AT&T to pay $100 million to settle suit
Investors had sought $2.4B, claiming deception on finances
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
BY TOM JOHNSON
Star-Ledger Staff
AT&T said yesterday it has agreed to a $100 million settlement of a shareholder lawsuit that accused the telecommunications giant and its former chairman, C. Michael Armstrong, of misleading investors about its financial outlook to inflate its share price.
The settlement, which came two weeks into an expected five-week trial in U.S. District Court in Trenton, would be one of the 20 largest securities class-action settlements, according to attorneys in the case. It is still subject to court approval.
The plaintiffs, which included the New Hampshire Retirement System and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 in Philadelphia, had sought damages of about $2.4 billion for investors who held shares between December 1999 and May 2000.
At the time, AT&T was in the midst of issuing a so-called tracking stock for its wireless business as well as acquiring the cable system operator Media One. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the company misled investors about how well its business services unit was performing so it could get a higher price for the wireless shares and keep the Media One deal on track.
In settling the case, AT&T denied any wrongdoing, saying it settled for financial reasons. The company said it believed it would have been vindicated at the end of the trial.
"Given the size of the claims compared to the relatively low amount of the settlement, the inherent risk and uncertainty of legal proceedings, and the very substantial expense of those proceedings, this settlement is the prudent course for the company," AT&T Vice President Edward Barillari said.
The company also denied wrongdoing by any of its officers or executives.
AT&T is responsible for half the settlement amount, or $50 million. Cable giant Comcast, which later purchased AT&T's cable operations, will cover the other $50 million.
Comcast declined to comment. Armstrong, who now serves on Comcast's board of directors, could not be reached for comment.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the settlement is a good deal for investors.
"Is it everything we wanted? No," said Peter Pearlman, an attorney for the IBEW. "But $100 million isn't hay. Companies don't pay $100 million to get rid of a nuisance."
Alan Cleveland, general counsel for the retirement system in New Hampshire, called the settlement a "pretty fair result," considering the federal court had dismissed some of the counts in the original complaint, which had narrowed the damages considerably from the $2.4 billion initially sought.
How much each of the estimated 3 million shareholders of record at the time will receive depends upon how many shares they owned and how many investors file claims with the court. Typically, as many as 50 percent of shareholders fail to file claims in such cases, Cleveland said.
It is also unclear how much attorneys' fees will chip into the shareholders' recovery. Cleveland said the amount remains to be approved by the court.
"I can't get into it," he said. "It's not as high as some folks might think."
The settlement comes a week after AT&T announced a quarterly loss of $7.1 billion and said it would shed another 3,700 jobs next year. The company said it has not yet determined the impact of the settlement on its earnings.
Barry Sine, an analyst with HD Brous & Co., said it should not be significant. "We're looking at pennies, not a nickel or a dime per share," he said.
AT&T said it would seek reimbursement for the settlement from its insurers.
Tom Johnson can be reached at tjhonson@starledger.com or (973) 392-5972.
Copyright 2004 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Comcast proposes $225,000 settlement for FCC violations -- charged by IBEW and CWA
On Oct. 22, 2004, Comcast agreed to pay $225,000 to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to settle a complaint filed by
the Communications Workers of America and the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers almost one year ago for
repeated violation of the FCC's Public File rule.
The FCC rule requires cable operators to make available to the
public upon request during regular business hours information
about children's programming, political ads, equal employment,
and signal leakage in the local community.
In a complaint filed nearly a year ago, CWA and the IBEW
uncovered more than 113 violations in a review of 225 Comcast
locations. Comcast either refused to allow access to the public
file, sent us on a wild goose chase back and forth to different
locations, or did not have a complete public file.
Comcast, in its own submissions, admitted to extensive
violations.
In this consent decree, Comcast agreed to maintain a public file
available to the public during regular business hours in each
technically integrated cable system, meaning one centralized
location for all communities served by the same headend." This
changes the existing FCC rule, apparently for Comcast only, that
currently requires cable companies to keep the Public File in
each local community. CWA vigorously opposes this concession.
FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein have
raised concerns about this aspect of the consent decree and
stressed that "it's time the Commission reaffirmed the rights of
viewers to receive basic information to gauge the accountability
of their media."
While CWA believes that Comcast's multiple violations warranted
a much larger fine, we also believe that the FCC decision sends
a message to Comcast that it must operate within the law and in
the public interest.
CWA will continue to work with local communities to make sure
this cable giant respects the communities in which it operates
and the rights of its employees.
For the latest Comcast news, visit www.comcastwatch.com .
--------------------------------------------------
Visit the web address below to tell your friends, family members
and co-workers about ComcastWatch.
http://www.unionvoice.org/join-forward.html?domain=comcast&r=xda4w2s1GPzm
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
Comcastwatch at:
http://www.unionvoice.org/comcast/join.html?r=xda4w2s1GPzmE
--------------------------------------------------
Communications Commission (FCC) to settle a complaint filed by
the Communications Workers of America and the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers almost one year ago for
repeated violation of the FCC's Public File rule.
The FCC rule requires cable operators to make available to the
public upon request during regular business hours information
about children's programming, political ads, equal employment,
and signal leakage in the local community.
In a complaint filed nearly a year ago, CWA and the IBEW
uncovered more than 113 violations in a review of 225 Comcast
locations. Comcast either refused to allow access to the public
file, sent us on a wild goose chase back and forth to different
locations, or did not have a complete public file.
Comcast, in its own submissions, admitted to extensive
violations.
In this consent decree, Comcast agreed to maintain a public file
available to the public during regular business hours in each
technically integrated cable system, meaning one centralized
location for all communities served by the same headend." This
changes the existing FCC rule, apparently for Comcast only, that
currently requires cable companies to keep the Public File in
each local community. CWA vigorously opposes this concession.
FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein have
raised concerns about this aspect of the consent decree and
stressed that "it's time the Commission reaffirmed the rights of
viewers to receive basic information to gauge the accountability
of their media."
While CWA believes that Comcast's multiple violations warranted
a much larger fine, we also believe that the FCC decision sends
a message to Comcast that it must operate within the law and in
the public interest.
CWA will continue to work with local communities to make sure
this cable giant respects the communities in which it operates
and the rights of its employees.
For the latest Comcast news, visit www.comcastwatch.com .
--------------------------------------------------
Visit the web address below to tell your friends, family members
and co-workers about ComcastWatch.
http://www.unionvoice.org/join-forward.html?domain=comcast&r=xda4w2s1GPzm
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
Comcastwatch at:
http://www.unionvoice.org/comcast/join.html?r=xda4w2s1GPzmE
--------------------------------------------------
Friday, October 22, 2004
IBEW and CWA continue to negotiate with Lucent
10/22/2004
The Union Bargaining Team met all morning to prepare counter
proposals to the Company on active and retiree healthcare. A
comprehensive healthcare proposal is expected to be presented by
the Union.
The Union manufacturing sub-committee met today with the Company
to discuss issues on how to deal with the issues of peaks and
valleys in the workload and how to staff people accordingly.
The Consolidated Table met this afternoon and addressed
bargaining proposals around:
- Training Mentorship Programs
- Transferring Wage Rate
The Union rejected the Company proposal on lateral transfer
language and Bell Labs Movement of Personnel.
Finally, in National Sub-Committee discussions the Company and
the Union discussed proposals around the Long Term Savings and
Security Plan.
Bargaining will continue throughout the weekend and we will
update you accordingly.
We are once again asking everyone to voice their objections to
the Company on their lack of progress at the bargaining table,
and we must continue the mobilization to effect the change.
In Unity,
The Bargaining Team:
Ralph Maly
Mary Jo Sherman
Gerald Souder
Tom Bruhn
Mike Klein
Chuck Mitchell
Brian Reilly
Marcie Vincent
The Union Bargaining Team met all morning to prepare counter
proposals to the Company on active and retiree healthcare. A
comprehensive healthcare proposal is expected to be presented by
the Union.
The Union manufacturing sub-committee met today with the Company
to discuss issues on how to deal with the issues of peaks and
valleys in the workload and how to staff people accordingly.
The Consolidated Table met this afternoon and addressed
bargaining proposals around:
- Training Mentorship Programs
- Transferring Wage Rate
The Union rejected the Company proposal on lateral transfer
language and Bell Labs Movement of Personnel.
Finally, in National Sub-Committee discussions the Company and
the Union discussed proposals around the Long Term Savings and
Security Plan.
Bargaining will continue throughout the weekend and we will
update you accordingly.
We are once again asking everyone to voice their objections to
the Company on their lack of progress at the bargaining table,
and we must continue the mobilization to effect the change.
In Unity,
The Bargaining Team:
Ralph Maly
Mary Jo Sherman
Gerald Souder
Tom Bruhn
Mike Klein
Chuck Mitchell
Brian Reilly
Marcie Vincent
IBEW Local 668 (Lafayette, IN) buys, installs and removes Christmas Lighting for City with help of NECA
Downtown lighting gets more IBEW help
By Max Showalter, Journal and Courier
With her new job keeping her downtown every day, Lafayette city clerk Cindy Murray can hardly wait for Christmas to arrive, so she can get a good look at the holiday lighting and other decorations that are planned near city hall.
Murray was in attendance Thursday when Larry Spencer, assistant business manager with Local 668 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, presented a $5,000 check to the Downtown Business Center.
The money will be used to help pay for the purchase of decorative lighting that will be used year-round on Main, Columbia and some other downtown streets, and to help cover the cost of replacing bulbs in the holiday lights.
"I'm excited about seeing the lights," Murray said. The DBC "is such a fun group to work with. I feel like I have a new little family down here."
The donation was provided by IBEW Local 668 and its local contractor counterparts from the National Electrical Contractors Association.
"Nearly 100 volunteers from IBEW and the associate contractors will install the holiday lights" on Oct. 30, DBC president Doug Anderson said. "We appreciate their help in making our downtown a festive atmosphere."
Members of Local 668 have been putting up and taking down the Christmas lights since 1950, and Spencer said it is never hard to convince union members to volunteer for the project.
How to help
Donations to the decorative downtown lighting program, or the holiday lighting project, can be sent to Downtown Business Center, 200 N. Second St., Lafayette, IN 47902. Call the DBC at (765) 742-2313.
Copyright © 2002, Federated Publications, Inc.
By Max Showalter, Journal and Courier
With her new job keeping her downtown every day, Lafayette city clerk Cindy Murray can hardly wait for Christmas to arrive, so she can get a good look at the holiday lighting and other decorations that are planned near city hall.
Murray was in attendance Thursday when Larry Spencer, assistant business manager with Local 668 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, presented a $5,000 check to the Downtown Business Center.
The money will be used to help pay for the purchase of decorative lighting that will be used year-round on Main, Columbia and some other downtown streets, and to help cover the cost of replacing bulbs in the holiday lights.
"I'm excited about seeing the lights," Murray said. The DBC "is such a fun group to work with. I feel like I have a new little family down here."
The donation was provided by IBEW Local 668 and its local contractor counterparts from the National Electrical Contractors Association.
"Nearly 100 volunteers from IBEW and the associate contractors will install the holiday lights" on Oct. 30, DBC president Doug Anderson said. "We appreciate their help in making our downtown a festive atmosphere."
