IBEW LU 1900 fights pension, insurance and job cuts at Mirant

http://www.gazette.net/200404/business/news/198706-1.html


Mirant cuts 128 jobs, revises benefits
by Kevin Conron, Staff Writer

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Jan. 23, 2004
Mirant Mid Atlantic pared its payroll by 128 people last year through a combination of voluntary severance packages, layoffs and attrition.

The staff reductions occurred throughout the year, with a wave of layoffs taking effect Dec. 31. The 24 non-union layoffs were chiefly technical and engineering jobs at the four power plants Mirant owns in the Washington, D.C., area. Thirty-five union members took voluntary severance packages.

Among the reductions were 58 employees at the Birchwood Station in King George County, Va., which Mirant sold last year, and some of the staff at power plants on Benning Road and Buzzard Point, both in Washington. North American Energy won a contract to operate those stations for Pepco Energy Holdings, effective Dec. 31.

Staffing reductions are part of Mirant's plan to reduce expenses after it filed for bankruptcy reorganization in July.

No more layoffs are planned, said Mirant spokesman Steve Arabia.

Mirant, of Atlanta, provides power to Pepco's 700,000 customers.

The reductions bring Mirant's workforce to 519 union and 227 non-union employees as of Jan. 1.

On Aug. 10, Mirant unilaterally imposed the terms of a four-year contract that had been rejected July 31 by 87 percent of the membership of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1900. Key issues in the contract were changes in the pension plan, shifting more medical insurance costs to employees and reduced job security.

The union on Aug. 13 filed charges against Mirant with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming the company had illegally declared an impasse in contract discussions and imposed a rejected contract on the union. The complaint is pending.

Union members are still smarting over Mirant's decision to revise the retirement package. IBEW President John Coleman said the contract essentially requires less senior union members to work until the age of 65. They could opt to walk away at age 55, but they would suffer a "drastic cut'' in retirement pay.

Arabia said in August that the new package was competitive with other plans in the industry.

"Folks were planning to work 30 years and retire at 55 and enjoy the rest of their life,'' Coleman said. "Now they've added 10 years to their working life.''

It's a young man's job, he explained.

"Once you reach 55 doing this work, your body starts breaking down and your body can't perform at the maximum all the time. They are climbing towers, crawling through boilers. To me it's inconceivable that somebody could perform at the same level at 65 that they do at 55, or 45, or 35."

With the new retirement age, "Mirant quite frankly is hoping you're going to die so they don't have to pay out their pension,'' Coleman said.

"That's just ridiculous,'' Arabia said of Coleman's assertion. "But the fact remains our compensation and benefits package remains very strong, one that many, many employees would be desirous of having.''

Coleman said he does not expect a favorable ruling from the labor board. "The Republican administration is geared to big corporations and with the cuts they're trying to impose on overtime, it's not a working man's administration.''