IBEW System Council U3 (New Jersey) Members now in 11th Week of Strike Against FirstEnergy of Akron, Ohio

JCP&L workers reject pact offer
11-week strike continues with no new talks in sight

JOSEPH J. DELCONZO/Gannett New Jersey, Home News Tribune 02/27/05

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Striking workers from Jersey Central Power & Light decided yesterday to reject a "one-time offer" from the company that union leaders had urged them to turn down.

Results of the balloting, held at several locations, were not disclosed. However, Jack Moriarty, a spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, described the vote as an "overwhelming rejection" of the company's offer.

"We hope they will soon return to the bargaining table and bring their "A' game this time," Moriarty said shortly after the balloting

had ended. "This vote represents a repudiation of the outrageous demands made by First Energy (JCP&L's parent company), particularly their unilateral changes to work rules."

Ron Morano, a JCP&L spokesman, said the company was disappointed by the vote.

"We were hoping they would ratify what we thought was a fair and equitable offer that represented the best interests of all our employees," he said. "We have a number of options and will review them before deciding what to do next.

No new contract talks have been scheduled.

Negotiations during the 11-week strike, believed to be the longest ever for JCP&L, had brought little satisfaction for some 1,350 striking members of the IBEW. The union agreed to an increase in health-care costs but conceded that the boost in premiums will be greater than the raise being offered, which is 3 percent annually for the next three years.

However, the union and the state's second-largest utility did not reach a deal on the company's proposal to have some workers on 24-hour call.

Under the offer made last week by JCP&L, those workers would not be compensated for carrying a beeper or cell phone, but would get overtime if called to duty and must go out if called.

Some workers consider that proposal tantamount to unpaid, forced overtime. The company maintained that it needs to scramble emergency crews efficiently to restore service quickly.

JCP&L provides electricity to 1 million customers in 13 counties, primarily Hudson, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Sussex and Warren.

The five locals that comprise Council U-3 represent linemen, technicians, clerks, mechanics and other employees of the Morristown-based company. About one-third deal with power lines.

If the contract had been ratified, it would have ended the first strike since a three-week walkout in 1987.

The defeat, though, brings uncertainty. There have been dozens of negotiating sessions since September, and the contract was extended three times before the Dec. 8 walkout.

The strike caused hardship for many union members, since there was no strike fund to supplement the missing paychecks. Five families in dire need were given cash, the union said, and noted that 800 families got about $12,000 worth of groceries last weekend at two union-sponsored food banks.

The company has not determined if it will fire workers and hire replacements now that the contract has been rejected. Union leaders said they worry about such an action and hope that talks could resume as early as tomorrow.

JCP&L is a unit of FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron, Ohio, which bought the Morristown-based power company then known as GPU Energy in 2001. FirstEnergy changed the name back to Jersey Central Power & Light, a name dating to the utility's founding in 1925.

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