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CWA, Frontier Communications Reach Agreement in California

NORWALK, Conn., July 27, 2015 – Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: FTR) and the Communications Workers of America District 9 (CWA) are pleased to announce the signing of an agreement that will benefit CWA-represented employees and Frontier’s future customers in California.  The agreement is an important step forward in the process to complete Frontier’s planned acquisition of Verizon’s wireline business assets in California. The CWA, representing approximately 3,400 Verizon employees in California, supports the proposed acquisition and believes approval of this transaction is in the public and employees’ interest.

Under the agreement, and after the transaction closes in the first half of 2016, Frontier will increase its workforce in California with at least 150 new, union-represented positions. The agreement also provides for new customer service jobs in California.

Frontier and the CWA have agreed to partner to bring the best possible products and services to California. By ensuring the workforce has a clear picture of how the acquisition will affect employees, these dedicated men and women can continue focusing on delivering state-of-the-art broadband, voice and video services to residential and business customers.

Frontier has agreed to honor and extend current collective bargaining agreements.  Highlights of the agreement include:

  • The addition of 150 new union jobs in California;
  • Employee job security and guaranteed workforce size;
  • Extend the existing contract for two years with wage increases in each year;
  • Operational flexibility to enhance the service experience for customers;
  • All union employees will receive 100 shares of Frontier restricted stock upon the closing of the transaction to demonstrate Frontier’s commitment to its newest employees and their ownership in the company’s success; and
  • Frontier commits to a 100% U.S.-based workforce

As part of this agreement, Frontier and the CWA will form a Partnership Forum that will promote innovation of Frontier’s products and services and the service experience our customers receive. All commitments by Frontier are designed to ensure the workforce stays highly motivated and trained to deliver the best possible service to its future customers in California.

“All discussions with the CWA about the Verizon acquisition have been open and productive,” said Daniel J. McCarthy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Frontier. “Our success in the highly competitive California workplace is dependent on the partnership with our CWA- represented employees. Every day, employees bring their service commitment to the workplace and that commitment will enable Frontier to deliver on our core promise to ‘Put the Customer First.’ We’re extremely pleased the CWA has agreed to support us as we move forward in California. We plan to build on this partnership over the months and years ahead as we continue to invest in people and infrastructure across the state.”

Tom Runnion, Vice President of CWA District 9, said, “After several sessions of intense negotiations, we have reached an agreement that’s in the best interests of telecommunications workers and consumers in California. As we move forward in this partnership with Frontier, CWA members will continue to provide customers with the quality service they expect and deserve.”

The agreement between Frontier and CWA is contingent upon the consummation of the proposed transaction, which requires approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

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About Frontier Communications

Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: FTR) offers broadband, voice, video, wireless Internet data access, data security solutions, bundled offerings, specialized bundles for residential customers, small businesses and home offices and advanced communications for medium and large businesses in 28 states. Frontier's approximately 17,800 employees are based entirely in the United States. More information is available at www.frontier.com.

About Communication Workers of America

The Communications Workers of America represents 700,000 workers in telecommunications, media, airlines, public service and manufacturing.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are made on the basis of management’s views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance. Words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements (including oral representations) involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements.  These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:  our ability to complete the acquisition of the Connecticut operations from AT&T; the ability to successfully integrate the Connecticut operations of AT&T into our existing operations; the risk that the cost savings from the AT&T transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the sufficiency of the assets to be acquired from AT&T to enable the combined company to operate the acquired business; failure to enter into or obtain, or delays in entering into or obtaining, certain agreements and consents necessary to operate the acquired business as planned; the failure to obtain, delays in obtaining or adverse conditions contained in any required regulatory approvals for the AT&T transaction; the effects of increased expenses incurred due to activities related to the AT&T transaction; disruption from the AT&T transaction making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers or suppliers; the effects of greater than anticipated competition from cable, wireless and other wireline carriers that could require us to implement new pricing, marketing strategies or new product or service offerings and the risk that we will not respond on a timely or profitable basis; reductions in the number of our voice customers that we cannot offset with increases in broadband subscribers and sales of other products and services; our ability to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; the effects of ongoing changes in the regulation of the communications industry as a result of federal and state legislation and regulation, or changes in the enforcement or interpretation of such legislation and regulation; the effects of any unfavorable outcome with respect to any current or future legal, governmental or regulatory proceedings, audits or disputes; the effects of changes in the availability of federal and state universal service funding or other subsidies to us and our competitors; our ability to successfully adjust to changes in the communications industry and to implement strategies for growth; continued reductions in switched access revenues as a result of regulation, competition or technology substitutions; our ability to effectively manage service quality in our territories and meet mandated service quality metrics; our ability to successfully introduce new product offerings, including our ability to offer bundled service packages on terms that are both profitable to us and attractive to customers; the effects of changes in accounting policies or practices adopted voluntarily or as required by generally accepted accounting principles or regulations; our ability to effectively manage our operations, operating expenses and capital expenditures, and to repay, reduce or refinance our debt; the effects of changes in both general and local economic conditions on the markets that we serve, which can affect demand for our products and services, customer purchasing decisions, collectability of revenues and required levels of capital expenditures related to new construction of residences and businesses; the effects of technological changes and competition on our capital expenditures, products and service offerings, including the lack of assurance that our network improvements in speed and capacity will be sufficient to meet or exceed the capabilities and quality of competing networks; the effects of increased medical expenses (including as a result of the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) and pension and postemployment expenses, such as retiree medical and severance costs, and related funding requirements; the effects of changes in income tax rates, tax laws, regulations or rulings, or federal or state tax assessments; our ability to successfully renegotiate union contracts; changes in pension plan assumptions and/or the value of our pension plan assets, which could require us to make increased contributions to the pension plan in 2014 and beyond; the effects of economic downturns which could result in difficulty in collection of revenues and loss of customers; adverse changes in the credit markets or in the ratings given to our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations, which could limit or restrict the availability, or increase the cost, of financing to us; our cash flow from operations, amount of capital expenditures, debt service requirements, cash paid for income taxes and liquidity may affect our payment of dividends on our common shares; the effects of state regulatory cash management practices that could limit our ability to transfer cash among our subsidiaries or dividend funds up to the parent company; and the effects of severe weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms or other natural or man-made disasters, which may increase our operating expenses or adversely impact customer revenue. These and other uncertainties related to our business are described in greater detail in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and the foregoing information should be read in conjunction with these filings.  We do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of future events or circumstances.

 

For Frontier Communications                                             For CWA:

Steven C. Crosby, steven.crosby@ftr.com                                                       Candice Johnson, cjohnson@cwa-union.org           

Brigid M. Smith, brigid.smith@ftr.com                                              

 

 

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