Members of Local 668 have been putting up and taking down the Christmas lights since 1950, and Spencer said it is never hard to convince union members to volunteer for the project.
How to help
Donations to the decorative downtown lighting program, or the holiday lighting project, can be sent to Downtown Business Center, 200 N. Second St., Lafayette, IN 47902. Call the DBC at (765) 742-2313.
Copyright © 2002, Federated Publications, Inc.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Romeo Paul Guelff, IBEW Local 6 (San Franciso CA) neon tube bender pasees on at 95
GUELFF, Romeo Paul
-
Sunday, October 17, 2004
GUELFF, Romeo Paul - Passed away at the age of 95. Born May 27, 1909 in Point PA. His family moved to Redondo Beach, CA, in 1921. Longtime resident of SF over 60 years, he was a member of Nature Friends and a working member of IBEW Local 6 as a neon tube bender electrician at Bethlehem Shipyard during WWII and as electrician in many of S.F. high rise buildings until retirement. Survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Bernice; and many nieces and nephews. Committal private. Driscoll's, Valencia St. Serra Mortuary, 1465 Valencia St, SF.
Page Z - 99
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/17/MNGUELFFRO32.DTL
©2004 San Francisco Chronicle
-
Sunday, October 17, 2004
GUELFF, Romeo Paul - Passed away at the age of 95. Born May 27, 1909 in Point PA. His family moved to Redondo Beach, CA, in 1921. Longtime resident of SF over 60 years, he was a member of Nature Friends and a working member of IBEW Local 6 as a neon tube bender electrician at Bethlehem Shipyard during WWII and as electrician in many of S.F. high rise buildings until retirement. Survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Bernice; and many nieces and nephews. Committal private. Driscoll's, Valencia St. Serra Mortuary, 1465 Valencia St, SF.
Page Z - 99
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/17/MNGUELFFRO32.DTL
©2004 San Francisco Chronicle
John Edwards' IBEW Electrician Brother Blake "spotlighted" in Campaign
Published: Oct 17, 2004
Modified: Oct 17, 2004 2:32 PM
Edwards' fame throws light on brother's flaws
By RYAN TEAGUE BECKWITH, RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER
(SH) - When John Edwards stepped into the spotlight as the Democratic vice presidential nominee this summer, he was not alone.
His wife, his children, even his parents all had their moments.
But none was cast in as harsh a light as his younger brother, Blake. When a New York newspaper dug up an outstanding warrant on a charge of drunken driving, Blake Edwards suddenly found his life was a matter of national interest.
In its story, The New York Daily News called him a "terror on the road." Comparisons to Billy Carter and Roger Clinton popped up, and an unflattering photograph appeared in newspapers as far away as Australia.
After a brief spell, things quieted down. Blake Edwards has refused interview requests and hired an attorney, and if everything goes as scheduled, he will appear next month in a Colorado courtroom, after the election. That should resolve the decade-old charge, the last remnant of what seems to be a much different part of his life.
"It's like a completely different person," neighbor Angie Giarelli said of media portrayals of Blake Edwards.
Blake Edwards' story - with its downs and ups - is not an unusual one and would have received little attention except for his brother's celebrity. But if his older brother is elected vice president, TV cameras and newspaper reporters will flood the Colorado courtroom, and political blogs again will light up with his name.
If the Democratic ticket loses, there still will be some interest, since John Edwards is touted as a possible presidential contender in 2008.
Either way, the quiet life of a Fuquay-Varina, N.C., electrician again will be lost in the rough-and-tumble world of national politics.
Wesley Blake Edwards was born in 1964, the youngest of three children. Like his brother and sister, he grew up in the mill town of Robbins, N.C. Eleven years younger than John, he went to North Moore High School in the early Reagan years, much different from the Nixon era of his brother.
After graduating in 1983, Edwards began getting in trouble with the law. After two accidents as a teenager and a ticket for going nearly 70 mph in a 55 mph zone, he was charged with driving while impaired in 1985.
He was convicted and lost his license for 10 days. Not long after he got it back, he was again ticketed, for speeding.
By 1987, Edwards had settled on a career as an electrician. He joined an apprenticeship program with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Durham. It took about four years to earn journeyman status, but finishing the program meant steady work at construction sites around the country.
Blake Edwards' troubles with the law didn't end. In 1987, he was pulled over for speeding and refused a breath-alcohol test. A judge found him guilty of driving while impaired and ordered him to spend a week in jail and surrender his license.
Then in 1990, he got a third drunken-driving conviction, this time in another state, and lost his license permanently under a North Carolina three-strikes law.
When he was pulled over in Colorado in 1993, three days after his 29th birthday, Edwards was in serious trouble. He was charged with driving while under the influence, careless driving and operating a vehicle without a license, according to court records.
When his court date came, he didn't show up. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
By many accounts, Blake Edwards has turned his life around in the decade since. On two occasions, he was cited for driving without a license, but he has not had a serious brush with the law since 1993. Still, he never resolved the Colorado charges.
In 1999, he and his wife, Debbie, moved into a $100,000 home in Fuquay-Varina, paid for in cash by John and Elizabeth Edwards. Their daughter is on the honor roll at a local elementary school.
Giarelli, a neighbor whose daughter plays with Edwards' daughter, described Blake Edwards as a hard-working family man, someone she has never seen take a drink of alcohol.
In an interview in July with The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines, N.C., his mother, Bobbie, also defended him.
"He has his life together now and has a family now," she said. "That is his focus: to build a life for them. He is dealing with all these problems. He has been for some time."
© Copyright 2004, The News & Observer Publishing Company,
a subsidiary of The McClatchy CompanyMcClatchy Company
Sunday, October 17, 2004
IBEW Rank and File Fire up the Grid in Election Efforts
Author: Roberta Wood
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 10/16/04 00:00
Commentary
When Dick Cheney boasted during the vice presidential debate that he had “carried a ticket with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for six years,” he didn’t impress many IBEW members.
It was like a skunk bragging that he used to wear Chanel No. 5, I thought. He still stinks.
IBEW President Ed Hill fired back the next day in a sharply worded statement, saying he wished the union had done a better job instilling its values in the young Cheney when it had a chance. “Perhaps then he would not so relentlessly pursue policies that have caused catastrophic job losses and inflicted tremendous pain on countless working families,” Hill said.
Cheney might have learned that when the IBEW was founded over 100 years ago, one out of two workers in the industry died in falls or electrocutions. Safety standards, as much as wages, drove workers to band together in a brotherhood. On the job, each worker’s life was literally in the hands of his co-worker. In this election season, that vision of solidarity, of workers holding each other’s lives in their hands, has extended to the political arena.
So on a sunny August day, I was proud to be one of many IBEW members who poured into the battleground state of Ohio, crossing state lines to answer our brothers’ and sisters’ call for reinforcements in the battle for jobs and to defeat George Bush.
A Chicago bus, initiated by our city’s Electrical Workers Minority Caucus chapter, left in a pounding rainstorm at 3 in the morning. In Toledo, we paired up with local electricians and went on a 6-hour labor walk visiting union households. Kentuckians came to Cincinnati, Hoosiers to Columbus.
All told, nearly 200 IBEW members were out in force in Ohio that day, including in Cleveland, Akron and Marietta. In our neon-yellow shirts, the electrical workers scattered throughout working class neighborhoods sharing our own stories and election information with the union families we visited.
“Participating in activities like this makes for a different kind of union member,” said my canvassing partner, international rep Thomas Curley, as we went door to door in the east Toledo neighborhood where he grew up.
Local 3 in New York launched the union’s labor walk campaign June 23 with a three-bus convoy, accompanied by two dozen motorcyclists, to Philadelphia. The solidarity buses have continued every Saturday in September and October. This month, Local 3 also mobilized dozens of its unemployed members to staff voter registration tables in 15 hospitals and 15 community colleges over a five-day period, signing up thousands of new voters.
The union’s 2004 National Political Coordinator, Edwin Lopez, sees the activities transforming union members. Political activities are “identifying new activists, creating ways for them to participate, and renewing members’ belief in their union and pride in themselves as union members.”
Lopez worked in the tools as an inside wireman, and then as a Local 3 business rep. He is also a national leader of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. He’s a real working class intellectual, combining deep thinking on the problems facing the labor movement with non-stop activism.
“The members are learning first-hand how politics is tied to collective bargaining and to the right to organize. A core of activists is the heart and soul of the union,” he said. “All we have is our members – if our members are not charged up, we have nothing.”
It’s not just the IBEW rank and file that’s charged up. Hill told a recent women’s conference, he found himself saying things he earlier would have called radical, “talking the same talk as the labor leaders of the 1930s. There’s a class war being waged,” Hill said, “even though we didn’t start it.”
It’s working class pride and determination that characterizes the three-pronged approach that Hill has been relentlessly promoting — organizing, political action and emphasis on skills and quality workmanship.”
“The card that the vice president carried was his ticket to decent wages and benefits for the fruits of his labor,” Hill’s response to Cheney stated. “It’s too bad that now he wants to pull up the ladder and deny that same opportunity to others.”
IBEW members are on the road this fall, crossing state lines, to make sure it doesn’t happen. It’s a brotherhood thing, Dick. You wouldn’t understand.
The author, labor editor of the Peoples Weekly World and a 15-year member of IBEW Local 9, can be reached at rwood@pww.org.
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 10/16/04 00:00
Commentary
When Dick Cheney boasted during the vice presidential debate that he had “carried a ticket with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for six years,” he didn’t impress many IBEW members.
It was like a skunk bragging that he used to wear Chanel No. 5, I thought. He still stinks.
IBEW President Ed Hill fired back the next day in a sharply worded statement, saying he wished the union had done a better job instilling its values in the young Cheney when it had a chance. “Perhaps then he would not so relentlessly pursue policies that have caused catastrophic job losses and inflicted tremendous pain on countless working families,” Hill said.
Cheney might have learned that when the IBEW was founded over 100 years ago, one out of two workers in the industry died in falls or electrocutions. Safety standards, as much as wages, drove workers to band together in a brotherhood. On the job, each worker’s life was literally in the hands of his co-worker. In this election season, that vision of solidarity, of workers holding each other’s lives in their hands, has extended to the political arena.
So on a sunny August day, I was proud to be one of many IBEW members who poured into the battleground state of Ohio, crossing state lines to answer our brothers’ and sisters’ call for reinforcements in the battle for jobs and to defeat George Bush.
A Chicago bus, initiated by our city’s Electrical Workers Minority Caucus chapter, left in a pounding rainstorm at 3 in the morning. In Toledo, we paired up with local electricians and went on a 6-hour labor walk visiting union households. Kentuckians came to Cincinnati, Hoosiers to Columbus.
All told, nearly 200 IBEW members were out in force in Ohio that day, including in Cleveland, Akron and Marietta. In our neon-yellow shirts, the electrical workers scattered throughout working class neighborhoods sharing our own stories and election information with the union families we visited.
“Participating in activities like this makes for a different kind of union member,” said my canvassing partner, international rep Thomas Curley, as we went door to door in the east Toledo neighborhood where he grew up.
