The message you heard from Pat today may have caught many of you off guard. I’m sure many of you are asking “Why?” What I would like to do is reiterate the key messages and help put this in perspective for Cox New England.

As you know, we’ve had a relentless focus on improving our operating efficiencies in New England over the past several years, as our competition has intensified and the economy has softened. As Pat’s message demonstrates, this is a focus across all of Cox Communications as well.

We continually re-examine our business, looking at many options for reducing costs and evolving our business while intensifying our focus on the customer experience. Running the business more effectively is a discipline we’ve practiced in New England for years, and it is something that will be part of everything we do going forward.

As you heard from Pat earlier, we are beginning a workforce reduction across all of Cox Communications. And as he said, this workforce reduction impacts both corporate and field offices, and includes a Voluntary Retirement Program and an involuntary workforce reduction.

The company’s Voluntary Retirement Program is attractive and generous and, I believe, will be well-received by eligible employees. After we assess the impact of the voluntary program, we still likely will need to eliminate a relatively small number of positions in Cox New England through an involuntary workforce reduction. I do not expect this to in any way reduce our commitment to providing a quality customer experience, consistent with our Trusted Provider vision.

Although some positions will be eliminated, we will encourage those affected employees to apply for open positions elsewhere in our organization and will create a process to assist them in their efforts. We’ll do everything we can to help match those employees with open positions, but I do expect that at the end of this process, some of those employees whose positions are being eliminated will no longer be with the company.

We’ll start the process this week, beginning with the Voluntary Retirement Program. All employees who are eligible for the Voluntary Retirement Program will be contacted by HR via e-mail this Thursday, November 6. HR will then provide individualized packets of information that contain pension and benefit information for each eligible employee, and will schedule meetings over the next few weeks to review the packets and answer any questions. The deadline for an employee to accept the Voluntary Retirement Package is Friday, November 21.

Employees who are impacted by the involuntary force reduction will be contacted by your leaders in early December. If you are impacted, your leaders will provide you with more information about the severance package, outplacement assistance and other details at the notification meeting. I know this is several weeks away, but please be patient; these are not easy decisions and we want to be very diligent before making them.

I realize that there is a lot of anxiety around this announcement, but it is important that we all remain focused. We must continue to deliver to our customers the kind of service that only a trusted provider can provide. I know that you will support your co-workers as they work through their own individual situations. I know, too, that this will position Cox New England, and Cox Communications overall, to thrive going forward.

Thank you for all that you do every day.

Paul

Sorry everyone I was one vacation. Many people are wondering who is the man behind the mask. Well I am here to tell you that an unveiling will be in there near future. You will get to see the coax monkey in action, live or on the next video. Stay tuned for more!

Membership has it's rewards

Mr. Cronin

            How come every time Paul comes out with a letter he is always making it a Cox versus Verizon thing? This not about that, this is not about our corporations dueling it out on the poles. This is about what is right and just. This is about your half-truths and how you manipulate words into propaganda for your profit-hungry growth machine. In your recent letter you spoke about an “unsuccessful attempt to organize your Connecticut field techs” what you didn’t say was that you were found guilty by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for violating a federal law. If you need proof you can find this document that you signed on our blog section. But I will remind you of a few key points (in case you forgot them.)

Form, join, or assist a union

Bargain collectively through a representative chosen by employees

Act together with other employees for your benefit and protection

Choose not to engage in any of these protected activities

• WE WILL NOT ask you to tell us about union activities of your fellow workers, hmm once again violated by a high-ranking official at a Christmas party at Mohegan Sun.
• WE WILL NOT tell you that the Union will have to start bargaining from scratch if it wins an election.
• WE WILL NOT threaten you with loss of wages, benefits, or other terms and conditions of your employment if the Union wins an election.

            You then had to apologize and admit on paper that you were wrong for doing that. Posting it in all CT field offices, but why not RI field offices, is it because you didn’t want them to know that you couldn’t intimidate them, or harass “your” field techs? Personally I think it was because you were embarrassed because you broke the law. Then again your not the only one who broke the law, I believe a high ranking Cox official (who is in charge of field technicians some where in New England) was arrested, charged and found guilty of DUI. He still kept his job; I bet he even got a raise that year, along with his productivity bonus. The field tech would have lost his job in a second because he needs his license to drive your truck. But wait so does he drives a Ford focus, so how could he keep his job? That’s right find a tech that is on light duty and has him cart this official around from meeting to meeting, perfect.

            Mr. Cronin once again in your letter you assert that Bill McGowan’s comments in a press release, intends to put you out of business. (Ironically, just yesterday Bill McGowan, business manager for IBEW Local 2323, touted Verizon as having "the best technology and workforce to deliver broadband and cutting-edge cable TV services to customers” in a Verizon-issued press release) Of course any business manager would want the company that employs his membership to succeed. That would only provide job security for us. But wait a minute what did Cox think they were doing to all the hard-working union brothers at the IBEW when they launched telephony. I believe Cox took a huge market share from Verizon more than 40% if correct, but please do not quote me on that. So you blame the IBEW for Verizon getting into the CATV business, that’s a little hypocritical on your part, don’t you think? Also answer me this Paul, you talk about your struggle in RI then how come CT was the first to have a vote, the IBEW does not even represent anyone from Verizon in CT because Verizon does not own any territories there. So clearly your arguments are unfounded and erroneous. I find it very difficult that you have the technician’s best interest in mind when you get paid off their backs. The more they do the more you’ll make. With IBEW representation they will have someone looking out for their well being. Isn’t that why you don’t want them to have a choice?

Membership has its rewards

Coax Monkey

To all fellow telecommunication technicians,

  The only reason why I'm writing this is because I have many friends that work for Cox Communications and I want all of them to have the best possible life

I would like to take this time to clear up some rumors that are going around about the stand outs that happened on May 1st.