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Subscribe to RSSNew York power utility Consolidated Edison Inc locked out its unionized workers early on Sunday after contract talks broke down, both sides said, raising the possibility of power cuts during a summer heat wave.
The company asked to extend negotiations for two more weeks, it said, but the union, which had threatened a strike, refused. In response, the firm told union members not to report for work on Sunday.
Reuters reported that the action increased the risk of power outages if a continuing heat wave puts extra strain on the electrical grid for New York City and suburban Westchester county.
However, a utility official told the New York Daily News that customers should not expect to see any adverse effects.
"Both sides are far apart," said company spokesman Mike Clendenon. "We asked the union to extend the talks for two weeks but they refused."
"We can't operate the system reliably for customers if the union can still call a strike at a moment's notice," he said.
He did not use the term "lockout" but said the company notified unionized workers not to report for work. ConEd managers have been specially trained to handle emergency or maintenance work, he said.
John Melia, a spokesman for the Utilities Workers Union of America (UWUA) said that as of 2 a.m. Sunday (EDT) its 8,500 ConEd power workers were locked out.
"ConEd took the extreme measure of locking out its unionized workforce putting the city of New York and Westchester county in peril during a heat wave."
The lockout came as the summer's second heat wave hit the city of over 8 million people, with stifling temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), raising demand for power to operate air conditioners.
Both sides continued talking for over an hour after the midnight Saturday deadline expired, but failed to reach a settlement over a new contract for the company's unionized workers. A major sticking point in the contract was ConEd's plan to phase out defined pensions.
The union membership had authorized its leaders to call a strike at midnight on Saturday, when the collective bargaining agreement expired. A similar strike in 1983 lasted nine weeks, while a blackout in July 1977 - caused not by labor action but by lightning strikes - resulted in looting and civil disorder in the largest U.S. city.
As the deadline approached, 200-300 union members staged a rally in downtown Manhattan, chanting "If we go out, the lights go out."
Tony Ballone, a union delegate, told Reuters the main issues were pensions, wages and health care. "They (ConEd) want to take everything we have fought for 50 years."
"We're the first responders, we come out in rain and snow, we keep the lights on. All we want is a fair contract," he said.
With Con Edison workers locked out, company managers are left to fix whatever problems arise as New Yorkers crank up their air conditioners.
The utility had only just returned power to Brooklyn and other areas of the city blacked out in a heat wave 10 days ago. Still, with the lockout coming over a weekend, when many businesses in Manhattan are typically closed, demand for power will be lower than a weekday.
That would lessen the risk the utility will have to reduce voltage, commonly called a brown out, as the utility was forced to do last week in Brooklyn and Queens.
Still, the UWUA union stressed that without its skilled workers, the Big Apple could be facing outages if a deal is not agreed. Con Ed has 13,000 employees including union members.
Temperatures in New York City were expected to reach 92 degrees on Sunday and 90 degrees on Monday before slipping into the 80s on Tuesday before the Fourth of July holiday, according to AccuWeather.com. The normal high for this time of year is 83 degrees.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Unions now = socialism
No companies that would love to pay all their employee's 12.00 no matter what their job = socialism
You need a crash course in definitions
Definition of SOCIALISM
1
: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2
a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3
: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional betweencapitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
tracy, was you born stupid, or just refused to learn while in school? If you like your 40 hr work week, thank the unions, if you like paid holidays, thank the unions, if you like safe working conditions, thank the unions, if you like a livable wage, thank the unions.
Need I say more tracy? That is exactly why I mentioned you and stupid in the same sentence.
I hope you choke on your hammer and sickle flag when you trip over it.
I guess there are a lot of people out there who want to pay a lot more for electricity. The key issue for the people is that the poor may not be able to afford power. The recent EPA rulings shutting down coal production will already cause a major rate increase. Any acceleration in wages and benefits could put the poor out on the street. But, some people don't care about the poor and the middle class and prefer to let labor unions destroy them.
Most plants are and have switched to less costly natural gas........but I sure didn't see my rates get cheaper.
Jamie, are you as dumb as tracy about unions? Sure seems like it. You can thank the unions for creating the middle class, and you can thank the corporations for creating the poor class. Also, the poor class can also thank themselves for not wanting to try and get ahead in life. Sitting your on your rear and saying "youse owes me." doesn't cut the mustard. Get a frigging job, live within your means, save and invest, you will become middle class.
There goes my electric bill. I thought being 70+ years old would be better than this.