Local 3 in New York launched the union’s labor walk campaign June 23 with a three-bus convoy, accompanied by two dozen motorcyclists, to Philadelphia. The solidarity buses have continued every Saturday in September and October. This month, Local 3 also mobilized dozens of its unemployed members to staff voter registration tables in 15 hospitals and 15 community colleges over a five-day period, signing up thousands of new voters.
The union’s 2004 National Political Coordinator, Edwin Lopez, sees the activities transforming union members. Political activities are “identifying new activists, creating ways for them to participate, and renewing members’ belief in their union and pride in themselves as union members.”
Lopez worked in the tools as an inside wireman, and then as a Local 3 business rep. He is also a national leader of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. He’s a real working class intellectual, combining deep thinking on the problems facing the labor movement with non-stop activism.
“The members are learning first-hand how politics is tied to collective bargaining and to the right to organize. A core of activists is the heart and soul of the union,” he said. “All we have is our members – if our members are not charged up, we have nothing.”
It’s not just the IBEW rank and file that’s charged up. Hill told a recent women’s conference, he found himself saying things he earlier would have called radical, “talking the same talk as the labor leaders of the 1930s. There’s a class war being waged,” Hill said, “even though we didn’t start it.”
It’s working class pride and determination that characterizes the three-pronged approach that Hill has been relentlessly promoting — organizing, political action and emphasis on skills and quality workmanship.”
“The card that the vice president carried was his ticket to decent wages and benefits for the fruits of his labor,” Hill’s response to Cheney stated. “It’s too bad that now he wants to pull up the ladder and deny that same opportunity to others.”
IBEW members are on the road this fall, crossing state lines, to make sure it doesn’t happen. It’s a brotherhood thing, Dick. You wouldn’t understand.
The author, labor editor of the Peoples Weekly World and a 15-year member of IBEW Local 9, can be reached at rwood@pww.org.
IBEW Local 659 (Medford OR) pickets Pacific Power over contracting out bargaining unit jobs
By PAUL CRAIG, pcraig@newsreview.info
October 14, 2004
GREEN -- Local Pacific Power employees are picketing this week, showing frustration over the company's decision to contract out work.
Pacific Power has begun contracting out the job of locating underground power lines statewide. The move, according to company officials, will not cost any current employees their jobs or even result in reduced wages or hours.
Instead, it is supposed to allow Pacific Power employees to spend more time on higher-priority jobs.
Some employees don't agree. They've carried signs against the decision before and after regular job shifts, saying their work is going to "non-qualified workers."
The employees, representing the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 659, have picketed in front of Pacific Power's operations center on the corner of East Happy Valley Road and Old Highway 99 South near Green.
The same has happened at Pacific Power locations across the state.
It's not a work stoppage protest, however, as all the employees are starting work on time.
"We're doing an informational picket for the public," said one picket Wednesday morning. "It's not a strike or anything like that."
The union adopted a code prohibiting individuals from giving out their names. A union-produced flier instead states their case.
It says Pacific Power will go through a company that uses an "inferior method" of doing the work, with "inexperienced, poorly trained, underpaid workers." The result, the workers claim, will reduce work for experienced employees and further erode the company's community presence.
It further states that any savings Pacific Power might incur will go straight to its parent company, Scottish Power, and not to customers.
An employee at Pacific Power's local operations center directed all questions to Bekki Witt, company spokeswoman in Portland.
Witt said the union's claims are simply not accurate.
"At Pacific Power safety is our number one priority and we would not compromise that in any way," she said.
Power line locating happens when customers request the service before starting a project, from installing a fence to building a shopping center. It's typically seasonal, like construction, but still performed regularly.
Those who are picketing, Witt said, are not losing their jobs, they just won't be asked to do that part of it any longer.
The unions were approached about contracting the work, Witt said, but declined.
The contracted, non-union employees are trained, have experience and are endorsed by other utilities and a public safety group, according to Witt.
Pacific Power provides service to 1.6 million customers in six states. Contracting underground power line location has already been employed outside of Oregon. Other utilities also frequently use contracted vendors, Witt said.
Pacific Power would have preferred contracting union workers, Witt said, and management has heard the picketing has more to do with not using a union vendor than other concerns.
The pickets' flier only discusses safety. It says without proper line location, utilities would not only be damaged, but customers could die or be burned to the point of amputation by accidentally digging into an energized power line.
"The saddest point is that Pacific Power is willing to sacrifice public safety," it states.
A picket said Wednesday morning that the union hoped to have a meeting with Pacific Power officials Oct. 25.
No meeting is officially set, according to Pacific Power.
There is no word on how long the picketing will continue.
"We'll do whatever we can to maintain those relationships," Witt said, adding, "I don't know about specific plans to halt the picketing."
* You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
.
October 14, 2004
GREEN -- Local Pacific Power employees are picketing this week, showing frustration over the company's decision to contract out work.
Pacific Power has begun contracting out the job of locating underground power lines statewide. The move, according to company officials, will not cost any current employees their jobs or even result in reduced wages or hours.
Instead, it is supposed to allow Pacific Power employees to spend more time on higher-priority jobs.
Some employees don't agree. They've carried signs against the decision before and after regular job shifts, saying their work is going to "non-qualified workers."
The employees, representing the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 659, have picketed in front of Pacific Power's operations center on the corner of East Happy Valley Road and Old Highway 99 South near Green.
The same has happened at Pacific Power locations across the state.
It's not a work stoppage protest, however, as all the employees are starting work on time.
"We're doing an informational picket for the public," said one picket Wednesday morning. "It's not a strike or anything like that."
The union adopted a code prohibiting individuals from giving out their names. A union-produced flier instead states their case.
It says Pacific Power will go through a company that uses an "inferior method" of doing the work, with "inexperienced, poorly trained, underpaid workers." The result, the workers claim, will reduce work for experienced employees and further erode the company's community presence.
It further states that any savings Pacific Power might incur will go straight to its parent company, Scottish Power, and not to customers.
An employee at Pacific Power's local operations center directed all questions to Bekki Witt, company spokeswoman in Portland.
Witt said the union's claims are simply not accurate.
"At Pacific Power safety is our number one priority and we would not compromise that in any way," she said.
Power line locating happens when customers request the service before starting a project, from installing a fence to building a shopping center. It's typically seasonal, like construction, but still performed regularly.
Those who are picketing, Witt said, are not losing their jobs, they just won't be asked to do that part of it any longer.
The unions were approached about contracting the work, Witt said, but declined.
The contracted, non-union employees are trained, have experience and are endorsed by other utilities and a public safety group, according to Witt.
Pacific Power provides service to 1.6 million customers in six states. Contracting underground power line location has already been employed outside of Oregon. Other utilities also frequently use contracted vendors, Witt said.
Pacific Power would have preferred contracting union workers, Witt said, and management has heard the picketing has more to do with not using a union vendor than other concerns.
The pickets' flier only discusses safety. It says without proper line location, utilities would not only be damaged, but customers could die or be burned to the point of amputation by accidentally digging into an energized power line.
"The saddest point is that Pacific Power is willing to sacrifice public safety," it states.
A picket said Wednesday morning that the union hoped to have a meeting with Pacific Power officials Oct. 25.
No meeting is officially set, according to Pacific Power.
There is no word on how long the picketing will continue.
"We'll do whatever we can to maintain those relationships," Witt said, adding, "I don't know about specific plans to halt the picketing."
* You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
.
IBEW Local 97 (Syracuse NY) inks tentative agreement, negating strike worries with Niagra-Mohawk Power
www.news10now.com
NiMo strike averted
Updated: 10/16/2004 10:44 PM
By: News 10 Now Staff
IBEW Local 97 and Niagara Mohawk have agreed to a tentative 42 month agreement, along with an extension until the end of the month with the current bargaining agreement.
This decision comes after nearly a week of threats to strike, and a decision by the union Friday, to vote down the latest contract offer.
Union President David Falletta says the union and NiMo made it back to the bargaining table thanks to some help from state politicians.
"Senator Clinton, Senator Schumer and many others went to bat for us to help us get back to the bargaining table. And once that ocurred and we sat down and began discussing the issues, the company and both local 97 found enough common ground to avert what would have been an absolute crisis and disaster at midnight"
Falletta says the strike was averted because Niagara Mohawk offered a better benefits package than in previous contract talks. He says he lends his full support to the new contract, and expects the union to vote on the contract later this week.
Copyright © 2004 TWEAN d.b.a. News 10 Now
NiMo strike averted
Updated: 10/16/2004 10:44 PM
By: News 10 Now Staff
IBEW Local 97 and Niagara Mohawk have agreed to a tentative 42 month agreement, along with an extension until the end of the month with the current bargaining agreement.
This decision comes after nearly a week of threats to strike, and a decision by the union Friday, to vote down the latest contract offer.
Union President David Falletta says the union and NiMo made it back to the bargaining table thanks to some help from state politicians.
"Senator Clinton, Senator Schumer and many others went to bat for us to help us get back to the bargaining table. And once that ocurred and we sat down and began discussing the issues, the company and both local 97 found enough common ground to avert what would have been an absolute crisis and disaster at midnight"
Falletta says the strike was averted because Niagara Mohawk offered a better benefits package than in previous contract talks. He says he lends his full support to the new contract, and expects the union to vote on the contract later this week.
Copyright © 2004 TWEAN d.b.a. News 10 Now
Saturday, October 16, 2004
National Grid may supply scabs from other power companies if IBEW Local 97 (Syracuse NY) strike hits Niagra-Mohawk Power
3:18 PM EDT Friday
National Grid may supply workers if strike hits N.Y. affiliate
Alexander Soule
For The Business Review
Westborough, Mass.-based National Grid USA may send up to 100 nonunion workers to upstate New York to fill the breach if a union votes to walk out on strike at Niagara Mohawk, an affiliate company of National Grid.
National Grid has approximately 3,000 employees at two subsidiaries in the commonwealth. Massachusetts Electric Co. provides power to 1.2 million customers in 168 towns, and Nantucket Electric provides service to 10,000 customers.
A National Grid spokeswoman said the majority of the affected workers are employed at Massachusetts Electric. She added that should a strike occur, Massachusetts Electric will likely use contract workers to maintain its own services.
Hundreds of Niagara Mohawk workers may walk Sunday after a contract offer from management was rejected by leaders from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97.
The current contract, which expires midnight Saturday, covers clerical workers, maintenance technicians, customer service representatives and gas and line mechanics.
National Grid Group PLC, the parent company for Niagara and National Grid, may also supply workers in the event of a strike.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
National Grid may supply workers if strike hits N.Y. affiliate
Alexander Soule
For The Business Review
Westborough, Mass.-based National Grid USA may send up to 100 nonunion workers to upstate New York to fill the breach if a union votes to walk out on strike at Niagara Mohawk, an affiliate company of National Grid.
National Grid has approximately 3,000 employees at two subsidiaries in the commonwealth. Massachusetts Electric Co. provides power to 1.2 million customers in 168 towns, and Nantucket Electric provides service to 10,000 customers.
A National Grid spokeswoman said the majority of the affected workers are employed at Massachusetts Electric. She added that should a strike occur, Massachusetts Electric will likely use contract workers to maintain its own services.
