Fairpoint Files Chapter 11 - Will reduce $1.7 billion in debt....
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Fairpoint Files Chapter 11
Will reduce $1.7 billion in debt....
08:41AM Monday Oct 26 2009 by Karl Bode
tags: business · Fairpoint Communications
Tipped by Bob61571
As had been expected, Fairpoint Communications has filed for bankruptcy after struggling with the debt incurred when they acquired Verizon's DSL and landline networks in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. In a prepared statement, the company said the proceeding would reduce the company's debt load by $1.7 billion. "The day-to-day operations of our business will not be impacted by today’s actions," said David Hauser, Chairman and CEO of FairPoint. "We want to assure our customers, employees and vendors that we remain committed to continuing to provide reliable, uninterrupted service to all of our customers." That's a tall order, given that Fairpoint wasn't even doing that before they filed for Chapter 11. While the company had improved slightly in recent months, long hold times and slow repairs remain commonplace for many Fairpoint customers. Unions are being asked to make concession in recent weeks, despite having predicted problems before the Verizon deal was signed. In recent weeks they've been blaming Verizon for the collapse, noting how the deal largely benefited Verizon's tax burden and debt load, but little else. Plenty of blame is being heaped on regulators, who not only approved the deal, but allowed Fairpoint to dictate the pace and breadth of their recovery by submitting confidential service improvement plans they created, which are unreviewable by the public. Governors of the three impacted states over the weekend sent Fairpoint's CEO a letter urging the company to focus on improving service, as well as the company's financial fortunes.
Related:- Maine AG Drops Fake Fairpoint Test Investigation
- Fairpoint Will Miss Broadband Expansion Commitments
- Windstream Buying Up Fairpoint Debt?
- Fairpoint Owes About $619 Million
- Three States Approve Frontier Verizon Deal
- Fairpoint Debt Holders Want Investigation
- Oregon Regulators Not Thrilled With Frontier Deal
- Fairpoint Hires New Marketing Firms
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ropeguru @ 26th Oct 08:49AM:
Seems to be the new way...
Know ahead of time that you are not going to be able to handle your debt. Spend more money and lobby politicians to let mergers go through. After the merger, paint a poor, pitiful, we did not know this would happen picture. Then, file for bankruptcy screwing over all your creditors that you have dealt with in the past.
All the while, look for those high executive compensation packages to keep rolling along.
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Time @ 26th Oct 08:50AM:
Why blame Verizon?
They are a business who offloaded a set of markets they didn't want. It's the fault of regulators for approving it, and ultimately Fairpoint for buying into it.
--
"If it can't be done with brains, it can't be done with hours" - Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
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ropeguru @ 26th Oct 08:53AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
I blame all three. Look at all the money that Verizon pumped into politicians hands in order to make the deal go through. They are just as guilty as the politicians that took the money and Fairpoint knowing that ultimately they could not handle the extra load.
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cableties @ 26th Oct 09:08AM:
Don't forget CapGemini and pudding!
For those that work(ed) at Failpoint, you will recall that speech (from the formerly-jumped ship CEO) about serving pudding...
Cap Gemini should be sued for failing to meet expectations it promised to deliver (namely coding a customer support-service system without any proven track record). And for actually updating/repairing code LIVE during call center activity, losing hours and customer information/scheduling.
Previous Fairpoint execs should have their bonus 90% taxed, all perks and "golden parachutes" rescinded, any options/stocks/property rewarded during the 3 months before taking over Verizon and 3 months after.
Current upper management needs to be fired. Training of call centers needs more improvement, equipment, better software and man-power. Current supervisors need better support and reward system. The unions also need more support and cooperation (both directions).
I am not an employee. But I understand there are some good folks there under alot of pressure to deliver with ridiculous expectations suffocating them from unrealistic "uninformed" executives that are completely detached from reality (the Great Northern DSL Aggression).
But I find it amazingly difficult to understand the depth of finagling and lack of accountability that Verizon, Fairpoint, subcontractors, the NE states regulators and FCC have garnered, leaving three states taxpayers not only the burden of unreliable DSL/communications, but also the increase of unemployment, the lost tax revenues promised by Verizon and Fairpoint, the lost income from corporate tax discounts given to these companies for setting up shop and promised wage taxes and then Reverse-Morris or bankruptcy.
Shame on all of them. :p
(back to my coffee...)
--
Splat
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GenBlood @ 26th Oct 09:20AM:
I saw this coming ... time to call Comcast ...
