Contracts for Frontline Workers are Critical to Adelphia Reorganization, CWA Tells Bankruptcy Court

In objections filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which is overseeing the bankruptcy of Adelphia Communications Corp., the Communications Workers of America criticized Adelphia's proposed $45 million compensation package for two top executives while it seeks to freeze wages and cut health care benefits for frontline workers.

CWA, which represents about 500 Adelphia workers, pointed out that the company is unwilling to reach a fair agreement on contracts for frontline workers but is anxious to provide a windfall for the top two executive officers.

Adelphia's desire to boost executive compensation contrasts sharply with the tactics the company uses in bargaining with CWA over employee compensation, where it is "not even willing to pay the industry standard of a 3.5 percent wage increase to hourly employees," CWA said.

Adelphia "should be striving to preserve employee morale and to depart from the corporate excesses of its past rather than seeking to enrich new executives with inordinate sums," CWA told the court.

These multi-million dollar agreements "appear far more generous than the industry standard" and have not been shown to be necessary to preserve the value of the estate, CWA said.

Adelphia's failure to consult with frontline employees who are essential to the reorganization effort in proposing this executive pay plan demonstrates a failure to exercise sound business judgment, CWA said, urging the court to deny Adelphia's motion seeking authorization for the $45 million compensation packages.