FairPoint Issues Statement Regarding Pending Mediation

PORTLAND, Maine, Nov. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- FairPoint Communications spokeswoman Angelynne Beaudry today issued the following statement on misleading claims the Unions have made to media regarding mediation:

Mediator Asks Parties to Meet

This evening, it became generally known that a mediator assigned by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS) to the negotiations between FairPoint and the IBEW and CWA contacted each side's negotiators last week and asked the parties to attend a meeting at the FMCS offices in Boston.  Yesterday, the Company agreed to attend a meeting and proposed November 18 for it.  Our chief negotiator spoke with their chief negotiator and learned that they have agreed to attend on the 18th. 

This meeting reflects the normal process followed by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in all labor disputes.  It is simply exploratory on the part of the FMCS. 

To this point, neither party has changed the positions that led to the current deadlock, and no assumptions should be made about either party's decision to attend other than the parties' respect for the FMCS process.  The suggestion by the unions that our attendance at this meeting is somehow related to service levels or our storm-related response is completely unfounded.

SOURCE FairPoint Communications, Inc.