I'm going to call Comcast this week and switch my phone
and internet service over to them. I have a bad feeling
the service is going to get bad in the coming weeks.
Time to make the switch ....
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TKJunkMail @ 26th Oct 09:29AM:
Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
Unions are being asked to make concession in recent weeks, despite having predicted problems before the Verizon deal was signed.
One of the reasons Verizon dumped their land lines in these states was because costs exceeded revenues PARTLY due to high union pay scales. When Fairpoint failed to cut these pay rates when they took over in order to please the regulators and close the deal, they made their fatal mistake.
Maybe with the bankruptcy filing they can abrogate the union contracts and pay the union workers what they are worth - about half of what they were getting paid.
--
My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
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anon @ 26th Oct 09:39AM:
incompetence
If management was or is incompetent enough to not know the true gravity of the debt they are taking on, should they not be replaced wholesale? To me, the solution is simple, if you fail as a management team at this level, then you are all out and replaced with a new team.
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Icon @ 26th Oct 09:42AM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
said by TKJunkMail :
Maybe with the bankruptcy filing they can abrogate the union contracts and pay the union workers what they are worth - about half of what they were getting paid.
You sir, obviously have no idea what they are worth....do you? You're just being an armchair quarterback, with no inkling of what the job entails, or the procedures followed. Have you ever had to climb up a power pole with all the hazards involved, to restore someone's lifeline? Hmmmmm. So you're telling me that their salaries should be cut from base pay around $55-$60K/year (not counting OT), to around $30K/yr? And you still want me to get up at two in the morning, in the middle of a storm, and come fix your phone? Laughable! Luckily, you don't dictate what I can make in a year to feed/take care of my family of 4. :)
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tmc8080 @ 26th Oct 09:51AM:
Upgrade the plant!
This means they *MUST* upgrade the plant to at least U-Verse or FTTP/Docsis 2 grade or the bankruptcy will mean nothing and the company will go under altogether depite bankruptcy. Consumers are fedup with being screwed with vastly outdated last mile technology and even in areas with NO competition and fairpoint sits as the lone-monopoly, consumers will choose none of the above without the upgrades and bankruptcy will mean nothing, my first prediction will at long last come true.. Verizon & possibly AT&T will split the spoils for pennies on the dollar in a liquidation sale and reclaim the assets debt-free! Since tax-payer funded incentives are not on the table anymore or have too much red tape, why not use the bankruptcy laws to wipe clean all the debt from decades of last mile neglect & profiteering? This is not an old idea.. to offload a failing part of a business let them file for bankruptcy, thus protecting the reputation and credit rating of the larger company and re-acquiring the debt-free assets on the cheap. If banks can do it to real estate, why not companies, after all greed is still good, even under the Obama administration...
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hayabusa3303 @ 26th Oct 10:20AM:
anyone
surprised by this :D
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Matt @ 26th Oct 10:33AM:
In other news ...
I think I'm going to go take over the mortgages of a few homes their owners no longer want, perhaps a few car notes as well. Who cares if I have no plan to actually pay for it all, I'm just going to file bankruptcy!
Oh wait, when I file bankruptcy, my assets are sold to pay my debtors so this won't work for me.
--
"What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?" - Abraham Lincoln
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anon @ 26th Oct 10:37AM:
A SCAM and you the taxpayer will pay for it !
Well you have to love it.
The following statement was in a letter on Oct,14 2009, It was sent to
Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20230
Re: Vermont State Priorities for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP)
"Our most highly recommended applications are the proposals of Vermont Telephone and FairPoint
Communications in the Infrastructure category, the Vermont Council on Rural Development in the Sustainable
Broadband Adoption category, and the Vermont Department of Libraries in the Public Computing Centers
category.
Vermont has engaged in significant efforts to improve access to broadband service. In 2007, Governor Douglas
sought and received overwhelming support from the Vermont Legislature for the passage of Act 79, which
established the goal of universal access to broadband and mobile wireless services in Vermont. Vermont has
sought and received binding regulatory commitments from major telecommunications companies, including
FairPoint Communications, Inc. (FairPoint) to expand broadband service in Vermont. FairPoint has done an
excellent job of meeting these commitments.
