Press “1” to talk to James Dolan, CEO of Cablevision.

Cablevision has filed a lawsuit against the Communications Workers of America District 1 and its Local 1109, which represents area workers, in Nassau County Supreme Court.

The cable operator is accusing the union of launching harassing robocalls which have given customers the chance to pester CEO and president James Dolan.

At least 20,000 robocalls were made to Cablevision subscribers in three days, from Jan. 31 – Feb. 2 which the cable company alleges were designed to cost the company money and its reputation.

If customers pressed “1” during the call, they were automatically forwarded to a Cablevision call center to complain about recent rate increases and recent job losses at the company. On Feb. 3, Cablevision alleges the robocall campaign was adjusted. Now if customers press “1” during the call, they are directly connected to the phone sitting on Dolan’s desk. In just two days, Cablevision alleges Dolan’s line received 1,193 calls.

The following day, the union was also accused of sharing Dolan’s direct number on social media websites.

“The union will no doubt claim that their telephone harassment scheme is designed to allow customers to communicate substantive messages to the CEO, but such an argument cannot sustain the slightest scrutiny,” reads the complaint. “The unions knows full well that no Fortune 500 CEO can possibly handle a concentrated barrage of one-on-one phone calls with subscribers and others, and that companies like Cablevision have designated and publicly known call centers established precisely to handle such calls in an orderly, responsive manner – including mechanisms for escalating certain such calls to the CEO, if necessary.”

The CWA and Cablevision have fought over an effort to unionize cable company workers in Brooklyn, N.Y.

A year ago, Cablevision workers in Brooklyn voted to form a union, but Cablevision/Optimum management has allegedly stonewalled the unionization effort.

On Jan. 30, about two dozen workers sought to speak with Cablevision management under the company’s “open door” policy, specifically about the lack of progress in completing a contract. Cablevision terminated the 22 employees on the spot, deeming them “permanently replaced.”

Cablevision’s suit requests court costs and an injunction ordering the union not to harass it, aid or abet harassment, or falsely and deceptively display any Cablevision phone number on robocalls.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/CWA Fired Cablevision Workers 2-2013.flv[/flv]

 The Communications Workers of America produced this video highlighting what they consider the unfair termination of 22 workers after seeking an “open door” meeting with Cablevision management.  (2 minutes)

Here today, gone tomorrow.

Cablevision West, formerly known as Bresnan Communications, has been up for sale for weeks, and at least three major cable operators have submitted bids to acquire its 300,000 customers in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.

Cablevision bought Bresnan Communications in 2010 for $1.37 billion. The cable operator invested millions updating the cable properties in the mountain west, but ultimately decided the more rural cable systems were too far away from its hometown systems in densely populated suburban New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Selling Cablevision West would improve Cablevision’s balance sheet and allow the company to concentrate on its highly competitive home territory in the northeast, where Verizon FiOS frequently competes.

Among the three vying for Cablevision West, Charter Communications seems to be the best positioned to win. Charter already operates cable systems in the central and western United States, mostly in smaller cities and rural areas. Former Cablevision CEO Thomas Rutledge was in charge when Cablevision bought Bresnan Communications, and in his new role as CEO of Charter, he told CNBC he still admires those western systems.

Suddenlink has attained deeper pockets after its acquisition earlier this year by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, European private equity firm BC Partners and the cable operator’s current management. With money to spend, Suddenlink Communications could find itself the highest bidder. Suddenlink currently serves over 1.4 million residential and commercial customers, primarily in Texas, West Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable provider, is also among the stingiest of the three bidders. CEO Glenn Britt has consistently told investors the company will not engage in bidding wars or overpay for acquisition opportunities. The company has passed on several earlier opportunities for cable systems up for sale, although it did successfully acquire Insight Communications earlier this year.

The winner will likely be announced as early as January and then customers will have to prepare, once again, for another owner to take control.

Union members of the Communications Workers of America, unhappy that customers are not going to receive automatic service credits for the extensive outages caused by Hurricane Sandy, are robocalling possible Cablevision customers to help them secure refunds.

In response, Cablevision’s lawyers threatened to sue the union, claiming they were engaged in “deceptive and illegal” practices, and accused the union of stealing customer records.

