Striking workers begin voting a day after negotiators announce agreement with FairPoint

Striking FairPoint Communications workers begin three days of voting on a tentative agreement just a day after negotiators announced a pact that could end the four-month strike.

More than 1,700 workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont will vote over the next three days after attending meetings and being briefed on the tentative agreement.

The company, northern New England's primary landline provider, and unions declined to discuss details until workers are briefed. Pete McLaughlin, chairman of the unions' bargaining committee, says both sides are unhappy with parts of the proposal but he says the outcome of the negotiation is fair to both sides.

FairPoint workers in the three states went on strike in October. The agreement follows more than six weeks of federally mediated negotiations.