The new service area proposed by FairPoint in Vermont would make additional expansions to households
without broadband service in one of the most remote regions of Vermont, the Northeast Kingdom. Because the
service area proposed by FairPoint would qualify as a “remote” area under the Broadband Initiatives Program
(BIP), Vermont supports FairPoint’s request for grant funding under that program. However, if not funded by
BIP, we would also recommend FairPoint’s proposal to you under BTOP.1"
SO my fears came true, Fair point has had many complaints throughout Maine, NH and Vermont.
Our state in its wisdom supports FairPoint in its request for federal money in not one program but two.
Now putting an extra tax burden on all taxpayers in America.
At the same time this is going on the file for bankruptcy !!! What a scam
SEE -
»www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/10···942.html
I would love to start and run a company like Fairpoint using tax payers dollars while running
it into the ground so I do not have to pay bills.
What a scam.
Could it be, the recent bad publishing's about Burlington telecomm is being used to hide the TRUTH behind Fairpoint
What a scam.
Lobbyists from large incumbent telecomms invest millions upon millions of dollars fighting honest community run networks
What a scam.
Who is looking to grab your tax dollars - Community based networks or the larger Privately run Telcos
What a scam
Larger based telcos claim community based networks do not know what they are doing. Well who is going bankrupt?
What a scam.
A good private / public local Fiber optic to the home telecommunications network run by an elected board is the only honest way
way the United States will survive
Please contact The NTIA as well as your local state reps on this issue
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Buttset @ 26th Oct 10:39AM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
...Amen.
Don't know what line of work GOLFnSUN is in, but golf and sun probably sums it up!
If he's in some kind of business (other than government) it only takes a little while to realize that by cutting wages & benefits of the people who MAY use or buy his products or services won 't be able to after the cuts. The knife cuts boths ways....
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morbo @ 26th Oct 10:55AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Plenty of blame to go around:
1. Verizon
2. Regulators
3. Legislators/IRS for allowing the RMT loophole
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openbox9 @ 26th Oct 11:01AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
What money did Verizon give to politicians to make this deal happen? Blame the regulators and the legislatures fro enticing Verizon to offload the assets, but don't blame Verizon for exploiting the system to their benefit.
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Richard B @ 26th Oct 11:07AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
This puzzle me greatly until I realize this is the part of the entitlement mentality. It doesn't matter if the regulators drive a company to bankruptcy but the people deserve service. Perhaps the right thing to do was to regulated where a company can make a profit or minimal regulation at all and allow the greatest number of competitors.
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beavercable @ 26th Oct 11:07AM:
Guess whos next...
Frontier takes over here next year, I wonder what will happen.
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ropeguru @ 26th Oct 11:15AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
said by openbox9 :
What money did Verizon give to politicians to make this deal happen? Blame the regulators and the legislatures fro enticing Verizon to offload the assets, but don't blame Verizon for exploiting the system to their benefit.
Maybe you should look at this website that gives you some details on how much money the telcos pump into out political economy.
»projects.publicintegrity.org/tel···iys.aspx
While it may not be specifically for this particular deal this money is pumped in to woo politicians into anything the telcos want.
While the data is a little old, it has only gone up and not down.
Here is a web page for just Verizon expenditures through 2006.
»projects.publicintegrity.org/tel···=M000055
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battleop @ 26th Oct 11:29AM:
Hah
I bet Karl wet him self in excitement. :)
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viperlmw @ 26th Oct 11:31AM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
said by Icon :said by TKJunkMail :
Maybe with the bankruptcy filing they can abrogate the union contracts and pay the union workers what they are worth - about half of what they were getting paid.
You sir, obviously have no idea what they are worth....do you? You're just being an armchair quarterback, with no inkling of what the job entails, or the procedures followed. Have you ever had to climb up a power pole with all the hazards involved, to restore someone's lifeline? Hmmmmm. So you're telling me that their salaries should be cut from base pay around $55-$60K/year (not counting OT), to around $30K/yr? And you still want me to get up at two in the morning, in the middle of a storm, and come fix your phone? Laughable! Luckily, you don't dictate what I can make in a year to feed/take care of my family of 4. :)
QFT!
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openbox9 @ 26th Oct 11:53AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
So you're implying lobbying dollars were a bribe to gain regulatory approval for this sale? Quite the accusation.
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Z80 @ 26th Oct 11:54AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Then those politicians should all go to prison for accepting bribes.
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Z80 @ 26th Oct 11:58AM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
Verizon was free to say no to those contracts if they thought they were getting screwed.