1st responders chant is a great one. I don't care what their job is, they are in for the money. If they weren't paid they would not do it. Start volunteering, work for nothing then you can put your self on a pedestal above others.
The union threatened to strike but then is now upset when the company tells them not to report for work. Seriously - what is the difference? Either way, union workers are not at work. I guess the difference is the union didn't get to make the decision and are upste by that.
I haven't had a raise in four years. During that time, all my expenses have increased. Health insurance, utilities, gas, etc. I sympathize with everyone in the same situation I am in. So, union members, don't make it even more difficult for me to make ends meet by wanting everything you want which will make my expenses go up. I really have no sympathy for your situation when what you want hurts me.
@justmyturn, are you sure they are after more money, or more benefits? How big of a raise did the CEO get, along with his buddies? Maybe the union wants a small slice of that bonus or raise the CEO got. What makes you think the union members got a payraise last year?
Without unions, you would not have had a raise since you went to work, so please quit crying.
Why don't you stop crying about what others get paid. class envy
Justmyturn, I'm a Union member please don't think for one minute that union members haven't experienced the same thing, Basically our latest contract is going backwards, we really wont see any increase in wages in 5 years, healthcare, pension etc ate all that up, And with the cost of living going up in every sector we will overall take a 15% decline over the next 5 years. So don't think that all sectors are living the high life, we are all suffering, and unfortunate for those who didn't fight for what they have or have collective bargaining of some sort that are totally getting screwed over by companies reorganizing and cutting their employees and retirees benefits and pensions.
I work for government but I am not part of a union. A union has never done anything for me at work. I understand that economic times are tough, and that my neighbors and friends (taxpayers) pay my salary. I understand that the average person is hurting right now. I go to work with a smile on my face every day because I love what I do and I want to provide the best service possible to those who pay my salary. I resent those who threaten the rest of us that if they don't get what they want, then they will make us (the average person) suffer. That is what this union is doing. They are acting like children - if I don't get my way, I will take my toys and go home, and I don't care who I hurt. So, go back to the negotiating table and work something out so that the rest of us don't suffer.
Union members are like leaches.
Unions should be out lawed
Your funny, now put your crack pipe down and remember your not suppose to let the mushrooms dry out totally
Tracy957476 I've been reading your other post....are you Bi-polar? Your flipping more than Mitt Romney LMAO
I think that union members should send me some of their money. They get paid a lot more than I do, they should help me live like they do.
If you would have said that 15 years ago I might have felt a little guilty but I promise you I'm not living any better off than you overall, I don't even want to compare 15 years ago to today, its depressing at best
I think their should be a government run union and do away with all the union groups. Their should be a universal union that everybody can join.
Unions are thugs! Not union workers,though ,im sure ,some exist! In the 1920-30's the union were in the fore front of securing labor,union and non union,certain rights and benefits.But since the 1980's unions have gotten terrible greedy and their progress has been at the expence of most other Americans> The UAW is a good example.The just awarded each union worker a $14000 bonus.This is still at the time when not one dime has been repaid of the money borrowed to keep them alive.Non union workers didn't fair as well.Matter of fact,when it came time to close secondary factories in the GM stables,most of the factories closed were non unionized plants even they thhey had historically out proformed the unionized plants.Since the UAW controls 42% of GM board of directors one could easily suemise,the unions were the responisble parties for bothe the bonuses and plant closures! Just greed! That's all it's about!
And GM not putting out a quality product to compete with foreign car companies didn't have anything to do with it? But as a union member I will give you this, the UAW did some MAJOR stupid decisions during their always taking and they have learned a HUGE lesson about collective bargaining , but UAW didn't design the car, US car companies did not put out a good product to compete with the foreign car markets so their is blame on both sides for what happened and anyway Labor is only about 10% of that cars price just an fyi. And when you figure in the 64 % overhead after labor that's looking more and more that they were extremely top heavy
April 2011
The top 30 highest paid union leaders in Rhode Island received a total of $4.4
million in compensation with nearly half of them making about $200,000 or more,
according to a GoLocalProv review of IRS reports.
and the highest paid leader or CEO was David Simon of Simon Property Group at $137 million , up 458% and you want to bitch about 30 union leaders that made 4.4 million
The Center for Public
Integrity found compensation for leaders of the 10 largest unions ranged
from $173,000 at the United Auto Workers to $618,000 at the Laborers'
International Union of North America, and almost $480,000 for the president of
the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees.