Cablevision is one of the few holdouts that require customers to personally request service credits for outages caused by the October storm. Most providers in the hardest hit areas have issued automatic blanket credits for affected customers. Companies requiring customers to contact a customer service representative to request credit are assured many will not, either because of long hold times, other matters taking precedence, or simply because customers forget to ask.

Union officials say the robocalled numbers were gathered from publicly available phone records in the affected areas and did not come from Cablevision’s customer database. Cablevision also objected to the suggestion the union was calling “on behalf” of the cable company — a charge also denied by the union.

“We are just calling people in the affected area to let them know they are eligible for a refund and help them get it if they are entitled to it,” CWA organizer Tim Dubnau told the New York Daily News.

Callers who are interested in pursuing a claim are transferred by the union direct to Cablevision customer service for assistance.

Cablevision and the CWA have been at odds ever since the union began attempting to organize workers in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

The cable company is also facing a $250 million lawsuit filed separately on behalf of subscribers Irwin Bard, a retired businessman from Oyster Bay, N.Y. and his son Jeffery, a lawyer from Huntington.

Cable customers in Montana, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming can be forgiven if they cannot remember the name of the cable company that provides them with service. Originally Bresnan Communications, then Cablevision’s Optimum West, customers are now learning Charter Communications could soon be their new service provider.

James Dolan, CEO of Cablevision Industries, last week acknowledged he had received “unsolicited interest” in the cable properties in the western United States, and told investors he may sell the systems for an undisclosed amount.

Cablevision acquired the systems formerly owned by Bill Bresnan two years ago, investing tens of millions in upgrades to bring them closer to modern standards. Cablevision has received praise from many subscribers for improved service and more competitive rates. But a sale could change that. Charter Cable is perennially rated among the worst cable companies in the United States by Consumer Reports.

Should Charter acquire the systems, it will also inherit a major tax fight initiated by Cablevision, protesting its Montana property tax bills for 2010 and 2011.

Cablevision is upset tax authorities defined the Optimum West operation as a single telecommunications company, not a cable company. That decision effectively doubles its tax rate from 3 to 6 percent — the same rate CenturyLink pays in the state.

If an appeals process finds the state erred in its decision, 29 counties will have to refund millions that Cablevision paid under protest.

Tax officials warn if Cablevision’s tax rate is cut in half and other companies reap similar rewards, homeowners and small businesses will cover the difference. Revenue director Dan Bucks warned that could mean annual tax bills $110 higher on a home assessed at $200,000.

Two Cablevision customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties are the lead complainants in a $250 million class action lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court alleging the cable operator is illegitimately charging customers for service knocked out by Hurricane Sandy.

The suit claims that unlike other cable and phone companies in New York and New Jersey extending automatic service outage credits to impacted customers, Cablevision is only giving credits to customers who self-report outages within 30 days.

Cablevision was the hardest hit cable operator in the region, with its coastal service areas on Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey receiving the brunt of storm surges and wind-related damage. At least half of the company’s three million customers were without service after the storm hit Oct. 29. Nearly 80,000 customers are still without power and utilities are signaling some may wait until after Christmas before lights are back on. Some of the most devastated areas are not scheduled for restoration at all because those properties will have to be abandoned or rebuilt.

The plaintiffs claim Cablevision, “only agreed to rebate some of its most favored customers on a discretionary basis and in varying amounts, and only after the customers’ contacted Cablevision for the rebate.” The suit also alleges customers threatening to cancel service are getting the most generous rebates.

The suit suggests Cablevision should have known not to bill or accept money from customers that remain without service. Many Cablevision customers are on the company’s electronic billing and autopay programs, which will continue to deduct money from bank accounts for services customers cannot actually receive.

“The lawsuit misstates the facts and is without merit,” Cablevision said in a statement. “But lawsuits aside, we have an extremely broad and customer friendly credit policy following Sandy. Blanket or arbitrary credits for cable outages could shortchange customers because each case is different and our policy covers the entire period of time when Cablevision service was out, including when the service interruption was caused by the loss of electrical power.”

Cablevision says the amount of damage to its facilities is so extensive, it could impact the next quarter’s financial results. Company officials also admit some of their customers will not be coming back because their homes and businesses no longer exist.