The workers are worth was Verizon was willing to pay them, which is their current contract. If they were worth half, Verizon wouldn't have paid a penny more than half.
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Z80 @ 26th Oct 12:00PM:
Re: In other news ...
People do that all the time now, it's called Loan Modification.
Buy on terms you can't afford, then tell the bank to modify the loan or they take and even bigger hit on the house with foreclosure.
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Z80 @ 26th Oct 12:01PM:
Re: Guess whos next...
No matter what happens, it will be corporate lobbying dollars that get it done.
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tenpin784 @ 26th Oct 12:28PM:
Re: anyone
Nope. Not at all.
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 12:30PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Welcome to 20% rate increases across the board for service then. Also, another provider can come in if they want and lay infrastructure with minimal regulation. But a phone company is expected to push their infrastructure out to the ends of the earth and be affordable for anyone who wants phone service.
I believe the name of one of the fiber companies in FairPoint's NE area is Burlington Telecom. They offer up to 8 Mbps symmetric fiber, triple play options, etc. They seem to be doing just fine. Of course they don't have a team of highly paid weavers crafing the exec's golden parachute...
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 12:33PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
That's why they call it overtime.
Also, I'm not quite sure where you get the $55-$60 number. If you're working 40-hour weeks and such that's reasonable, though about 50% higher than what equivalent cable techs get, and A LOT higher than what much of the population gets at this point.
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 12:35PM:
Re: Upgrade the plant!
Here's the problem: unlike cable plant where DOCSIS upgrades are relatively cheap (less than $100 per custome) even upgrading to ADSL2+ would probably run FairPoint around $200 per customer, maybe a little more. Qwest cited a figure of $175 per customer awhile back, and they STILL don't have ADSL2+ in my of the areas they serve.
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 12:38PM:
Re: Guess whos next...
You'll get a company who cares about you but doesn't have the money to do anything about it. The result: you'll be stuck on Frontier copper for the next ten years, unless some competitor builds a better network alongside.
Frontier is a bit bigger right now than FairPoint so I don't think it will be as bad for affected folks, but you definitely won't get FiOS. Maybe 10/1 DSL if you're lucky eventually, though it will be cheap.
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ropeguru @ 26th Oct 12:39PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
said by openbox9 :
So you're implying lobbying dollars were a bribe to gain regulatory approval for this sale? Quite the accusation.
Sounds like you need to get back to your regular work at your Verizon desk
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openbox9 @ 26th Oct 12:43PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
I have a phone on my desk fed by Verizon, but I'm not even remotely employed by them. Don't blame me if you have no proof for your allegation.
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SteveCon @ 26th Oct 12:46PM:
Hey "Frontier-land" Regulators...
This is your wake up call. There will be plenty more.
The question is:
Will you listen?
--
UNIONS: The anti-theft device for working people.
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anon @ 26th Oct 01:02PM:
Re: Seems to be the new way...
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Glad to know I'm not the only one who sees it.
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anon @ 26th Oct 01:01PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Yes, I agree but, Fairpoint knew this would happen. It's all part of their master plan. All they have to do is go through bankruptcy and they come out the other end smelling like a Rose.
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Harddrive @ 26th Oct 01:26PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
you sir are uneducated on this topic when it comes to labor costs for a telco. let me help you understand it.
the Verizon techs in New England make right around $35 per hour. between that and the costs of 'supporting' these techs with a vehicle, tools, laptop, cell phone, etc... this becomes a rate of about $90 per hour to have a tech 'on the road' for 8 hours per day. that cost is called a 'loaded rate' and it only applies during the 8 working hours. the 'loaded rate' for a tech outside of those hours goes way down because all the support is figured in on an 8 hour day/40 hour week.
--
I've come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass and i'm all outta bubblegum.
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SuperWISP @ 26th Oct 02:04PM:
Providing any sort of rural service is hard.
I know; I'm a rural ISP.
No one knows whether Fairpoint anticipated a need to go bankrupt (to shed debt and renegotiate labor contracts and pension plans) or whether it was sold a pig in a poke, but in the end it doesn't matter. Rural telcos are in a serious bind, especially with the threat of "network neutrality" regulation (which would make their Internet services unprofitable just as consumers are moving to the Net for telephony and video).
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Icon @ 26th Oct 02:22PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
said by iansltx :
That's why they call it overtime.
Also, I'm not quite sure where you get the $55-$60 number. If you're working 40-hour weeks and such that's reasonable, though about 50% higher than what equivalent cable techs get, and A LOT higher than what much of the population gets at this point.