Hundreds of Niagara Mohawk workers may walk Sunday after a contract offer from management was rejected by leaders from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97.
The current contract, which expires midnight Saturday, covers clerical workers, maintenance technicians, customer service representatives and gas and line mechanics.
National Grid Group PLC, the parent company for Niagara and National Grid, may also supply workers in the event of a strike.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
IBEW Local 1547 (Anchorage AK) Busines Agent Runs for Alaska House of Representatives
Political tyro hankers to do what the incumbent hasn't
HOUSE SEAT 29: But opponent says change takes time for good reason.
By KATIE PESZNECKER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: October 16, 2004)
Employment & Careers
Political newcomer Chris Tuck said he's long pondered running for office and was moved to do so because he was disappointed by lawmakers in Juneau this session.
They didn't come up with a fiscal plan, and the culture of closed-door meetings and Republicans rubber-stamping legislation went unchanged, Tuck said.
"The state is on the verge of greatness or collapse," Tuck said. "And Ralph Samuels really hasn't done much."
But Samuels, Tuck's opponent and the Republican and incumbent for House Seat 29, says he's pleased with his accomplishments during his first term in office and excited for the challenges of another one.
Samuels said that if it appears change happens slowly in Juneau, that's because it does, and for good reason.
"To go in there on day one and think you're going to change the world is a fallacy, and I think it took me a while to realize that," said Samuels, 42. "I think I'm still new enough to believe in the system. I'd like to spread my wings and see what I can make a difference on."
Samuels and Tuck are vying for House Seat 29, a district bordered by Lake Otis Parkway to the east, Minnesota Drive to the west, O'Malley Road to the south and, to the north, a jagged boundary made up of Raspberry Road, the railroad tracks and 76th Avenue.
Samuels ran for office when redistricting left District 29's seat open. But the PenAir executive first got involved in politics because of the murder of his older brother, Duane, in 1989.
Lawyers for Duane's killer, a 16-year-old boy who confessed, tried to keep him from being tried as an adult. It prompted Samuels to lobby to have Alaska's laws changed so that 16-year-olds accused of violent crime are waived into adult court.
Samuels got on the Victims for Justice board, traveled to Juneau and worked with legislators to change the law. He later served on and chaired the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce board.
Born in Anchorage, but having lived in King Salmon, Nome and Fairbanks, Samuels said he's a strong legislator because he has a statewide perspective. He moved to Anchorage permanently in the mid-1980s and lives in the northwest corner of his district.
Samuels chaired the House Budget and Audit Committee and sponsored various legislation, but he is particularly proud of a victims' rights package he crafted with longtime acquaintance Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak.
"Every now and then you say, 'We can fix that,' and you do it, and that's why you run again," Samuels said.
He praised the Legislature for funding education at a record level and passing a cap to contain spending.
Samuels is known for championing victims' rights, but he said this session he will focus on other important areas and "do some heavy lifting."
He wants a long-term increase to oil production to increase revenues and supports the natural gas line. He's also interested in establishing more regional boarding schools, since Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka is so successful.
Samuels said he's the better candidate because he has experience, not only in politics but with organizations like the chamber.
Tuck, 38, is a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which means he represents the 5,000-member union in collective bargaining. Tuck lives just a couple of blocks from Samuels.
"I know what it means to represent a diverse group," said Tuck, who has a 12-year-old son, Devon, from a previous marriage. "I have a natural knack for it and I am a quick learner."
Tuck wants to invest in industries that support natural resource development. For example, why not make products here with the zinc mined in Alaska, instead of exporting the mineral? Tuck said.
He also supports the gas line.
It's dangerous for Alaska to continue to depend on service-based industries like retail and tourism, Tuck said. "We're relying on other states' economic situations for our own," he said.
Tuck opposes an income tax and said he wouldn't support using money from the Permanent Fund without a vote from Alaskans. High on his list of disappointments regarding last session's Legislature was its inability to create a fiscal plan.
"That's the most important thing we can do right now is get our fiscal house in order," Tuck said.
Tuck expects to spend about $25,000 on his campaign. He has pulled in donations from friends and unions, including IBEW.
Samuels expects to spend about $40,000. Donations so far have come from medical professionals, developer Mark Pfeffer and pollster David Dittman.
"And my parents live in the district," Samuels said. "They gave me $500."
Daily News reporter Katie Pesznecker can be reached at kpesznecker@adn.com.
KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES: There's an easy way to find out where the candidates stand on the issues. The Daily News is partnering with Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan group that helps get information about candidates to voters. About 70 percent of Southcentral legislative candidates completed an extensive survey on Alaska issues, and the results are online along with bio information and more. In House District 29, both candidates participated. To see the issue surveys, and more on the Nov. 2 election, go to
www.adn.com/election04
RALPH SAMUELS
Party: Republican, incumbent
Occupation: Airline executive; businessman
Political and government positions: State representative, District 29, 2002-present
CHRIS TUCK
Party: Democrat
Occupation: Business representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, 2001-present; instructor, Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship School, 1999-present.
Political and government positions: Board member, Municipal Education Commission, 2004-present
HOUSE SEAT 29: But opponent says change takes time for good reason.
By KATIE PESZNECKER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: October 16, 2004)
Employment & Careers
Political newcomer Chris Tuck said he's long pondered running for office and was moved to do so because he was disappointed by lawmakers in Juneau this session.
They didn't come up with a fiscal plan, and the culture of closed-door meetings and Republicans rubber-stamping legislation went unchanged, Tuck said.
"The state is on the verge of greatness or collapse," Tuck said. "And Ralph Samuels really hasn't done much."
But Samuels, Tuck's opponent and the Republican and incumbent for House Seat 29, says he's pleased with his accomplishments during his first term in office and excited for the challenges of another one.
Samuels said that if it appears change happens slowly in Juneau, that's because it does, and for good reason.
"To go in there on day one and think you're going to change the world is a fallacy, and I think it took me a while to realize that," said Samuels, 42. "I think I'm still new enough to believe in the system. I'd like to spread my wings and see what I can make a difference on."
Samuels and Tuck are vying for House Seat 29, a district bordered by Lake Otis Parkway to the east, Minnesota Drive to the west, O'Malley Road to the south and, to the north, a jagged boundary made up of Raspberry Road, the railroad tracks and 76th Avenue.
Samuels ran for office when redistricting left District 29's seat open. But the PenAir executive first got involved in politics because of the murder of his older brother, Duane, in 1989.
Lawyers for Duane's killer, a 16-year-old boy who confessed, tried to keep him from being tried as an adult. It prompted Samuels to lobby to have Alaska's laws changed so that 16-year-olds accused of violent crime are waived into adult court.
Samuels got on the Victims for Justice board, traveled to Juneau and worked with legislators to change the law. He later served on and chaired the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce board.
Born in Anchorage, but having lived in King Salmon, Nome and Fairbanks, Samuels said he's a strong legislator because he has a statewide perspective. He moved to Anchorage permanently in the mid-1980s and lives in the northwest corner of his district.
Samuels chaired the House Budget and Audit Committee and sponsored various legislation, but he is particularly proud of a victims' rights package he crafted with longtime acquaintance Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak.
"Every now and then you say, 'We can fix that,' and you do it, and that's why you run again," Samuels said.
He praised the Legislature for funding education at a record level and passing a cap to contain spending.
Samuels is known for championing victims' rights, but he said this session he will focus on other important areas and "do some heavy lifting."
He wants a long-term increase to oil production to increase revenues and supports the natural gas line. He's also interested in establishing more regional boarding schools, since Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka is so successful.
Samuels said he's the better candidate because he has experience, not only in politics but with organizations like the chamber.
Tuck, 38, is a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which means he represents the 5,000-member union in collective bargaining. Tuck lives just a couple of blocks from Samuels.
"I know what it means to represent a diverse group," said Tuck, who has a 12-year-old son, Devon, from a previous marriage. "I have a natural knack for it and I am a quick learner."
Tuck wants to invest in industries that support natural resource development. For example, why not make products here with the zinc mined in Alaska, instead of exporting the mineral? Tuck said.
He also supports the gas line.
It's dangerous for Alaska to continue to depend on service-based industries like retail and tourism, Tuck said. "We're relying on other states' economic situations for our own," he said.
Tuck opposes an income tax and said he wouldn't support using money from the Permanent Fund without a vote from Alaskans. High on his list of disappointments regarding last session's Legislature was its inability to create a fiscal plan.
"That's the most important thing we can do right now is get our fiscal house in order," Tuck said.
Tuck expects to spend about $25,000 on his campaign. He has pulled in donations from friends and unions, including IBEW.
Samuels expects to spend about $40,000. Donations so far have come from medical professionals, developer Mark Pfeffer and pollster David Dittman.
"And my parents live in the district," Samuels said. "They gave me $500."
Daily News reporter Katie Pesznecker can be reached at kpesznecker@adn.com.
KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES: There's an easy way to find out where the candidates stand on the issues. The Daily News is partnering with Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan group that helps get information about candidates to voters. About 70 percent of Southcentral legislative candidates completed an extensive survey on Alaska issues, and the results are online along with bio information and more. In House District 29, both candidates participated. To see the issue surveys, and more on the Nov. 2 election, go to
www.adn.com/election04
RALPH SAMUELS
Party: Republican, incumbent
Occupation: Airline executive; businessman
Political and government positions: State representative, District 29, 2002-present
CHRIS TUCK
Party: Democrat
Occupation: Business representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, 2001-present; instructor, Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship School, 1999-present.
Political and government positions: Board member, Municipal Education Commission, 2004-present
Elizabeth Edwards addresses IBEW Local 405 (Cedar Rapids IA)
Vote 2004: Elizabeth Edwards Makes Stop in Cedar Rapids
Friday, October 15, 2004, 10:01:03 PM
Video http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=90913&cat_id=123#
>From The KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids Newsroom
Elizabeth Edwards made a quick stop in Cedar Rapids Friday morning to discuss her husband's ideas about health care costs.
Edwards talked to the I.B.E.W. Local #405 about a plan to cut health care and prescription drug costs. She used the current Penford strike as an example of why there must be changes in health care.
Elizabeth Edwards told TV9, "Senator Kerry will solve the problem for both sides. He'll make it easier for Penford to pay for health insurance of its workers and make its workers to afford it."
Edwards says 99-thousand people dropped their health care coverage between 2002 and 2003.
Friday, October 15, 2004, 10:01:03 PM
Video http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=90913&cat_id=123#
>From The KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids Newsroom
Elizabeth Edwards made a quick stop in Cedar Rapids Friday morning to discuss her husband's ideas about health care costs.
Edwards talked to the I.B.E.W. Local #405 about a plan to cut health care and prescription drug costs. She used the current Penford strike as an example of why there must be changes in health care.
Elizabeth Edwards told TV9, "Senator Kerry will solve the problem for both sides. He'll make it easier for Penford to pay for health insurance of its workers and make its workers to afford it."
Edwards says 99-thousand people dropped their health care coverage between 2002 and 2003.
IBEW Local 97 (Syracuse NY) Rejects concessions demanded by Niagra-Mohawk Power
http://www.syracuse.com/business/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/business-6/1097918475105990.xml
NiMo workers reject contract
Three-quarters of company's work force could strike at midnight tonight.
