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11/3/12
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4669 views
Much a DU about nothing
Union didn’t tell Decatur’s storm workers to scram, but there were concerns about barriers to non-union crew
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Decatur Utilities called several workers back from a trip to assist in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, but not because any union asked them to leave, DU General Manager Ray Hardin said Friday.
DU did have questions about whether its workers would have to affiliate with a union to participate in relief work and that factored into the decision to abort the trip, Hardin said.
A Huntsville television station’s report Thursday quoted a DU worker on the relief trip saying crews in New Jersey told the Decatur crew it wouldn’t be allowed to work because of its non-union status.
That report went viral, and Hardin even was interviewed on television by Fox Business.
But at a Friday afternoon news conference Hardin distanced DU from the union issue.
“At no time were our crews ever turned away,” Hardin said. “We have not had any direct contact with any union representation whatsoever.”
Union: DU who?
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — the union identified in the TV report as turning DU workers away — said it never had contact with DU or its employees.
“It is the policy of this union and the companies we represent to welcome assistance during major natural disasters, regardless of union status,” IBEW International President Ed Hill said Friday.
Hardin said he was surprised at the media coverage.
‘Logistics issue’
“I think an issue like this can be sensationalized and blown out a little bit because it’s election time,” Hardin said. “Union versus nonunion makes a lot of headlines, but it’s really not that issue at all. It was a logistics issue for us, trying to be sure we had a place for our folks to help out.”
The six crew members left Decatur on Wednesday and spent the night in Virginia. Their intended destination was Seaside Heights, N.J., but Hardin said DU managers struggled to contact officials in the town because of disrupted communications.
“Once we were finally able to get some information from them, we learned they may have enough help and didn’t need us anymore,” Hardin said.
Hardin said he does not know what utility provides power to Seaside Heights or whether it is unionized.
While the DU crew was in a staging area in Virginia waiting to see if its help was needed, an Alabama association of municipal electric companies — not affiliated with any union — provided DU with a 31-page contract. The contract, dated April 2011, is between a local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and a contractor. It does not reference DU or natural disasters.
The Montgomery-based Electric Cities of Alabama told DU officials they “may need to be looking at some documentation and requirements that may be placed on our employees,” Hardin said.
Hardin said he had some concerns about the document provided by Electric Cities.
“This was at the end of the day, so our folks had been stalled and not been able to proceed working at all that day,” Hardin said. “We made the decision late (Thursday) night to go ahead and bring our crews home.”
Hardin said his understanding from Electric Cities was that DU crews would have to affiliate with unions to work.
Electric Cities officials did not immediately return calls Friday.
DU issued a press release Friday morning stating “crews were held in place pending clarification of documents received from IBEW.”
“It was and continues to be our understanding that agreeing to those requirements was a condition of being allowed to work in those areas,” according to the DU press release.
Jerry Keenum, business director of the Alabama district of IBEW, said no there are no union requirements that would have prevented DU workers from assisting. He said the rush of linesmen to New England, combined with weather issues, was the only reason some workers were not able to help.
“This is not, in my view, a union versus nonunion issue,” Hardin said. “It’s more of a logistics issue, of us being able to get the right information at the right time. I understand there are many nonunion work forces all through the region helping with the restoration, and as far as I know they are working alongside other union forces without issues.”
Huntsville Utilities, which is not unionized, has crews working in Long Island, N.Y. Diversified Services of Hartselle, which is not unionized, has about 300 workers helping in the recovery.
“I’m surprised it’s turned into such a national attention-getter,” Hardin said.
Joe Wheeler
George Kitchens, manager of Trinity-based Joe Wheeler Electric Corp., said he spent much of Friday being interviewed by national media figures from New York to San Francisco. According to the original story, republished on numerous Internet sites, Joe Wheeler employees also were turned back by unions.
In fact, Kitchens said, his crew went to Maryland last Saturday, completed its work without any problems, and has since returned.
“This is a huge story up in the storm area,” Kitchens said. “We had one investor-owned utility call us (Friday) to say that if we wanted to work up there, they’d welcome us with open arms.”
IBEW’s Hill said in a statement he was frustrated by the story.
“It is unfortunate that at a time when skilled line workers are working around the clock to help devastated communities, sketchy reports should cast a pall over these efforts,” Hill said. “The real story is that our members and others are working side by side to help people in New Jersey and all affected states get their power back and recover from the effects of the storm.”
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I thought Obama was going to cut the red tape?
The only "red tape" in this was created by WAFF 48 and their erroneous reporting. Their article on their webpage was truly journalism at it's worst, and I won't watch their news or read their website again.
