Work stoppage resolved after line workers demand full compensation for restoration efforts

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — On Wednesday, Oct. 30, News 13 received several calls from line workers who said they were not being compensated despite working long hours for several weeks.

They gathered at the old Sears parking lot off South Tunnel Road after the work stoppage began at 7:00 a.m. Wednesday.

Next Era Communications has hired crews and bucket trucks from around the country since early October to help Western North Carolina recover from Helen.

Miguel Burgos, who owns Next Era, told News 13 that Next Era contracts with MasTec, which contracts with Spectrum.

He said his people weren’t paid for work they did between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13, even though they entered into a payment arrangement with MasTec called Net 14, which they told News 13 they would be paid through 15 days after they issue their first invoice.

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This would have been October 23rd.

Thirty years ago (and) this is the first time I’ve had (redacted) like this,” Burgos said. “I’ve never seen a company deal with people like this, especially one like Asheville. Asheville was destroyed and I’ve been doing this for a long time… most of my life. This is crazy.

Jack Reed, manager of GoJet Recruiting Services, said he is responsible for rounding up those line employees and bringing them to Western North Carolina.

He told News 13 there have been about 200 crews on site over the past few weeks.

“If you look in my car, there’s a dog and an air mattress; this is where we sleep,” Reed said. — We haven’t taken a shower yet. We don’t eat. Everything they promised, they promised to do. Nothing gets done.”

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Burgos said his crews worked in Asheville, Lenoir, Aiken and Spartanburg. They completed work in Spartanburg, but Burgos said he was told they would be here for two more weeks working in other cities.

In addition to being paid for two days of work in Lenoir, Reed said crews had not been paid for their first week of work as of Wednesday morning.

WLOS shared the above information live on News 13 at Noon. A few minutes later, Reed shared a message with the linesmen present.

“The proposal is that they will pay us per diem from today,” he said. “They want to know if it will be enough to get everyone to go to work. What do you guys think?

The answer was a unanimous no; crews did not return to work just for per diems.

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Just before 12:30 the good news arrived.

So, they agreed to pay us for our first week, so they will pay all of us tomorrow,” Reed told his line workers. “So, we will receive our salary tomorrow and our daily allowance.

Reed said his crews will take over the rest of the day and return to work Thursday once the money arrives.

News 13 also reached out to MasTec and Charter Communications, Spectrum’s parent company, for comment. Neither company responded to News 13’s questions about why linemen say they weren’t paid on time for work in early October.

Correction: At 6 p.m., News 13 reported that those workers had been fired, according to one News 13 source who is a member of the management team. News 13 wishes to clarify that these employees were not fired and the error was corrected for subsequent broadcasts.