- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Economic Development
Navajo Nation telecommunications workers have secured wage parity after Frontier Communications agreed to raise pay in a new three‑year union contract.
The agreement closes a pay gap that left Navajo technicians earning less than Frontier employees elsewhere in the state despite performing the same skilled work. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) pressured the company to address the disparity, according to the Communications Workers of America.
Fernando Roman, campaign lead with CWA, said a letter from Gallego to CEO Nick Jeffrey “turned the tide on the company’s slow‑walking of our wage parity proposal.”
The Navajo technicians voted to unionize in 2021. Workers told the Navajo Times in October they maintained essential broadband and phone infrastructure across remote communities under tougher conditions than elsewhere in the state — including long travel distances, harsh weather, and limited resources — yet were paid less.
Contract negotiations intensified after Frontier’s previous agreement with CWA expired in March. Gallego publicly urged Frontier to negotiate in good faith and address the disparity.
“These workers keep families, schools and hospitals connected, often under tougher conditions than the rest of Arizona,” Gallego said in a statement. “I’m glad to see they’re now getting a raise. Accountability works.”
Frontier confirmed the pay increases but did not release implementation details, according to Gallego’s office. CWA officials say they will monitor the rollout.