By Tim Knauss , Staff writer
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Niagara Mohawk workers soundly rejected a "firm and final" contract offer from the company Friday, increasing the likelihood they will strike when their current contract expires at midnight tonight.
Unless union and company leaders agree today to reopen contract negotiations and extend the current contract, 4,000 union workers - three-quarters of Niagara Mohawk's work force - will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
"There would be no choice," said David Falletta, president and business officer of Local 97, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Falletta and a small team of union negotiators are scheduled to meet at noon today with company officials to assess whether further negotiations are possible.
The company issued a statement Friday night saying it was "disappointed that the union work force has failed to ratify a contract offer that pro-
vided an increased value of $10,000 per employee per year. The company has accepted union leadership's request to meet informally tomorrow."
Falletta declined to provide the vote count, but said the vote against the contract was "overwhelming."
Local 97 has never called a strike against Niagara Mohawk.
As they finished their shifts Friday, union employees turned in their identification badges, truck keys and other company equipment in case they don't come back Monday.
Private contractors have arrived in Syracuse and other locations and are prepared to begin work Sunday in the event of a strike, said Kerry Burns, speaking for Niagara Mohawk. Management personnel and retirees also have been trained to step in for union employees if necessary, Burns said.
National Grid Transco, which owns Niagara Mohawk, has not yet sent in workers from its operations in New England or England, but is prepared to, Burns said.
If unionmembers walk off the job, all remaining personnel will begin working six 12-hour days per week, Burns said.
Many people - union members, managers and utility customers - hoped Friday that a strike would be avoided.
Among them were eight gas mechanics who worked Friday afternoon to repair a shut-off valve connected to a six-inch gas main in Baldwinsville. A small pipe connected to the valve was corroded and broke when a crew tried to shut the valve to do maintenance, said one of the workers, who gave his name only as Bob.
He said he did not know whether Niagara Mohawk could keep up with all the work if union members strike.
"If it gets busy, they'd better have enough coverage," he said.
Martin Currier, vice president of Local 97, said there was "no way" the company could maintain normal service levels during a strike. The 24,000-square-mile service territory is too big to cover with replacement workers, he said.
"I thinkthey're going to focus on the metropolitan areas as much as possible," Currier said. "But this area is so huge - no way. It can't happen."
But company officials said they could call on "a couple thousand" replacement workers to operate during a strike. They said they did not expect major problems.
Local 97 represents 4,000 NiMo workers throughout Upstate New York, roughly half of whom are in the utility's central division. They include gas mechanics, line workers, customer service representatives, clerks, janitors and others.
The average union employee makes $57,000 a year, not counting overtime, company officials said. Union wage rates range from roughly $30,000 for an entry-level office worker to $70,000 for an experienced line mechanic, Burns said.
If a strike presents difficulties for the company, it is no less a hardship for the workers.
Local 97 has no strike fund, so striking workers would be without any pay for up to seven weeks, until they qualify for unemployment benefits.
Niagara Mohawk made its final contract offer to union members Wednesday, after eight weeks of talks failed to produce a settlement.
William Edwards, the company president, characterized it as a generous settlement that added $10,000 to the average worker's annual pay and benefits over its 30-month term. He and other management officials said they were "baffled" by union opposition to it.
The documentcontained some provisions that union negotiators had asked for, such as the removal of a cap on company contributions to future retiree medical benefits.
But union leaders complained that several key provisions were unacceptable. They objected to a change in a formula to calculate pensions, and to changes in short-term and long-term disability benefits.
They also objected to contract language giving the company unlimited discretion to hire private contractors.
Niagara Mohawk's proposal guaranteed employment for anyone whose job might be eliminated due to outsourcing, but union officials are concerned that the number of union jobs would be drastically reduced through attrition.
"They're looking to dwindle us down, because the smaller we are, the more bargaining power they have," Currier said.
Edwards said Niagara Mohawk needs the ability to hire contractors, especially for less-skilled jobs. Contractors have proven to be significantly more cost-effective in certain areas, such as bill collection.
The company also wants more flexibility to schedule union workers around the clock.
"We're putting a lot of value on the table for our employees, and asking them to agree to work rules that make us and them more efficient," Edwards said.
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&num=30&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://news10now.com/content/all_news/%3FArID%3D29714%26SecID%3D83&scoring=d
NiMo workers reject contract
Three-quarters of company's work force could strike at midnight tonight.
By Tim Knauss , Staff writer
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Niagara Mohawk workers soundly rejected a "firm and final" contract offer from the company Friday, increasing the likelihood they will strike when their current contract expires at midnight tonight.
Unless union and company leaders agree today to reopen contract negotiations and extend the current contract, 4,000 union workers - three-quarters of Niagara Mohawk's work force - will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
"There would be no choice," said David Falletta, president and business officer of Local 97, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Falletta and a small team of union negotiators are scheduled to meet at noon today with company officials to assess whether further negotiations are possible.
The company issued a statement Friday night saying it was "disappointed that the union work force has failed to ratify a contract offer that pro-
vided an increased value of $10,000 per employee per year. The company has accepted union leadership's request to meet informally tomorrow."
Falletta declined to provide the vote count, but said the vote against the contract was "overwhelming."
Local 97 has never called a strike against Niagara Mohawk.
As they finished their shifts Friday, union employees turned in their identification badges, truck keys and other company equipment in case they don't come back Monday.
Private contractors have arrived in Syracuse and other locations and are prepared to begin work Sunday in the event of a strike, said Kerry Burns, speaking for Niagara Mohawk. Management personnel and retirees also have been trained to step in for union employees if necessary, Burns said.
National Grid Transco, which owns Niagara Mohawk, has not yet sent in workers from its operations in New England or England, but is prepared to, Burns said.
If unionmembers walk off the job, all remaining personnel will begin working six 12-hour days per week, Burns said.
Many people - union members, managers and utility customers - hoped Friday that a strike would be avoided.
Among them were eight gas mechanics who worked Friday afternoon to repair a shut-off valve connected to a six-inch gas main in Baldwinsville. A small pipe connected to the valve was corroded and broke when a crew tried to shut the valve to do maintenance, said one of the workers, who gave his name only as Bob.
He said he did not know whether Niagara Mohawk could keep up with all the work if union members strike.
"If it gets busy, they'd better have enough coverage," he said.
Martin Currier, vice president of Local 97, said there was "no way" the company could maintain normal service levels during a strike. The 24,000-square-mile service territory is too big to cover with replacement workers, he said.
"I thinkthey're going to focus on the metropolitan areas as much as possible," Currier said. "But this area is so huge - no way. It can't happen."
But company officials said they could call on "a couple thousand" replacement workers to operate during a strike. They said they did not expect major problems.
Local 97 represents 4,000 NiMo workers throughout Upstate New York, roughly half of whom are in the utility's central division. They include gas mechanics, line workers, customer service representatives, clerks, janitors and others.
The average union employee makes $57,000 a year, not counting overtime, company officials said. Union wage rates range from roughly $30,000 for an entry-level office worker to $70,000 for an experienced line mechanic, Burns said.
If a strike presents difficulties for the company, it is no less a hardship for the workers.
Local 97 has no strike fund, so striking workers would be without any pay for up to seven weeks, until they qualify for unemployment benefits.
Niagara Mohawk made its final contract offer to union members Wednesday, after eight weeks of talks failed to produce a settlement.
William Edwards, the company president, characterized it as a generous settlement that added $10,000 to the average worker's annual pay and benefits over its 30-month term. He and other management officials said they were "baffled" by union opposition to it.
The documentcontained some provisions that union negotiators had asked for, such as the removal of a cap on company contributions to future retiree medical benefits.
But union leaders complained that several key provisions were unacceptable. They objected to a change in a formula to calculate pensions, and to changes in short-term and long-term disability benefits.
They also objected to contract language giving the company unlimited discretion to hire private contractors.
Niagara Mohawk's proposal guaranteed employment for anyone whose job might be eliminated due to outsourcing, but union officials are concerned that the number of union jobs would be drastically reduced through attrition.
"They're looking to dwindle us down, because the smaller we are, the more bargaining power they have," Currier said.
Edwards said Niagara Mohawk needs the ability to hire contractors, especially for less-skilled jobs. Contractors have proven to be significantly more cost-effective in certain areas, such as bill collection.
The company also wants more flexibility to schedule union workers around the clock.
"We're putting a lot of value on the table for our employees, and asking them to agree to work rules that make us and them more efficient," Edwards said.
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&num=30&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://news10now.com/content/all_news/%3FArID%3D29714%26SecID%3D83&scoring=d
IBEW Local 733 (Pascagoula MS) to vote on a four ten-hour day work week
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/9933385.htm
4-day week on workers' ballot
By DAVID TORTORANO
Sat, Oct. 16, 2004
PASCAGOULA - Shipbuilding unions in Pascagoula will vote next week on whether to shift from a five- to a four-day work week. One union official expects the vote will be close.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is proposing a 10-hour day four days a week for production workers at the company's Mississippi operations in Pascagoula and Gulfport and the Louisiana operations in New Orleans and Tallulah, according to union officials.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will vote Tuesday between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the union's Market Street office.
"This thing's going to be tight," said Chico McGill, business manager for IBEW Local 733. He said a survey showed 46 percent of the Pascagoula IBEW workers against the change, 50 percent in favor and 4 percent undecided.
McGill said there are 1,000 union members in IBEW Local 733, which represents about 1,200 workers.
Mike Crawley, president of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council, said each of 13 locals belonging to MTC will schedule its own voting. As of Friday, none had been scheduled. MTC represents 7,500 workers.
The pilot program, if accepted, will be for six months beginning Nov. 8 or Nov. 15, said Crawley. The work week would begin Monday and end Thursday rather than Friday.
The shorter work week is also being proposed for workers at Gulfport, New Orleans and Tallulah, which all fall under Northrop Grumman's Avondale operations.
The New Orleans Metal Trades Council, which represents about 4,000 workers at the three yards, will also vote on a change. McGill said the New Orleans Metal Trades will meet Tuesday to determine when a vote will be held.
"I feel it will take place pretty quickly," he said.
Local Northrop Grumman officials refused to comment until the unions vote.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Tortorano can be reached at 896-2356 or at dtortorano@sunherald.com
4-day week on workers' ballot
By DAVID TORTORANO
Sat, Oct. 16, 2004
PASCAGOULA - Shipbuilding unions in Pascagoula will vote next week on whether to shift from a five- to a four-day work week. One union official expects the vote will be close.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is proposing a 10-hour day four days a week for production workers at the company's Mississippi operations in Pascagoula and Gulfport and the Louisiana operations in New Orleans and Tallulah, according to union officials.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will vote Tuesday between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the union's Market Street office.
"This thing's going to be tight," said Chico McGill, business manager for IBEW Local 733. He said a survey showed 46 percent of the Pascagoula IBEW workers against the change, 50 percent in favor and 4 percent undecided.
McGill said there are 1,000 union members in IBEW Local 733, which represents about 1,200 workers.
Mike Crawley, president of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council, said each of 13 locals belonging to MTC will schedule its own voting. As of Friday, none had been scheduled. MTC represents 7,500 workers.
