PORTLAND, Maine - Negotiations between FairPoint and unions representing striking workers are in a third week.
Closed-door talks have been ongoing since the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service called the parties to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4. The parties are working under a gag order imposed by federal mediators.
The telecommunications company declared an impasse in negotiations in late August. More than 1,700 FairPoint workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont went on strike in October after the company began imposing terms of its "final offer.''
North Carolina-based FairPoint provides telephone and high-speed Internet service to businesses and consumers. The bulk of its customers are in northern New England.