IBEW Local 753 (Springfield MO) Negotiates with Springfield City Utilities

From KOLR Channel 10: Utility Acts on Labor Agreements
	Agreements with two of the labor organizations working for Springfield City Utilities have been extended following action by the Board of Public Utilities Thursday. An agreement with a third group was ratified in the same meeting.
Board members said a Statement of Intent was approved for the Laborers International Union of North America Local 676. It will run from July 16, 2005 through April 2, 2009. Expiring Statements of Intents were extended for members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Amalgamated Transit Union. Under state law, municipal employees can not strike and C-U can not lock them out. Butler -- "It`s a little unsettling to have these two contracts unresolved at this time," said Geoffrey Butler, Chairman of the C-U Board. "We really feel we`ll be able to get back and talk with those people. Hopefully, we`ll be able to work something out and move forward." IBEW business manager Russell Struck said his union rejected the proposal because it set up a two-tiered system, with new hires not getting the same benefits as current workers. Discussions with the IBEW and the ATU will continue next week in an effort to reach an agreement, C-U managers said.