Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) at an Event in Portland Last Year..

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D) and Congressman Jared Golden (D) are raising concerns over Consolidated Communications (CCI) proposed Portland-based layoffs.  The House delegation said CCI’s customer service layoffs will have many harmful impacts and strongly urged CCI President and CEO Bob Udell to reconsider.  It is believed that Udell proposes cutting 12 positions.  It is the parent company of Spectrum.

“We urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider this decision based on its harmful impacts not only on your workers and their families, but on your company’s capacity to provide quality service in Maine, now and into the future.  We ask that you choose instead to invest in your employees and the communities you serve,” Pingree and Golden wrote in a letter dated February 29, 2024 to the Mattson, Illinois based company CEO.

Pingree and Golden also cited a troubling trend within the CCI company, noting that CCI’s union-represented workforce has decreased by 32 percent in Maine since 2017.  “The continued depletion of our local telecommunications workforce not only harms your customers, but it also hurts the Mainers that depend on those jobs,” they said.