BECKLEY, W.Va. — A new deal has been reached for telecommunication workers under the Optimum brand in southern West Virginia.
On Wednesday, members of the Communications Workers of America reached a deal with Altice USA, the telecommunications company for Optimum, that includes a 7.69% compound wage increase over the three-year deal and minimum salaries for technicians.
“I’m really proud of what we were able to negotiate to make Optimum a better place to work,” Patrick Adkins, a member of the CWA bargaining committee, said in a news release. “When we fought for our first union contract, we were able to win job security and important rights at work, like our first grievance procedure. Because of the foundation we built in our first union contract, we were able to really focus on improving the standard of living for our families with the wage increases we’ve earned.”
Negotiations have been ongoing in the recent months between the parties, as CWA members agreed to strike if a new deal was not made.
Optimum workers agreed to work under the previous contract for an extra two-week extension, through July 12. A tentative deal was reached last week and was completed Wednesday.
The three-year contract will cover members of CWA across the Beckley and Logan areas.