Politics & Government

Con Ed Union Pleads For State to Intervene in Labor Dispute

Worker lock-out due to pension plan dispute now more than a week old.

Con Edison’s biggest union, the Utility Workers Union of America, is asking the state to intervene in the lock-out of thousands of field workers that has gone on since July 1, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a petition filed Wednesday with the New York Public Service Commission, the union stated that Con-Ed has been unable to provide adequate service with 5,000 managers currently covering the work of 8,500 union employees, says the article.

"Con Ed has a public responsibility to be fully prepared to provide the services it sells," said John Melia, spokesman for Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America.

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The petition also asks the commission to investigate .

Con Ed spokesman Allan Drury told WSJ that "between management employees and contractors, we are able to fill our staffing needs for emergency calls and outages," while adding that transformer and manhole inspections are continuing.

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The utility has been under pressure from elected officials to resolve the dispute, which centers on changes to pension plans for new hires, with Council Speaker Christine Quinn this week urging the company to continue negotiations without a lock-out.

"Let me be clear, your actions do not have my support," Quinn wrote. "The public's safety, which is the paramount issue, remains at risk."


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