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Tonight, if midnight strikes without a new contract from Con Ed, the 9,000 workers represented by the Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 could go on strike (unless Governor Paterson intervenes again, of course). The two sides are resuming their talks today at a NJ hotel.
Union spokesman Joe Flaherty said the two sides are still fare apart, with Con Ed only offering a 0.5% raise for the first year, and 1% raises in later years, "For the CEO of Con Ed to get a 24 percent increase and the managerials to get an eight percent or 15 percent and offer a half percent to the workers is an insult, and if that isn't trying to provoke a strike I don't know what is." The union is also fighting for other issues like, retirees' workers comp and other benefits.
While Con Ed has said its management is ready for a possible strike, with management even going back to the lines, Flaherty wondered to the NY Sun, "Do you think 9,000 can walk off a job and it will all be the same? Does that make sense? If there is an interruption in service, whether it's electric, gas, or steam service, the delays will be humongous."
The NY Times looks at how it's gotten more difficult for people to successful get jobs at Con Ed (last year, the utility only "picked up 528 people from a pool of 26,000"), and how salaries and benefits have marginally gotten better or even decreased. There's also been tension between older workers and the younger workers, who were hired with much less experience.
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.5% raise
on a 49K salary that what, $200?
nice!
^^ meant to type 40K
you won't win with a strike. bloomberg will kick your ass.
most con ed workers are already overpaid, more so than twu workers.
Well Con ed cant keep the power on with out a strike in the summer cant wait to see what happens when workers strike
csk, You have any facts to base that assertion or are you just jealous of ConEd Employees?
And I'm just dying to know: What can the mayor possibly do to workers in a private company?
realize that most these guys make OT, and anyone with 10+ years usually makes more than 100K. Not bad for not having a college diploma. Sometimes I wonder why they make so much OT when I see them sitting around in their trucks all day.
I only know what ConEd has supposedly offered, does anyone know what the union is demanding? I can certainly agree that a .5 percent increase doesn't seem like much - and it probably isn't unreasonable for the union to be requesting more.
The problem is that these increases are always a one way street -- it's .5 percent for year 1, compounded by another 1% in the next couple of years... Also need to factor how an increase rippples into overtime costs. Maybe a greater increase is warranted, but it would help to know what the union's position is here.
Are there arcane positions that the union can allow management to eliminate to create cost savings? What health care/fringe benefits/pensions do these folks get? A couple of percentage points applied across the board to retirement benefits can equal a lot of money.
So far, I have to say that the union seems to be acting pretty reasonably. Hopefully our ConEd overlords are as well.
If there are 26,000 applicants for 528 positions, I think the salary and benefits that are already in place are a lot better than their union would have us believe.
s.d.
no college degree and making 100k is being overpaid. not jealous, just keepin' it real. maybe i'm still bitter about the blackout where con ed did nothing to repay those inconvenienced by their inept behavior.
unions should all be abolished. it's bad for the US. look at gm and ford. you suck money out of true market forces.
Most of con edisons construction divisions are HIGHLY skilled labor. Take a look at going wages for Lineman specifically around the country. Con Ed is on the low end, and it's workers live in one of the most expensive cities. Without a union, safety would take a back seat and you would see significantly higher rates of injuries and deaths, both to the public and the workers.