And your point is?? The base pay numbers I gave are 100% accurate across the industry, for a top craft Install/Repair Technician. That does not include OT, which can raise that number significantly, depending on many factors.
And what does it matter that it's higher pay than CATV? I used to work in CATV myself, and guess what, I made the move to telco many years ago because they pay better. It's not the same work, just like my line of work isn't the same as the Powerco's....and they make even more money than I do on average.
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ropeguru @ 26th Oct 02:46PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
said by openbox9 :
I have a phone on my desk fed by Verizon, but I'm not even remotely employed by them. Don't blame me if you have no proof for your allegation.
What more proof do you want put in from of you so you can refuse to accept?? Greasing the politicians palms with campaign money to get what they want is nothing more than paying them off.
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ropeguru @ 26th Oct 02:47PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
said by Joe05 :
Yes, I agree but, Fairpoint knew this would happen. It's all part of their master plan. All they have to do is go through bankruptcy and they come out the other end smelling like a Rose.
Just from what I am picking up on it doesn't sound like coming out with less debt increase the competency of management.
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 03:07PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
Granted. However times are a-changing and I'd think that people would rather accept a pay cut than be unemployed entirely when push comes to shove. That said, I think head execs are paid too much and should be the first to take a cut.,
About the whole union thing, look where the (union-rich) GM is now. On government-financed life suport. No thanks.
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openbox9 @ 26th Oct 03:11PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
And the same can be said for any other person/entity that has ever contributed a dollar to a campaign. I don't see any proof that Verizon bought regulatory approval to sell assets to Fairpoint.
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en102 @ 26th Oct 03:15PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Campaign contributions, PACs, are all the 'legal' methods of effectively paying off politicians. Money doesn't go directly into their pockets, but the money gained effectively pays for their views to be heard. This is capitalism 101.
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anon @ 26th Oct 03:45PM:
Re: Providing any sort of rural service is hard.
Brett Glass,
Please explain how the net neutrality rules proposed by this FCC in the current NPRM would make rural ISP services unprofitable? If that is the case, why are there many other rural WISPs who support net neutrality, so long as there are reasonable network management carve outs? AT&T operated for two years under FCC net neutrality merger conditions, during which time they invested more, including building out to more rural areas, and their profits went up.
I know you believe that this policy would hurt your business, but there is no evidence to support this belief. Furthermore, your political acumen is terrible, as the other regulatory favors you want from the FCC (special access, spectrum) are less likely the more you rant hysterically about this policy. All you are doing is helping the Bell Companies, who want to keep your special access rates high, and any spectrum out of your hands.
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Z80 @ 26th Oct 04:12PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Of course it goes to their pockets. It is how they stay in power, it's how they pull their paychecks, and it will be how they get their $50K per speech and a "consulting" job afterward. It's only legal bribery because the bribed are the ones writing the laws. It's a very convenient racket they have. You don't see cops writing themselves tinted window and speeding tickets either.
Any benefit (including campaign contribution) given in exchange for a favor is a bribe. It doesn't matter if it goes in their pocket They should all go to prison.
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anon @ 26th Oct 05:15PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Yes, but are they really incompetent, or just sly like a fox?
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lesopp @ 26th Oct 04:49PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
said by iansltx :
a phone company is expected to push their infrastructure out to the ends of the earth and be affordable for anyone who wants phone service.
That is why they have the USF.
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Harddrive @ 26th Oct 05:07PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
you don't blame the Union for upper-management's mis-management.
the union workers were told to keep assembling the cars as long as the cars kept coming down the assembly line, which they did.
--
I've come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass and i'm all outta bubblegum.
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OCNBLUE @ 26th Oct 08:09PM:
Re: Seems to be the new way...
Is there any company that Verizon has sold/spun to that has not filed Bankruptcy?
Genuity
Hawaii Telecom
Idearc
Fairpoint
Frontier (Bound to happen in 2 years)
Great article here on Ivan - »www.shareholderforum.com/vz/Publ···_WSJ.htm
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 08:41PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Yep. And regulation.
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 08:43PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
When union semi-skilled labor makes more per hour than your typical college graduate from an engineering program (petroleum engineers excepted, lucky sons of guns) there just might be a problem.
