Con Ed Works It Out With Local 1-2

After all the bluster and drama over the last week, Con Ed and their main union, the Local 1-2, worked out a deal to satisfy both sides. The workers were set to strike as of midnight but the deal got done after hours anyways. This is definitely a good thing for everyone that counts on Con Edison's power and from what we can tell so far, a great thing for the people that keep the utility humming.

From WCBS-TV:

Joe Flaherty, a spokesman for the Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, said that the two sides negotiated a range of issues, including wages, safety and health care.

One of the major sticking points for the union—Con Edison's proposal to switch from traditional pensions to a 401(K)-style plan for new employees—was tabled by the utility "at the 11th hour," Flaherty said.

"I think they fully understood that this union and its members would not stand for a change in their long traditional pension," Flaherty said. The union represents about two-thirds of Con Edison's 14,000 employees.

Con Edison spokesman Michael Clendenin did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday.

So while we don't know the pay structure, the fact that Con Ed caved on trying to privatize the pension system was a huge boon for Union members that count on that for their retirement. While Wall Street may cry over a few lost dollars in transactions, it is comforting to know that the pension system will remain the same and stay as reliable as they have been for generations. Score a victory for the Local 1-2!

Con Ed-Union Deadlock Now Going Til Wednesday

This weekend the Governor took it upon himself to stand between Con Edison and Local 1-2 of the UWUA to avert a strike of more than 9,000 members that help the power grid of New York City humming. The workers were set to walk out at 12am yesterday, but now the two sides are still at the bargaining table....until Wednesday at midnight. The question is, will the proposals be amenable to both sides?

From WCBS-TV:

Gov. David Paterson intervened late Saturday in negotiations between Consolidated Edison and the union representing almost two-thirds of the utility's work force just minutes before the midnight deadline for a possible strike expired and persuaded both sides to agree to a "cooling off period," a spokesman for the governor said.

Negotiations were suspended early Sunday and were scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Paterson spokesman Errol Cockfield said. Cockfield said the governor had been monitoring the talks while recovering at his Manhattan home from surgery Saturday morning to remove a cataract.

Paterson, concerned about the impact of possible service disruptions on customers created by a strike during the summer, reached out by telephone to Con Edison chief executive Kevin Burke and Harry Farrell, president of the Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, Cockfield said.

Well now that Paterson has publicly intervened, what will he do to avoid another impasse by tomorrow night? Con Ed figuratively slapped the union in the face with a 0.5% increase (followed by 1% increases down the road) and it took them quite a bit of time to come up with that. Will the Governor (or is he actively) working on getting the regulated utility to pay workers a wage that is more in line with what the union wants to see? We're waiting and we'll get a better picture of it all when the two sides get back to the table tomorrow morning.

Con-Ed Strike Could Be Coming This Weekend

For all the shit I give Con Ed, the great majority of it is expressly for the management. Sure the workers might have had a role in that steam pipe explosion that killed a woman and injured others last year, but the steam system shouldn't have really been there in the first place. Electric current has been around long enough for them to replace the old and dangerous system. Now the management is at it again, this time fighting with their union workers over pay....and it has gotten bad enough that thousands of utility workers will strike starting this weekend.

From The NY Daily News:

"We're miles and miles apart," said Joe Flaherty, spokesman for the Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, which represents electric, gas and steam workers in all boroughs except Staten Island, as well as Westchester County.

Flaherty said Con Ed is refusing to budge on wages and medical costs, as well as a proposal that workers who retire while on workers' compensation have to repay benefits from their pensions.

"It's basically the Nancy Reagan school of negotiations - 'Just say no,'" he said. "It seems to us that they want to initiate a walkout."

Con Ed spokesman Michael Clendenin declined to discuss the status of the talks, but said utility managers are prepared to handle a strike.

"We plan for any contingencies - strike-related, too," he said. "More than half of our management is up from the ranks themselves."

Clendenin can talk tough to the media, but when push comes to shove he better get ready to negotiate with the UWUA. Does anyone really believe that the managers and himself can put on the gear and fix the myriad problems Con Ed has every time it starts to rain? When those severe storms hit the city (and especially up in Westchester) power goes out at the drop of a hat. Let's see what happens to the grid when 9,000 workers aren't there to get your back. Chances are there are going to be a lot of unhappy Con Ed customers...and when they hear about why it takes days instead of hours to fix the problem they'll be going after people like Clendenin and not workers that want a decent wage and good benefits.

If Con Ed can continuously ask for increased rate charges, they can pass some of it on to those that keep their decrepit system running.

Con Ed Finally Owns Up For Steam Pipe Blast

The hot weather of July feels like a mirage to our winter weather of late December, but for one steamy day on Lex and 41st, the steam pipe explosion that occurred is still etched into the minds of thousands. At first Con Edison took no responsibility and tried to hamper an investigation into the cause of the blast, but public outcry let it continue. Now that five months has passed, a new report sheds light on their role in a blast that killed one woman and injured dozens, one of them so severely he was put into a coma so that he would not feel the pain of the burns.

From The Daily News:

Con Edison crews pumped the epoxy into a nearby leak four months before the July 18 blast, but no one noticed some of it seeped into the "steam trap" valve - leading to catastrophe when the 20-inch steampipe filled with water.

"It's a combination of clogged traps and elevated water levels underneath the ground," Con Ed spokesman Michael Clendenin said last night. "We think the clog was from an epoxy resin that was used to seal a flange."

The clump of resin led to a catastrophic condition called "water hammer." That blew the 87-year-old pipe wide open at E. 41st St. and Lexington Ave.

This development should open the floodgates to lawsuits against the utility giant from all of those that were affected by the blast, whether it was bodily injury or loss of income by the area's businesses. They definitely deserve it and while spokesman Michael Clendenin says that over a thousand traps were investigated and that they found no other problem, why should we believe him or his employer? The lawyer of the two badly-injured victims doesn't trust them, and neither should the rest of us.

Sounds like it is time to demand an independent investigation.