The pilot program, if accepted, will be for six months beginning Nov. 8 or Nov. 15, said Crawley. The work week would begin Monday and end Thursday rather than Friday.
The shorter work week is also being proposed for workers at Gulfport, New Orleans and Tallulah, which all fall under Northrop Grumman's Avondale operations.
The New Orleans Metal Trades Council, which represents about 4,000 workers at the three yards, will also vote on a change. McGill said the New Orleans Metal Trades will meet Tuesday to determine when a vote will be held.
"I feel it will take place pretty quickly," he said.
Local Northrop Grumman officials refused to comment until the unions vote.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Tortorano can be reached at 896-2356 or at dtortorano@sunherald.com
IBEW Rank and File Fire Up the Grid in Election Fight
Author: Roberta Wood
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 10/16/04 00:00
Commentary
When Dick Cheney boasted during the vice presidential debate that he had “carried a ticket with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for six years,” he didn’t impress many IBEW members.
It was like a skunk bragging that he used to wear Chanel No. 5, I thought. He still stinks.
IBEW President Ed Hill fired back the next day in a sharply worded statement, saying he wished the union had done a better job instilling its values in the young Cheney when it had a chance. “Perhaps then he would not so relentlessly pursue policies that have caused catastrophic job losses and inflicted tremendous pain on countless working families,” Hill said.
Cheney might have learned that when the IBEW was founded over 100 years ago, one out of two workers in the industry died in falls or electrocutions. Safety standards, as much as wages, drove workers to band together in a brotherhood. On the job, each worker’s life was literally in the hands of his co-worker. In this election season, that vision of solidarity, of workers holding each other’s lives in their hands, has extended to the political arena.
So on a sunny August day, I was proud to be one of many IBEW members who poured into the battleground state of Ohio, crossing state lines to answer our brothers’ and sisters’ call for reinforcements in the battle for jobs and to defeat George Bush.
A Chicago bus, initiated by our city’s Electrical Workers Minority Caucus chapter, left in a pounding rainstorm at 3 in the morning. In Toledo, we paired up with local electricians and went on a 6-hour labor walk visiting union households. Kentuckians came to Cincinnati, Hoosiers to Columbus.
All told, nearly 200 IBEW members were out in force in Ohio that day, including in Cleveland, Akron and Marietta. In our neon-yellow shirts, the electrical workers scattered throughout working class neighborhoods sharing our own stories and election information with the union families we visited.
“Participating in activities like this makes for a different kind of union member,” said my canvassing partner, international rep Thomas Curley, as we went door to door in the east Toledo neighborhood where he grew up.
Local 3 in New York launched the union’s labor walk campaign June 23 with a three-bus convoy, accompanied by two dozen motorcyclists, to Philadelphia. The solidarity buses have continued every Saturday in September and October. This month, Local 3 also mobilized dozens of its unemployed members to staff voter registration tables in 15 hospitals and 15 community colleges over a five-day period, signing up thousands of new voters.
The union’s 2004 National Political Coordinator, Edwin Lopez, sees the activities transforming union members. Political activities are “identifying new activists, creating ways for them to participate, and renewing members’ belief in their union and pride in themselves as union members.”
Lopez worked in the tools as an inside wireman, and then as a Local 3 business rep. He is also a national leader of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. He’s a real working class intellectual, combining deep thinking on the problems facing the labor movement with non-stop activism.
“The members are learning first-hand how politics is tied to collective bargaining and to the right to organize. A core of activists is the heart and soul of the union,” he said. “All we have is our members – if our members are not charged up, we have nothing.”
It’s not just the IBEW rank and file that’s charged up. Hill told a recent women’s conference, he found himself saying things he earlier would have called radical, “talking the same talk as the labor leaders of the 1930s. There’s a class war being waged,” Hill said, “even though we didn’t start it.”
It’s working class pride and determination that characterizes the three-pronged approach that Hill has been relentlessly promoting — organizing, political action and emphasis on skills and quality workmanship.”
“The card that the vice president carried was his ticket to decent wages and benefits for the fruits of his labor,” Hill’s response to Cheney stated. “It’s too bad that now he wants to pull up the ladder and deny that same opportunity to others.”
IBEW members are on the road this fall, crossing state lines, to make sure it doesn’t happen. It’s a brotherhood thing, Dick. You wouldn’t understand.
The author, labor editor of the Peoples Weekly World and a 15-year member of IBEW Local 9, can be reached at rwood@pww.org.
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 10/16/04 00:00
Commentary
When Dick Cheney boasted during the vice presidential debate that he had “carried a ticket with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for six years,” he didn’t impress many IBEW members.
It was like a skunk bragging that he used to wear Chanel No. 5, I thought. He still stinks.
IBEW President Ed Hill fired back the next day in a sharply worded statement, saying he wished the union had done a better job instilling its values in the young Cheney when it had a chance. “Perhaps then he would not so relentlessly pursue policies that have caused catastrophic job losses and inflicted tremendous pain on countless working families,” Hill said.
Cheney might have learned that when the IBEW was founded over 100 years ago, one out of two workers in the industry died in falls or electrocutions. Safety standards, as much as wages, drove workers to band together in a brotherhood. On the job, each worker’s life was literally in the hands of his co-worker. In this election season, that vision of solidarity, of workers holding each other’s lives in their hands, has extended to the political arena.
So on a sunny August day, I was proud to be one of many IBEW members who poured into the battleground state of Ohio, crossing state lines to answer our brothers’ and sisters’ call for reinforcements in the battle for jobs and to defeat George Bush.
A Chicago bus, initiated by our city’s Electrical Workers Minority Caucus chapter, left in a pounding rainstorm at 3 in the morning. In Toledo, we paired up with local electricians and went on a 6-hour labor walk visiting union households. Kentuckians came to Cincinnati, Hoosiers to Columbus.
All told, nearly 200 IBEW members were out in force in Ohio that day, including in Cleveland, Akron and Marietta. In our neon-yellow shirts, the electrical workers scattered throughout working class neighborhoods sharing our own stories and election information with the union families we visited.
“Participating in activities like this makes for a different kind of union member,” said my canvassing partner, international rep Thomas Curley, as we went door to door in the east Toledo neighborhood where he grew up.
Local 3 in New York launched the union’s labor walk campaign June 23 with a three-bus convoy, accompanied by two dozen motorcyclists, to Philadelphia. The solidarity buses have continued every Saturday in September and October. This month, Local 3 also mobilized dozens of its unemployed members to staff voter registration tables in 15 hospitals and 15 community colleges over a five-day period, signing up thousands of new voters.
The union’s 2004 National Political Coordinator, Edwin Lopez, sees the activities transforming union members. Political activities are “identifying new activists, creating ways for them to participate, and renewing members’ belief in their union and pride in themselves as union members.”
Lopez worked in the tools as an inside wireman, and then as a Local 3 business rep. He is also a national leader of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. He’s a real working class intellectual, combining deep thinking on the problems facing the labor movement with non-stop activism.
“The members are learning first-hand how politics is tied to collective bargaining and to the right to organize. A core of activists is the heart and soul of the union,” he said. “All we have is our members – if our members are not charged up, we have nothing.”
It’s not just the IBEW rank and file that’s charged up. Hill told a recent women’s conference, he found himself saying things he earlier would have called radical, “talking the same talk as the labor leaders of the 1930s. There’s a class war being waged,” Hill said, “even though we didn’t start it.”
It’s working class pride and determination that characterizes the three-pronged approach that Hill has been relentlessly promoting — organizing, political action and emphasis on skills and quality workmanship.”
“The card that the vice president carried was his ticket to decent wages and benefits for the fruits of his labor,” Hill’s response to Cheney stated. “It’s too bad that now he wants to pull up the ladder and deny that same opportunity to others.”
IBEW members are on the road this fall, crossing state lines, to make sure it doesn’t happen. It’s a brotherhood thing, Dick. You wouldn’t understand.
The author, labor editor of the Peoples Weekly World and a 15-year member of IBEW Local 9, can be reached at rwood@pww.org.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Retired IBEW Member Passes On in San Diego
DONOVAN ISADOR MOEN
April 2, 1913-Oct. 9, 2004
Donovan Isador Moen, 91, of Escondido died Saturday. He was born in Canada and was an electrician. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Survivors include his wife, Alice Moen; daughter, Sharon LaFrance; son, Carl Moen; and three grandchildren.
Services: 2 p.m. tomorrow, Pacific Beach Chapel, 4710 Cass St., San Diego.
A scattering of ashes was planned.
April 2, 1913-Oct. 9, 2004
Donovan Isador Moen, 91, of Escondido died Saturday. He was born in Canada and was an electrician. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Survivors include his wife, Alice Moen; daughter, Sharon LaFrance; son, Carl Moen; and three grandchildren.
Services: 2 p.m. tomorrow, Pacific Beach Chapel, 4710 Cass St., San Diego.
A scattering of ashes was planned.
IBEW Local 2222 (Boston MA) members debate election, war, economy
Politics pays visit to offices: Candidates not alone in debates
By Jay Fitzgerald
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Nick Argenio's Verizon co-workers once told him to pipe down with all his cheerleading.
And at State Street Corp., according to employee Rich York, people have chosen up sides.
Yankees vs. Red Sox?
Nope.
Try Bush vs. Kerry.
``It's passionate all right,'' says Argenio, an ardent Republican and central office technician at Verizon's Post Office Square regional headquarters. ``I was once asked to hush it down at work because I was getting pretty loud'' during one debate over the election.
Indeed, the office politics of letting politics into the office can be even dicier than a your typical water-cooler throwdown over baseball.
``It's definitely on most people's radar screen,'' said Paul Feeney, a work colleague of Argenio and a supporter of Bay State native U.S. Sen. John Kerry [related, bio], the Democratic presidential candidate. ``It's a pretty polarizing election with a lot of vocal supporters on both sides.''
From Verizon to Citizens Bank to Fidelity Investments, most companies say they have no written policies about workplace campaign buttons, stickers or other political paraphernalia.
``It's a First Amendment issue,'' said Ed Merritt, chief executive of Mt. Washington Bank in South Boston.
He says it's frowned upon for ``customer-facing'' workers, such as tellers, to wear campaign buttons smack in the face of clients, even though the bank has no specific policy about political paraphernalia at work.
``(Customers) who support Kerry don't want to see a Bush button and it goes the other way,'' Merritt said.
But that doesn't stop Mt. Washington and other firms' employees from debating the race - or at least taking lighthearted digs at colleagues when their candidate appears to be down.
``People are taking sides,'' said York, who works in State Street Corp.'s wire transfer department in the financial district. ``But it all seems good-natured.''
If there's indeed a Red-Blue split across the country between GOP and Democratic-leaning states, there's also a white-collar and blue-collar split when it comes to loud workplace debates.
``There's just something about offices that stifles'' passionate discussions, York said.
Phil Johnston, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, proudly displays political paraphernalia and photos at the offices of his health care consulting firm, Philip W. Johnston Associates. But he does have to be a tad careful when meeting with, oh, pro-Bush clients.
``I try to separate the roles,'' he said.
But at outdoor construction sites and loading docks, watch out. They can shout all they want.
``Now more than ever there's a lot of debate over the war,'' said Feeney, a steward for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222.