And the top CEO (leader) management for JP Morgan and other organizations compensation made how much last year, 22 million plus, don't even go there
SallyAnn! What you are talking about are apples and oranges.The "management" is paid by its proformance in turning a profit!your's is based on your turning a wrench! Both are mutually exclusive!
If management does a bad job they are out of a job. Union member does a bad job they get a paid vacation.
For example, Marty Beil, executive director of American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME )Council 24 SEPAC, made $161,847 in 2008
according to the organization’s Form 990.
sept 2011
Every month, Thomas Villanova gets a
$9,000 reminder of how lucrative it can be to serve as a union leader in
Chicago.
The sum is part of a city pension that
comes on top of the $198,000 annual salary he is paid to represent the interests
of thousands of city workers.
sept 2011
Villanova last worked for the city in 1989
as an electrical mechanic with the Department of Streets and Sanitation, making
about $40,000 a year. Yet in 2008 he was allowed to retire at age
56 with a $108,000 city pension. That's because, under a little-known state law,
his pension was based not on his city paycheck but on his much higher union
salary.
Key word there is STATE law, what does that have to do with the Union..... and do you know that some of that was tied to contributions he made and Chicago matched????? Do your research people, So he's retired from the city (drawing a pension) after how many years? if he went to work at age 18 for the city and retired at 56 that's 38 years on the job I hope I can retire after doing what I do for 38 years that's a long time and is a labor leader now (drawing a salary) I still not seeing your beef.
Now just 58, Villanova stands to collect approximately $3 million from the
city's municipal pension fund during his lifetime, according to a Tribune/WGN-TV
analysis based on the fund's actuarial assumptions.
I always hear how Unions are the biggest problem these companies face. I've worked at a union Company for 30 years and both the Union and the Company have been fantastic to me. I do my job and do it well. I don't cause unnecessary problems. There are good and bad things about Unions just as there is with any organization. I've been in grievances where I was forced to defend someone who was told they would be disciplined for something, got disciplined for it when they did it, then acted shocked when I asked what they think I could do to defend them. I've also been able to defend people who were punished for actions that were accepted practices yet their immediate supervisor had a well known personal vendetta against that employee. There are just as many unethical and lousy managers at all of these Corporations as there are lazy and entitled workers. I find it amazing how many people get right behind the CEO's and Corporate PR people when they say "Sacrifices have to be made!" When you are a true leader of any group of people and you are asking those people that you lead to make sacrifices, doesn't it make sense that the first question you'd be asked is "What sacrifices are you making?" This country is heading for real problems as the gap between the haves and have-nots grows. When we get to the point where 50 % of our population is below the poverty line because wages and benefits for both union and non union workers are cut I seriously wonder what will happen.
As far as socialism or communism, are unions the socialists or communists because they collectively bargain? Maybe the people who lack certain benefits that union workers have and demand everyone should lack those benefits as well, are the socialists or communists. The latter sounds more like the 5 year old crying that he can't stay up as late as his older brother to me. I think all of these Corporate leaders are laughing all the way to the bank at both sides.
If New York wants to support organized labor thru higher electric costs let them have at it.
So let me get this straight. If the Union is locked out it's a bad thing but if the Union goes on strike it's a good thing? On what planet does that logic work? Why not extend talks for 2 weeks? Why not continue with the old contract? If it was good enough before, why change it now? Greed? In my experience only 1 in 5 union workers is worth a crap. I see it all the time. 4 guys stand around and watch one guy work. Unions had their place, now it's time to tell the union bosses to go earn an honest living.
By Bloomberg
News
Published:
Friday, April 27, 2012, 7:48 p.m.
Updated: Saturday, April
28, 2012
Some leaders of labor unions, who decry the widening differences between the
salaries of corporate chief executive officers and their workers, earn
compensation that also places them in the top 1 percent.
The BGOV Barometer shows the heads of the top 10 labor unions took home
average salary and other compensation of $394,925 last year, according to union
reports filed with the Labor Department. Taxpayers in the top 1 percent had
adjusted gross income higher than $343,927, according to IRS statistics
published in 2011.
First, Tracy, sorry about the truly vicious and stupid "replies". Just because you do not believe in unions does not make you a bad person.
The fact is, though, that unions (historically) have done a lot of good things. Industry abused people horribly. They really did.
Who runs the businesses and companies in this country anyway? It's preposterous to have unionized thugs dictating policy when they are in a win/win situation. They take no risk and expect a percentage every windfall profit a company makes. Greedy, gold-bricking, malcontents. This is not turn of the 20th. century, it is the 21st. century. We need unions like we need more politicians...that is to say, we don't need either. (former unionized robot)
Amen
I am sure you just Love your Job as a "Walmart Door Greeter".
