In just a few moments, negotiators from Con Edison and the Local 1-2 of the UWUA will go back to the bargaining table to hammer out a deal that is feasible to both sides. If they don't, the slightly delayed strike will go into effect tonight at midnight. Who knows if Paterson will institute another "cooling-off" period, but one thing is certain, union workers are probably not going to get what they want....and they haven't for quite some time. This isn't just a battle over percentages for the next few budgets, it is about quality of life.
From The NY Times:
Now, the solid wages and benefits that for decades have led Irish- and Italian-American men to follow their fathers and grandfathers into manholes, bucket trucks and substations are under threat, as the utility and the union that represents 8,800 of its nearly 14,000 workers try to hammer out a new four-year contract. The most recent pact expired on Sunday morning, with the union angry over what it described as the company’s proposal for a 1.5 percent annual wage increase — short of the 4.2 percent inflation rate — and a 401(k)-style savings plan, rather than the traditional pension, for new workers. The union, Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America, represents almost two-thirds of Con Edison’s employees.
“When I started, Con Ed was a very good company with great benefits, job security,” said Ken Burns, 46, a splicer who works in the Bronx and has 22 years with the company, where his grandfather spent his working life. “But with each contract, our benefits have decreased.”
So has Con Ed slowly been trying to undercut the union workers that keep it's system running. Well, yes and no. The executives at the top are taking advantage of their workers in an increasingly privatized society where company profits come before anything else. As the Times mentions, energy deregulation has had a lot to do with that. So while the union will fight for something better than what Con Ed has offered, they will not get the way of life their fathers and grandfathers had until Congress acts to restructure the energy industry.
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