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Icon @ 26th Oct 08:50PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
This is total crap. Who are you to try and dictate what a job title is to pay? And why in the world should a college graduate with whatever kind of degree, and no practical work experience, make more than a seasoned, skilled, top craft technician, who knows all the ins and outs of the daily job? A college graduate has zero real world experience, unless they've participated in a co-op program, in which the pay is sometimes decent, sometimes not. Your comparisons make no sense.
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 08:54PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
Okay, what's the starting pay for a union technician in an auto plant?
As far as making no sense, I'm not taking about an English major here.Any good engineering school gets their studnets out into the field for at least some real-world experience, and models their classes around real-world situations.
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Icon @ 26th Oct 09:06PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
Being I'm not an auto worker, I have no idea what the starting pay is. And it doesn't matter either, as to how it compares to an entry-level engineering gig. Guess what, the student/engineer has the freedom to choose what path they want to walk, and that includes the payscales that come with the associated jobs...right?
Your comparison was that a freshly graduated engineering student didn't make as much money as a union employed technician. Who cares? Do you know for certain that it's always that way? Guess what, there are union engineering jobs as well! Quit union bashing already....it's a dead horse. I'm not all pro union, and I'm not all anti-union...there are good and bad. But it's where I am now, so I roll with the punches.
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Harddrive @ 26th Oct 09:07PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
i have no idea about starting pay for a UAW. i googled and found out that the average hourly pay for either a Union Auto Worker or a non-Union Auto Worker is around $30.
--
I've come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass and i'm all outta bubblegum.
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 09:09PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
Wonder what the benefit differences are between union and non=union.
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iansltx @ 26th Oct 09:10PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
Fair enough.
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Icon @ 26th Oct 09:13PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
The benefit differences probably aren't much actually. Maybe cheaper insurance premiums, but probably not by much. Maybe more/different days off, stuff like that.
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qworster @ 26th Oct 10:16PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
I can't BELIEVE how pro-big business, anti worker so many of you are here! What has corporate america given YOU for you to become their shills?
The unions PREDICTED EVERYTHING that happened. They sounded the alarm YEARS AGO! Now, instead of agreeing that history proved them fight, you all are supporting Fairport and blaming THEM?
I'd like to know what you are taking-stupid pills or are you getting stupid injections?
Let me say this again!
BIG BUSINESS IS NOT YOUR FRIEND!!! THEY WILL SCREW YOU OVER FOR A QUARTER!!!!
GOT IT???
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sonicmerlin @ 26th Oct 10:45PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Uh...how about the fact that only Verizon benefits from this, and everyone with even a tiny bit of intelligence opposed the sale from the beginning?
If not for Verizon`s lobbying dollars, why else would regulators have approved of the sale?
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anon @ 26th Oct 10:48PM:
msg deleted
deleted by a moderator
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WhatNow @ 26th Oct 11:11PM:
Re: Seems to be the new way...
I was thinking the same thing was glad to see your post. It is way to easy to walk away from your mistakes when you are big company. Life will be easier if we just shaft all our creditors. The ones it really hurts are the small suppliers.
Let the top brass work for minimum wage since they were the ones making decisions while they layoff those at the lower levels.
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WhatNow @ 26th Oct 11:19PM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
Company PACs should be banned I heard to many low level managers say they know if they don't give it will be held against them. All contributions should be given individually not bundled. That would level the playing field a little.
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GenBlood @ 26th Oct 11:25PM:
FYI .. e-mail servers having issues ...
I just saw this on TV ...WMUR ... channel 9 news is
saying ... FairPoint is having email server issues ...
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WhatNow @ 26th Oct 11:49PM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
When top management screws up they get retention bonuses and the workers at the bottom get laid off. I have worked for Union and non Union companies and guess what they are about the same except I would say the Union workers tend to be smarter. Maybe you get what you pay for.
The reason the American Car companies have problems is they have retirees the foreign company have not been here long enough. I guess when you reach retirement age they should just kill you so you will not be a drain on the economy. It still comes down to management are the ones making the decisions. The reason some people hate Unions because of they think they don't work is because management is not doing their job.
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S_engineer @ 27th Oct 12:58AM:
Re: Seems to be the new way...
It's not just the creditors that get screwed over....this also screws the workers over because now concessions have to be given in order to keep from being terminated. This applies to both union and non-union workers.
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BF69~~~Please stop suffocating gerbils!
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patcat88 @ 27th Oct 01:46AM:
Re: Seems to be the new way...
said by OCNBLUE :
Is there any company that Verizon has sold/spun to that has not filed Bankruptcy?
