IBEW System Council U-3 (New Jersey) Urges Members To Reject Defective Contract Offer

JCP&L offers new deal; union recommends rejection

New York Newsday, February 19, 2005

NEPTUNE, N.J. -- New Jersey's second-largest utility has given 1,350 striking workers one week to accept a new contract offer, but union leaders have recommended workers reject it.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who read meters and fix lines, among other jobs, for Jersey Central Power & Light Co., walked off the job Dec. 8.

Major issues in the strike focus on health care for workers who retire and work rules. The company and the union say they have a deal on the health care issues.

Company officials propose a 54-cent per hour wage adjustment and 3 percent annual raise over the three years of a new contract.

The company also offers a new procedure for determining which workers are on-call in case of an outage and a health care plan in line with that of parent company, Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp.

Also, JCP&L would have additional line workers between April and October when electricity demands and the chance of outages increases.

"The company's offer is another cynical attempt to exploit the working men and women of New Jersey at a time when credit card bills are running high and mortgage payments are overdue," Jack Moriarty, a union spokesman told the Asbury Park Press for Saturday's editions.

JCP&L President Steve Morgan defended the offer in a statement.

"During the past two-and-a-half months we have engaged in frank and meaningful discussions with the union negotiating team in an effort to reach a fair and equitable arrangement," he said.

Morristown-based JCP&L provides electricity to 1 million customers in 13 counties, primarily in the northern part of the state.

This week, the company reported two incidents of wrongdoing during the strike.

JCP&L said a fiber optic cable used for internal communications was cut on Jan. 22. And about two weeks ago, an independent truck driver who drove past a picket line at a company warehouse in Forked River was assaulted.

Union members have not been implicated in either incident.