federal law.

“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.”

PURA’s attempt to insulate its anti-union decision from review is a threat to democratic accountability and essential workers across the state. PURA implemented this mandate only after the General Assembly considered and rejected a similar proposal to require the use of third-party contractors in recent legislation.