CenturyTel
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patcat88 @ 27th Oct 01:56AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
said by ropeguru :
They are just as guilty as the politicians that took the money and Fairpoint knowing that ultimately they could not handle the extra load.
Is Fairpoint a sentient being?
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patcat88 @ 27th Oct 02:02AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
said by lesopp :said by iansltx :
a phone company is expected to push their infrastructure out to the ends of the earth and be affordable for anyone who wants phone service.
That is why they have the USF.
And the USF doesn't actually require 100% universal service/coverage in any area, and its funds can't be used for anything except POTS
»edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/···.101.htm
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patcat88 @ 27th Oct 02:19AM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
said by iansltx :
As far as making no sense, I'm not taking about an English major here.Any good engineering school gets their studnets out into the field for at least some real-world experience, and models their classes around real-world situations.
Nope. A professor in engineering I spoke with said something along the lines of, we don't give you hands on experience, we don't teach you any physical tools, or machines, or protocols or standards, those things are transient, theory, formulas and book learning last forever, and your employer will be the one to give you job specific training on their equipment and their way of doing stuff and their rules, not us, we want our graduates to be flexible, not be homeless when the system they learned to work on is retired and obsolete after a few years.
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patcat88 @ 27th Oct 04:29AM:
Re: Upgrade the plant!
The spinoff commitments the PUCs extracted from FP, however small, just all become invalid in bankruptcy court.
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openbox9 @ 27th Oct 05:36AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
So now we're guilty until proven innocent? I'll be more than happy to believe the accusations if you can show me that Verizon was shown favoritism by regulators because they dropped money in politicians' pockets.
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Windstream @ 27th Oct 11:11AM:
Re: Seems to be the new way...
said by patcat88 :said by OCNBLUE :
Is there any company that Verizon has sold/spun to that has not filed Bankruptcy?
CenturyTel
Then Alltel, now Windstream
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We're here to help! wci.broadbandhelp@windstream.com
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patcat88 @ 27th Oct 11:21AM:
Re: Seems to be the new way...
said by Windstream :
Then Alltel, now Windstream
Windstream was 1-2 years before the buyout by the hedge funds of Alltel, and that was 1-2 years before the buying by Verizon. What history does Windstream have to do with GTE or Verizon?
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iansltx @ 27th Oct 11:22AM:
Re: Bankruptcy may allow Fairpoint to cut too high wages
Which school was that?
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SuperWISP @ 27th Oct 10:28PM:
Re: Providing any sort of rural service is hard.
said by JimZsz :
Brett Glass,
Please explain how the net neutrality rules proposed by this FCC in the current NPRM would make rural ISP services unprofitable?
It would outlaw the business models which many rural ISPs use to make service affordable and their businesses sustainable. It would increase their bandwidth costs, prevent them from stopping abuse, and lower their quality of service, causing them to lose customers and harming those customers who remain.
If that is the case, why are there many other rural WISPs who support net neutrality, so long as there are reasonable network management carve outs?
There are not many rural WISPs (or even many ISPs) who support this onerous regulation of their industry. Of course, there are always a few misinformed or gullible people who don't understand the full impact of the proposed rules or have been sold a bill of goods. But they're a tiny minority.
AT&T operated for two years under FCC net neutrality merger conditions, during which time they invested more, including building out to more rural areas, and their profits went up.
Those conditions were very different from what would be imposed by the FCC under the current NPRM.
I know you believe that this policy would hurt your business, but there is no evidence to support this belief.
There is very strong evidence to support it. See my many filings in the docket.
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Z80 @ 28th Oct 12:02AM:
Re: Why blame Verizon?
I agree. All contributions other than those made by registered voters should be banned. No special interest groups of any kind, whether corporations, unions, member groups (eg AARP, trade associations etc) should be permitted to contribute. If their individual members or employees choose to on their own and in secret, great. And then it should be a max of $5K per contributor per year total. Political advertising should be heavily regulated. And if they can ban smoking commercials they can ban these propaganda ads by swift boat types and public employee unions looking to pass their pay increases.
Only when contributions are limited to those from individual voters will voters finally get some representation.
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anon @ 1st Nov 09:22PM:
Re: FYI .. e-mail servers having issues ...
Don't give up on the old bell system, switching to comcast doesn't help the people that have been out there working on those lines for 100 years.
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