Conn. Authority Denies CWA Challenge to Pole Attachment Policies

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in an order Wednesday denied a Communications Workers of America petition challenging two pole-attachment orders from 2022. CWA claimed in an April 29 petition that PURA decisions from 2022 on one-touch, make ready and a single visit transfer (SVT) process for double poles, plus a policy working group’s actions, “improperly mandated that Frontier and other Connecticut telecommunications companies ‘use third-party non-union contractors for bargaining unit work, without notice to or negotiation with CWA Local 1298.’” However, CWA’s petition isn’t “the proper vehicle for challenging an administrative decision,” said PURA. “Given that declaratory rulings may not be used to obtain indirectly that which is not available directly, the Authority declines to issue a declaratory ruling as to the validity of the OTMR and SVT Decisions. Even if the decisions could be appealed, added PURA, CWA failed to meet the statutory deadline to challenge them. In addition, CWA failed to show that the policy working group’s actions “constitute unlawful interference by the Authority with CWA’s contract with Frontier,” the authority said. “Contrary to CWA’s assertions, contractors were not forced upon attachers.” PURA Chair Marissa Gillett and Commissioners Jack Betkoski and David Arconti signed the order (case 24-05-11). CWA may have "no choice but to sue PURA," emailed Camilo Duran, a Yale Law School student interning with the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic. The clinic represents CWA Local 1298. Mandating third-party contractors "interferes with CWA's hard-fought collective bargaining agreement with Frontier, and is a threat to high-paying, stable union jobs in Connecticut," said Duran: Claiming that the requirement "is immune from review is an affront to democratic accountability and essential workers across the state."