Negotiators for two unions and FairPoint Communications met in Boston Tuesday, but both sides say there was no progress in reaching an agreement.
It was the first meeting since FairPoint declared an impasse in August and unilaterally imposed the contract terms it had been seeking. Union members in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire went on strike in October.
After meeting briefly with a federal mediator in Boston Tuesday, the two sides issued statements that echoed their long standing positions.
The company said the unions have yet to make any meaningful proposals to reduce contract costs that hobble it competitively and are out of line with current standards.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America say they have offered plans that would save the company money. They say FairPoint’s cuts are crippling to the approximately 1,800 workers they represent.
No new meetings are scheduled.
Workers and supporters from the three states plan a rally in Montpelier on Thursday.