``Iraq seems to be the No. 1 issue among members,'' said Feeney, who also ticked off worries about the economy and workers' benefits as other big issues.
© Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc.
By Jay Fitzgerald
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Nick Argenio's Verizon co-workers once told him to pipe down with all his cheerleading.
And at State Street Corp., according to employee Rich York, people have chosen up sides.
Yankees vs. Red Sox?
Nope.
Try Bush vs. Kerry.
``It's passionate all right,'' says Argenio, an ardent Republican and central office technician at Verizon's Post Office Square regional headquarters. ``I was once asked to hush it down at work because I was getting pretty loud'' during one debate over the election.
Indeed, the office politics of letting politics into the office can be even dicier than a your typical water-cooler throwdown over baseball.
``It's definitely on most people's radar screen,'' said Paul Feeney, a work colleague of Argenio and a supporter of Bay State native U.S. Sen. John Kerry [related, bio], the Democratic presidential candidate. ``It's a pretty polarizing election with a lot of vocal supporters on both sides.''
From Verizon to Citizens Bank to Fidelity Investments, most companies say they have no written policies about workplace campaign buttons, stickers or other political paraphernalia.
``It's a First Amendment issue,'' said Ed Merritt, chief executive of Mt. Washington Bank in South Boston.
He says it's frowned upon for ``customer-facing'' workers, such as tellers, to wear campaign buttons smack in the face of clients, even though the bank has no specific policy about political paraphernalia at work.
``(Customers) who support Kerry don't want to see a Bush button and it goes the other way,'' Merritt said.
But that doesn't stop Mt. Washington and other firms' employees from debating the race - or at least taking lighthearted digs at colleagues when their candidate appears to be down.
``People are taking sides,'' said York, who works in State Street Corp.'s wire transfer department in the financial district. ``But it all seems good-natured.''
If there's indeed a Red-Blue split across the country between GOP and Democratic-leaning states, there's also a white-collar and blue-collar split when it comes to loud workplace debates.
``There's just something about offices that stifles'' passionate discussions, York said.
Phil Johnston, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, proudly displays political paraphernalia and photos at the offices of his health care consulting firm, Philip W. Johnston Associates. But he does have to be a tad careful when meeting with, oh, pro-Bush clients.
``I try to separate the roles,'' he said.
But at outdoor construction sites and loading docks, watch out. They can shout all they want.
``Now more than ever there's a lot of debate over the war,'' said Feeney, a steward for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222.
``Iraq seems to be the No. 1 issue among members,'' said Feeney, who also ticked off worries about the economy and workers' benefits as other big issues.
© Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc.
IBEW Systems Council U-08 (Locals 433 Inglis FL, 626 Avon Park FL, 682 St. Petersburg FL, 1412 , Orlando, 1491 Enterprise FL) faces threat of Layoffs
Progress cuts may include layoffs
Executives say the search for new efficiencies will evaluate the organization from top to bottom.
By LOUIS HAU, Times Staff Writer
Published October 13, 2004
Faced with rising costs for employee pensions and medical benefits, Progress Energy Inc. said Tuesday it is planning a major cost-cutting initiative that might include layoffs.
In a memo to employees, Progress chairman and chief executive Bob McGehee warned of "some hard choices in the months ahead" as the Raleigh, N.C., parent of Progress Energy Florida of St. Petersburg attempts to reverse a "serious mismatch" between its revenues and costs. McGehee said revenue is growing at 2.5 percent a year, while costs are rising 4 to 5 percent a year.
This unsustainable pattern, which isn't related to the company's efforts to restore electricity after Florida's recent spate of hurricanes, will continue if "left unchecked and without significant rate increases," McGehee said.
Further contributing to Progress' financial challenges is the expiration of federal tax credits for coal-based synthetic fuel at the end of 2007. Progress is one of the nation's largest recipients of the controversial credit, an important source of net income, and is scrambling to make up for the pending earnings hit.
To keep its financial house in order, Progress will look for ways to save money at every level of the company, starting at the top, where it will consider the consolidation of some senior management functions, McGehee said.
Work force reductions and a re-evaluation of the company's use of outside contractors and consultants will also be part of the effort.
In a question-and-answer section attached to McGehee's message, Progress told employees its priority "is to minimize impacts of organizational reductions through attrition, increased scrutiny on hiring, possibly an early-retirement program and other means, but those initiatives alone likely will not get us where we need to be."
Translation: layoffs are likely.
But spokesman Keith Poston emphasized the cost-reduction effort will affect all facets of the company's operations, not just employment.
"There will likely be layoffs sometime at the end of the year," Poston said. "But layoffs are not option 1. In fact, they're not even options 2, 3 or 4."
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will be closely following the company's cost-reduction initiative, said W.O. "Butch" Enyard, business manager for IBEW System Council U-8 in Crystal River, which represents Progress line workers and power plant workers.
Enyard said this isn't the first time for employees of Florida Power Corp., which was bought out in 2000 by Carolina Power & Light to form Progress.
"We've been through it before - same old stuff, just new faces," he said.
Cutting costs is critical for Progress' financial health and its continued ability to grow its dividend, Poston said.
He added that it is important if Progress is to remain an independent company. Failure to squeeze more efficiencies out of its operations could tempt a would-be acquirer to do so itself, he said.
"We'd like to control our destiny," Poston said. "If we do these things ourselves, we can continue to be the driver, and not the follower."
Pension payments and rising health-care costs are a problem for companies everywhere but they present particularly stiff challenges for regulated electric utilities which can't grow beyond their designated service territories. This is also true for Progress, despite the fact it is among several investor-owned utilities in Florida that have enjoyed strong customer growth in recent years.
McGehee said in his memo the company will seek ways to grow revenue at Progress Ventures, which includes the company's unregulated wholesale power business.
Progress did not release information about its cost-cutting plans to Wall Street. Progress' shares closed Tuesday at $42.30, up 26 cents.
Louis Hau can be reached at 813 226-3404 or hau@sptimes.com
PROGRESS ENERGY INC.
HEADQUARTERS: Raleigh, N.C.
Parent of two regulated electric utilities, Progress Energy Florida Inc. of St. Petersburg (1.5-million customers) and Progress Energy Carolinas of Raleigh (1.4-million customers). Also runs other businesses, including unregulated wholesale power, coal mining, natural gas production, rail transport and telecom businesses.
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES: 15,300, including 4,689 at Progress Florida and 5,878 at Progress Carolinas.
REVENUE FOR SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30: $3.406-billion, up 5 percent from $3.237-billion a year earlier.
NET INCOME FOR SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30: $262-million, down 30 percent from $376-million a year earlier.
© Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved
Executives say the search for new efficiencies will evaluate the organization from top to bottom.
By LOUIS HAU, Times Staff Writer
Published October 13, 2004
Faced with rising costs for employee pensions and medical benefits, Progress Energy Inc. said Tuesday it is planning a major cost-cutting initiative that might include layoffs.
In a memo to employees, Progress chairman and chief executive Bob McGehee warned of "some hard choices in the months ahead" as the Raleigh, N.C., parent of Progress Energy Florida of St. Petersburg attempts to reverse a "serious mismatch" between its revenues and costs. McGehee said revenue is growing at 2.5 percent a year, while costs are rising 4 to 5 percent a year.
This unsustainable pattern, which isn't related to the company's efforts to restore electricity after Florida's recent spate of hurricanes, will continue if "left unchecked and without significant rate increases," McGehee said.
Further contributing to Progress' financial challenges is the expiration of federal tax credits for coal-based synthetic fuel at the end of 2007. Progress is one of the nation's largest recipients of the controversial credit, an important source of net income, and is scrambling to make up for the pending earnings hit.
To keep its financial house in order, Progress will look for ways to save money at every level of the company, starting at the top, where it will consider the consolidation of some senior management functions, McGehee said.
Work force reductions and a re-evaluation of the company's use of outside contractors and consultants will also be part of the effort.
In a question-and-answer section attached to McGehee's message, Progress told employees its priority "is to minimize impacts of organizational reductions through attrition, increased scrutiny on hiring, possibly an early-retirement program and other means, but those initiatives alone likely will not get us where we need to be."
Translation: layoffs are likely.
But spokesman Keith Poston emphasized the cost-reduction effort will affect all facets of the company's operations, not just employment.
"There will likely be layoffs sometime at the end of the year," Poston said. "But layoffs are not option 1. In fact, they're not even options 2, 3 or 4."
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will be closely following the company's cost-reduction initiative, said W.O. "Butch" Enyard, business manager for IBEW System Council U-8 in Crystal River, which represents Progress line workers and power plant workers.
Enyard said this isn't the first time for employees of Florida Power Corp., which was bought out in 2000 by Carolina Power & Light to form Progress.
"We've been through it before - same old stuff, just new faces," he said.
Cutting costs is critical for Progress' financial health and its continued ability to grow its dividend, Poston said.
He added that it is important if Progress is to remain an independent company. Failure to squeeze more efficiencies out of its operations could tempt a would-be acquirer to do so itself, he said.
"We'd like to control our destiny," Poston said. "If we do these things ourselves, we can continue to be the driver, and not the follower."
Pension payments and rising health-care costs are a problem for companies everywhere but they present particularly stiff challenges for regulated electric utilities which can't grow beyond their designated service territories. This is also true for Progress, despite the fact it is among several investor-owned utilities in Florida that have enjoyed strong customer growth in recent years.
McGehee said in his memo the company will seek ways to grow revenue at Progress Ventures, which includes the company's unregulated wholesale power business.
Progress did not release information about its cost-cutting plans to Wall Street. Progress' shares closed Tuesday at $42.30, up 26 cents.
Louis Hau can be reached at 813 226-3404 or hau@sptimes.com
PROGRESS ENERGY INC.
HEADQUARTERS: Raleigh, N.C.
Parent of two regulated electric utilities, Progress Energy Florida Inc. of St. Petersburg (1.5-million customers) and Progress Energy Carolinas of Raleigh (1.4-million customers). Also runs other businesses, including unregulated wholesale power, coal mining, natural gas production, rail transport and telecom businesses.
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES: 15,300, including 4,689 at Progress Florida and 5,878 at Progress Carolinas.
REVENUE FOR SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30: $3.406-billion, up 5 percent from $3.237-billion a year earlier.
NET INCOME FOR SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30: $262-million, down 30 percent from $376-million a year earlier.
© Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved
IBEW Local 66 (Houston TX) and employer cited for OSHA Award
W.A. Parish Plant receives prestigious worksite honor
By B.J. POLLOCK
Texas Genco's W.A. Parish Plant held a huge celebration Wednesday in honor of its earning an OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs prestigious Star Award.
The VPP Star Celebration was attended by hundreds of Parish Plant employees and OSHA representative Russ Elveston, and included a special meal.
The program began at about 11 a.m. with Bob Osco, general manager of the Parish Plant, as the first of the event's key speakers.
Osco said he knew the plant and its employees were ready to apply for the VPP Star Award, but the week during the audit that earned them the honor was "full of emotions."
"It was a real roller coaster from day one with the emotions, up and down," he said. "I've got to hand it to OSHA. They put you on that roller coaster ride, but it's with a purpose."
