Striking FairPoint workers get unemployment benefits in Vermont but not in Maine, NH
Source: Bangor Daily News
By Darren Fishell,
PORTLAND, Maine — Striking FairPoint union members in Maine and New Hampshire have appealed denials of unemployment insurance benefits as about 300 other strikers won an appeal last week and qualified for the assistance in Vermont.
Pete McLaughlin, a lead negotiator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers chapter in Maine, said he was not surprised by denial of applications for workers in Maine.
“It’s not expected, but it’s something that we’re looking to try and take advantage of,” McLaughlin said.
After an impasse in collective bargaining for a new labor contract, the IBEW and Communications Workers of America called a strike on Oct. 17. The company has since cut off health care benefits for the employees as the strike lingers on with little progress on breaking the stalemate.
FULL story at link.
Beth Brogan | BDN
Hundreds of striking FairPoint Communications workers marched from a rally in Monument Square to FairPoint offices on Forest Avenue in Portland in this November 2014 file photo.
Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2014/11/26/business/striking-fairpoint-workers-get-unemployment-benefits-in-vermont-but-not-in-maine-or-new-hampshire/
= new reply since forum marked as read
for Vermont
for Maine and New Hampshire
edit to add I use Fairpoint and I support the strikers