(Boston, Mass.) - FairPoint Communications and representatives of more than 1,700 striking workers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are going back to the negotiating table. 

A federal mediator asked the telecommunications company and two unions to meet Tuesday in Boston to see if they can find any common ground that could end a strike by more than 1,700 workers.

It's the first meeting since FairPoint declared an impasse in late August.  Workers have now been on strike for a month.

FairPoint and the unions are at odds over a company-imposed contract that froze the old pension plan and requires workers to contribute to health care costs for the first time.

Other provisions allow the company to hire contractors and eliminate retiree health care benefits for current workers.

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