By the time OSHA's audit, which was conducted the week of May 3, was complete, Osco said, "there's nothing you want more than to be accepted."
"We made it through," he said, calling the accomplishment "an outstanding moment" in the history of the W.A. Parish Plant.
"I truly believe that each and every one of you here today deal with a lot of risk and have to make a lot of decisions," said Osco, adding the plant's employees think about those decision and their consequences on a daily basis.
He said the VPP Star Award program helps identify those risks and train Parish Plant employees to make the right choices with positive results.
"A team is always stronger than its individuals ... but it takes the individuals to make up that team, and it's individuals who make the difference," Osco said. "I have to thank everyone here at W.A. Parish for their unselfish achievements to make this (award) possible."
Texas Genco President David Tees described the earning of the award as "a team effort," and said the employees of the plant brought forward the idea to apply for it in the first place.
"Over the years, we've worked harder and harder and harder on safety," he said, adding the plant's 1,500 employees monitor themselves and each other to make certain any safety issues are identified and addressed.
Tees said the award is proof that the employees are "very professional in your workplace."
Mike Reed, vice president of Texas Genco Regulated Plant Operations, said earning the award "has been difficult, and it's been a challenge," but was one for which plant employees were ready.
"I'm very proud of everyone because you made it happen," he told the crowd. "Y'all have done an outstanding job."
"It truly was a large team effort. It truly was a company-wide effort for Texas Genco," said Randy Gauny of the W.A. Parish Site Safety Team. "Even our visitors made comments about how we stress safety. It's not about getting the Star, it's about everybody getting home safely."
Fellow safety team member Gary Schroeder agreed, and had several groups of employees stand and be recognized for the efforts in keep the plant safe.
"You feel like you're in a living Nike commercial - just do it," he said of working at the plant.
Bruce Bettilyon, union business representative for IBEW #66, said, "We didn't do it - y'all did. This is your day to be recognized."
Elveston called the award an "extremely outstanding accomplishment," and presented the plant with the large VPP Star Award flag, which was run up the pole at the administration building by maintenance crew leader Roy Sims and Tommy Kaderka.
Parish Plant employee Lester Miller served as deejay for the event, warming up the crowd with tunes such as "Celebration" and "I Feel Good."
Fellow employee Raul "Mr. Trick" Padilla performed a variety of impressive magic tricks, including causing 45 rpm records to change color, floating a $1 bill and popping a balloon to reveal a white dove inside.
Parish employee Kenneth Carroll introduced each speaker, and also recognized special guests such as Fort Bend County Precinct 1 Commissioner Tom Stavinoha, Thompsons Mayor Freddie Newsome, Rosenberg-Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce President Gail Parker and a group of Parish Plant retirees.
The plant was originally known as Smithers Lake Plant, and was renamed in 1958 in honor of past Houston Lighting and Power Company President Walter Alvin Parish.
It is located on a 4,880-acre site near Thompsons, and includes four gas-fired generators, four coal-fired generators and one gas-turbine generator with a total capability of generating 3,653 megawatts of electricity.
The first of the gas-fired units began operations in June, 1958, and the first of the coal-fired units became operational in December, 1977.
The plant, which is the largest fossil-fueled plant in America, has been declared "among the cleanest" of its kind in the country by Power magazine, which said the plant has reduced its NOx levels to "microscopic levels."
OSHA's VPP Star Award program promotes effective worksite-based safety and health. The earning of a Star Award and acceptance into the VPP program is OSHA's official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and
employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and
By B.J. POLLOCK
Texas Genco's W.A. Parish Plant held a huge celebration Wednesday in honor of its earning an OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs prestigious Star Award.
The VPP Star Celebration was attended by hundreds of Parish Plant employees and OSHA representative Russ Elveston, and included a special meal.
The program began at about 11 a.m. with Bob Osco, general manager of the Parish Plant, as the first of the event's key speakers.
Osco said he knew the plant and its employees were ready to apply for the VPP Star Award, but the week during the audit that earned them the honor was "full of emotions."
"It was a real roller coaster from day one with the emotions, up and down," he said. "I've got to hand it to OSHA. They put you on that roller coaster ride, but it's with a purpose."
By the time OSHA's audit, which was conducted the week of May 3, was complete, Osco said, "there's nothing you want more than to be accepted."
"We made it through," he said, calling the accomplishment "an outstanding moment" in the history of the W.A. Parish Plant.
"I truly believe that each and every one of you here today deal with a lot of risk and have to make a lot of decisions," said Osco, adding the plant's employees think about those decision and their consequences on a daily basis.
He said the VPP Star Award program helps identify those risks and train Parish Plant employees to make the right choices with positive results.
"A team is always stronger than its individuals ... but it takes the individuals to make up that team, and it's individuals who make the difference," Osco said. "I have to thank everyone here at W.A. Parish for their unselfish achievements to make this (award) possible."
Texas Genco President David Tees described the earning of the award as "a team effort," and said the employees of the plant brought forward the idea to apply for it in the first place.
"Over the years, we've worked harder and harder and harder on safety," he said, adding the plant's 1,500 employees monitor themselves and each other to make certain any safety issues are identified and addressed.
Tees said the award is proof that the employees are "very professional in your workplace."
Mike Reed, vice president of Texas Genco Regulated Plant Operations, said earning the award "has been difficult, and it's been a challenge," but was one for which plant employees were ready.
"I'm very proud of everyone because you made it happen," he told the crowd. "Y'all have done an outstanding job."
"It truly was a large team effort. It truly was a company-wide effort for Texas Genco," said Randy Gauny of the W.A. Parish Site Safety Team. "Even our visitors made comments about how we stress safety. It's not about getting the Star, it's about everybody getting home safely."
Fellow safety team member Gary Schroeder agreed, and had several groups of employees stand and be recognized for the efforts in keep the plant safe.
"You feel like you're in a living Nike commercial - just do it," he said of working at the plant.
Bruce Bettilyon, union business representative for IBEW #66, said, "We didn't do it - y'all did. This is your day to be recognized."
Elveston called the award an "extremely outstanding accomplishment," and presented the plant with the large VPP Star Award flag, which was run up the pole at the administration building by maintenance crew leader Roy Sims and Tommy Kaderka.
Parish Plant employee Lester Miller served as deejay for the event, warming up the crowd with tunes such as "Celebration" and "I Feel Good."
Fellow employee Raul "Mr. Trick" Padilla performed a variety of impressive magic tricks, including causing 45 rpm records to change color, floating a $1 bill and popping a balloon to reveal a white dove inside.
Parish employee Kenneth Carroll introduced each speaker, and also recognized special guests such as Fort Bend County Precinct 1 Commissioner Tom Stavinoha, Thompsons Mayor Freddie Newsome, Rosenberg-Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce President Gail Parker and a group of Parish Plant retirees.
The plant was originally known as Smithers Lake Plant, and was renamed in 1958 in honor of past Houston Lighting and Power Company President Walter Alvin Parish.
It is located on a 4,880-acre site near Thompsons, and includes four gas-fired generators, four coal-fired generators and one gas-turbine generator with a total capability of generating 3,653 megawatts of electricity.
The first of the gas-fired units began operations in June, 1958, and the first of the coal-fired units became operational in December, 1977.
The plant, which is the largest fossil-fueled plant in America, has been declared "among the cleanest" of its kind in the country by Power magazine, which said the plant has reduced its NOx levels to "microscopic levels."
OSHA's VPP Star Award program promotes effective worksite-based safety and health. The earning of a Star Award and acceptance into the VPP program is OSHA's official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and
employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and
Niagra-Mohawk Threatens use of Strikebreakers Against IBEW Local 97 (Syracuse NY)
UNION: THUMBS DOWN ON NIMO OFFER
By SEAN TREACY, Staff Writer
OSWEGO -- After meeting late into Wednesday morning with Niagara Mohawk, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97 contract negotiating committee is unanimously recommending its members reject the company's final contract offer.
Union members have been meeting across upstate New York the past week voting on whether to allow union leaders to strike. Oswego County employees met at the American Foundry in Oswego Wednesday for that purpose and votes will be tabulated in Syracuse today.
Both organizations paint a different view of the final offered contract.
According to an IBEW release, the contract "significantly reduces" current benefit levels, including short- and long-term disability, reduction of future pension increases and fails to "resolve the inequity" between transition group and non-transition group employees.
Union leadership also asserts the company's contract offer doesn't detail plans to eliminate specific departments or contract out bargaining unit work.
A Niagara Mohawk release says its plan provides employees with an average annual salary of $57,000 with an average $1,200 signing bonus, $3,400 in wage increases and "bonus opportunities" of $3,700 over the 30-month term of the contract.
The offer, the company said, also includes "layoff protections" and an "overall enhancement" to the benefit package.
Niagara Mohawk, based out of Syracuse, is an energy distributor and subsidiary of National Grid, which is based out of London, England.
According to Niagara Mohawk's Web site, the power company provides electric service to approximately 1.5 million customers and natural gas service to approximately 540,000 customers in upstate New York.
Niagara Mohawk used to generate power through its ownership of Nine Mile Point One and Two nuclear power plants in Scriba, but it sold both plants to Maryland-based Constellation Energy in 2000. Niagara Mohawk and National Grid completed their merger in 2002.
The union has existed in its current state since 1994 when 12 unions representing Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. workers merged together. According to their union office in Syracuse, Niagara Mohawk workers have never gone on strike.
The company has said it is prepared to operate without union workers if it has to.
By SEAN TREACY, Staff Writer
OSWEGO -- After meeting late into Wednesday morning with Niagara Mohawk, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97 contract negotiating committee is unanimously recommending its members reject the company's final contract offer.
Union members have been meeting across upstate New York the past week voting on whether to allow union leaders to strike. Oswego County employees met at the American Foundry in Oswego Wednesday for that purpose and votes will be tabulated in Syracuse today.
Both organizations paint a different view of the final offered contract.
According to an IBEW release, the contract "significantly reduces" current benefit levels, including short- and long-term disability, reduction of future pension increases and fails to "resolve the inequity" between transition group and non-transition group employees.
Union leadership also asserts the company's contract offer doesn't detail plans to eliminate specific departments or contract out bargaining unit work.
A Niagara Mohawk release says its plan provides employees with an average annual salary of $57,000 with an average $1,200 signing bonus, $3,400 in wage increases and "bonus opportunities" of $3,700 over the 30-month term of the contract.
The offer, the company said, also includes "layoff protections" and an "overall enhancement" to the benefit package.
Niagara Mohawk, based out of Syracuse, is an energy distributor and subsidiary of National Grid, which is based out of London, England.
According to Niagara Mohawk's Web site, the power company provides electric service to approximately 1.5 million customers and natural gas service to approximately 540,000 customers in upstate New York.
Niagara Mohawk used to generate power through its ownership of Nine Mile Point One and Two nuclear power plants in Scriba, but it sold both plants to Maryland-based Constellation Energy in 2000. Niagara Mohawk and National Grid completed their merger in 2002.
The union has existed in its current state since 1994 when 12 unions representing Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. workers merged together. According to their union office in Syracuse, Niagara Mohawk workers have never gone on strike.
The company has said it is prepared to operate without union workers if it has to.
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