You BetCha.....Fer Sure.
Mitt is about as Real as a Plastic Bananna!
Is it Mitt ____________Romney?
“Country Club”
“Middle Class Warfare”
“Not To Much..Out of Touch”
“Cheap Labor is Our Future”
“Outsourcing is Awesome”
“Profits Over People”
“Corporations are People Too”
“F da Poor”
“Let Detroit go Bankrupt”
“Pray da Gay Away”
Mitt Romney’s Solution to all Problems…….Prayer and a Moment of Silence.
jstdafacts: I seldom respond to personalized comments, but nowhere did I mention Romney or Obama. I simply stated my regard for unions, period. Get your head in the game or get your ass out. This is a battle of wits, and it appears as though you are decidedly, cerebrally unarmed! As your handle might suggest, just stick with the facts, please. Amen.
The nerve! To demand more pay when many people are lucky to have a job! If they are not happy they should leave for something better. If they are as worthy and vital as they claim then there should be other employers out there anxious to pay more to gain their services.
Ok for the sake of argument, their beef is with reduction of benefits and health care, union or not , that's pretty much everyone's beef these days , Hell I've seen Milk go from 1.29 a gallon to 3.68, bread from .99 to 2.04 and that's just 2 items, Are you 100% sure that they are not just trying to maintain what they already have with no increases?
For the life of me I don't get why the question is never asked to the CEO's and Corporate pr people who spew out anti-union nonsense "What sacrifices are you making?" You call Unions socialists because of collective bargaining. What about the inappropriate tax-breaks given by communities to businesses that promise jobs, jobs, and more jobs, only to find out that those jobs pay 10$/hr? Then the people who live in those communities get their taxes increased to pay for the infrastructure needed to help those businesses, from roads to increased police & fire and all of the other things that are needed to protect those businesses. THAT sounds more like socialism to me than a group of employees at a private sector company agreeing to have a union collective bargain a contract with that company. How is it that people who lack benefits can look over at union employees and want those union members to lose the increased benefits they enjoy just because they don't have them? Isn't that socialism? This country is in serious trouble if we just keep blindly believing these business leaders want what is good for our country. They want what will put more $ in their dividend check and nothing else. There isn't any thing wrong with wanting to make more $, just please spare me the idea that these companies and their CEO's have the moral high ground or this Country's best interests at heart. The Democrats and Republicans all trip over themselves to grab at the crumbs (campaign funds) these people offer, from CEO's and unions alike. I personally think if we could send the religious zealot 20% on the extreme right and the flaky liberal 20% on the left to an island to argue with each other, the rest of us could come up with some fixes that take the interests of the rest of us equally into account.
I worked briefly(thank God) for the UAW and the AFL-CIO and if you want your company to get NOTHING DONE, then I would highly recommend having those unions in your company. Half those idiots run to the parking lot for 1st break to have a beer and smoke some pot. They were good at partying though......
But don't judge all unions off the UAW, there is bad in all organizations and as a Union member the UAW is on the top of my bad list. That's more on the lines of what not to do as a Union.
Your brave assault on the paper tiger of largely dismantled unions just doesn't stand up under scrutiny.
The UAW still prevails at GM; only the management team was axed.
If unions are so horrible, and the workers so inept, just how do you account for the FACT that GM is now making great strides forwards in a very difficult market?
I'm not even going to bother to address the benighted ignoramus who thinks drinking beer and smoking marijuana are things you can survive doing on an assembly line where one false move can cost you an arm.
Because most of the precise work is done by robots. The workers just screw the sub assemblies together. A 12 year old could do it.
all gourd:
Ever hear of piss tests applied randomly and without notice? You may have worked at one time when those actions were seen...but that has been a long, long time ago. Perhaps you should have stuck with the union cause your view as described is impossible and impractical.
alghourd,
It would seem you don't fully understand the relationship between the AFL-CIO and other unions. Technically, as a UAW member, you were not a member of the AFL-CIO, your union was and the AFL-CIO is an amalgam of member unions.
If in fact you actually worked for the UAW as an employee, and you don't any longer, it's clear that they are happy to not see you there with your hatred views of what they stand for. However, I find your claim to have worked for them or for any shop related to them, dubious, at best.
By the level of your diplomatic evidenced in your other postings, my finding your claims as dubious is like accusing a drowning man as being wet.