Nearly a year into a strike by local tech workers, Charter Communications’ problems in the Big Apple are getting worse.
New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications said that only seven of 26 vendors used by the cable operator in New York are from the area, according to a New York Daily News report.
Charter’s franchise agreement calls for it to use local vendors as much as it can. The city said only 27% of Charter’s vendors meet the local qualifications of the franchise agreement vs. the 77% claimed by the operator.
For Charter, which assumed a presence in the region when it took over Time Warner Cable in 2016, the city’s report further imperiled the chances that NYC will renew its franchise agreement when it comes back up in 2020.
Charter could get a damning “default” ruling on its record with the city if the next audit finds similar skew of out-of-region vendors.
Charter representatives didn’t immediately respond to Fierce’s inquiry for comment, but a spokesperson told the Daily News, “We continue to meet our franchise obligations, and our response to their findings is included in the report.”
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Notably, in just one month, Charter will reach the one-year mark in a strike being conducted against it by around 1,800 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3.
Charter is appealing with the National Labor Relations Board a ruling by an administrative law judge, upholding Local 3’s claims that Charter used coercive tactics to control the workers during their transition from TWC.
Should the NLRB rule against Charter in that matter, it would also receive a default that would factor into its franchise agreement review.