Jul 2, 2008 1:51 am US/Eastern
Con Ed, Union Work For Deal Past Deadline
Utility Says Power Will Stay On Even In The Event Of Strike
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Talks are heating up again between Consolidated Edison workers and its unionized workers, but the big question is will the workers strike a deal or just strike come midnight? (File)
AP
Contract talks between Consolidated Edison and the union representing nearly 9,000 of the utility's workers were continuing Wednesday morning as a deadline for a possible strike passed without any resolution, a spokesman for the utility said.
"Both sides have agreed to stop the clock and work past midnight," said Con Edison spokesman Michael Clendenin as the 11:59 p.m. Tuesday deadline passed.
Thousands of Con Ed workers could be headed for the picket line. That's unless a deal can be reached with the utility and the union representing the workers in the early morning hours on Wednesday. The two sides met unsuccessfully all day Tuesday.
The mood, however, is not good. There were long faces and stooped shoulders outside the Con Ed contract talks on Tuesday night. A spokesman for the union accused the utility of trying to cut the company's pension fund by restructuring the retirement program.
"It's a corporate raid on the workers pension in-house without a hostile takeover," said Joe Flaherty of the Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2. "This is just another manifestation of corporate America raiding the middle class and working poor and taking money out of their pocket and sending it down to Wall Street."
Billions of dollars are at stake in the pension plan, but Con Ed management says it's only one element of the union contract, along with wages and insurance.
"Everything is open to negotiation," Clendenin said. "Everything that's being talked about is open to negotiation. No one single piece is holding this up."
The union last struck 25 years ago. There were 16,000 members then. They are down to 9,000 now. They seem inclined to fight.
"If the war has to start here with the men and women of Local 12 and the employees of Con Edison, then so be it," Flaherty said.
Standing in the heat earlier on Tuesday, Con Ed customers warned them to get a deal done.
"If there's a chance of another blackout, this is definitely not the time, as hot as it was in June and as hot as it'll potentially get for the rest of July," said customer Dennis Latimer.
Added customer Cherrisse Landau: "With everything that went on in Astoria last year, it's tough to sort of side with Con Ed."
She's referring to the Queens blackout that lasted too long even with Con Ed at full strength.
Still, the utility says it has enough experienced managers this year to pick up the slack under normal operating conditions.
"[We have] 4,000 managers ready to step in," Clendenin. "Obviously there's some need to curtail some services such as maintenance, meter reading, personalized phone service. Nobody wants a strike. We'll do everything we can to keep the power flowing. "
The union remains disappointed with their proposed half a percent raise for their 9,000 members, and was preparing a counter-proposal.
"For the CEO of Con Ed to get a 24 percent increase and the managers to get an 8 percent or 15 percent and offer a half percent to the workers is an insult, and if that isn't trying to provoke a strike I don't know what is," Flaherty said.
CBS 2 HD's Magee Hickey contributed to this report.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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