Sad part is these men could have done so much good.....It had to be someone from Al. who got into a pissing contest....
Hey John you intentionally ignorant redneck. Stop trying to lie to people. The only red tape is from idiots like you. You think the president of the United States has time to deal with every bunch of linemen that get bad information. I hope you're senile and not this @"&"&"$$" dumb.
Nice spin, Flyswatter ... it's a good thing that DD isn't our sole source of news.
FL utility crewmen said they were turned away for the same reason, refusal to sign an IBEW agreement.
"A Central Florida utility lineman who insisted on remaining anonymous told TheDC in a phone interview Friday that his 12-person crew waited ”all day yesterday” for their bosses to sort through the IBEW’s demands.
“It was like, ‘What’s the hold up?’ he said. “It turns out there was a 300-page contract that the union controlling LIPA [the Long Island Power Authority] wanted everybody to sign first. We don’t have time for that. We’ve got guys ready to go. You need lawyers for this.”
“Get this,” he added: “Because we’re not union [members] — their pay scale is about $47 per hour while ours is about $35 — the union’s problem was that we didn’t make enough money and that my company supposedly had to pay us union scale to participate.”
“We were like, ‘We’re not complaining about money. You can pay us less. We don’t care. Just let us go up there. Two days later, we’re still sitting here.”
“I don’t care if you pay me $5 an hour right now,” the utility worker said. “Would you let us go up there and help? This is bull! We’re good at what we do. Let us do it. This isn’t about money. It’s about helping people who need help.”
http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/02/ala-utility-florida-crewman-blame-electrical-union-for-interfering-with-hurricane-sandy-relief-video/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Georgia power crew turned away from New York for refusing to join union
A business coordinator at a power company in western Georgia told The Daily Caller Friday afternoon that workers from his electric-utility employer were not permitted to help restore power to New York consumers because they would not join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
The revelation comes on the heels of similar stories TheDC has reported about power crews from Alabama and Florida who volunteered to fix downed power lines after Hurricane Sandy left millions in the Northeastern United States in the dark this week.
“We’re not a large utility, so we were only able to send up two or three crews,” Glenn Cunningham, a business continuity coordinator with Diverse Power in LaGrange, Georgia, said in a phone interview.
“They worked in Maryland, and they went up to New York, and when they got up there it was, ‘out come the union papers.’”
“And our guys were like, ‘Hey, we’re not joining nothing. We came up to help, but if you don’t want it, that’s fine.’ So they turned around and drove all the way back here to Georgia.”
http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/02/theres-more-georgia-power-crew-turned-away-from-sandy-stricken-new-york-for-refusing-to-join-union/
why is DU and the DD soft soaping this? Who paid for the fuel to get them there who paid their salaries? Even if there was no salary involved (and there was) and fuel was free someone wasted the time of good peoples lives when there is no doubt they could have been efficiently used. When FEMA blew it in New Orleans they are, with the Presidents OK (because of Union contribution loyalty) blew it again. How many others we have not heard of were sent home as well? Remember the election is Tuesday and no news is good news for Obama.
Other are utility companies were able to go there an be effective with their skills of the trade. Because of poor leadership, albeit here or in the field, DU did not. They should have pushed on until they found a place to work. Most of those that is reading this would have.
Hey Rebecca,when people limit their info to msnbc,the daily show,and daily kos is their favorite web site you can't expect much.They're nothing more than useful idiots.
The problem is with the news source and the hate mongers who have nothing better to do than sit on their rear ends and spit poison at Obama. It has nothing to do with union/non-union or Obama. This is a good example of how gullible these people are and why their paranoia continues to rule their everyday life. It keeps them behind locked doors while those who genuinely care about the victims are out helping. Boooooo fear all. Do nothing. Get some sun block; your necks are blistered!
where does the money come from to pay the workers?
once again most of you did not even read the article before typing.
Joe, What are you saying? I can't figure it out.
Ronald the workers will be paid through the utility company for which they are working. If a utility company has a contract with their local union to only use workers from the union, the workers coming up get a (I forget the correct term) temporary union card and probably would have 2 or 3% of their pay (which would still be about double what they make here) go toward union fees. It's not a big deal, and I have no idea why someone wouldn't sign it. It doesn't mean they unionized, it's basically like working through a temporary agency.
Obviously the DU manager thought otherwise, though. I'm not sure what he's afraid of, but I love the ultra conservative, anti-union spin a lot of the news channels are putting on this non-issue. (And many of the reports that are still on Fox News and elsewhere are incorrect, according to the DU statement.
I think DU is trying to keep the unions in question from looking too poorly!
What was the stake of Electric Cities of Alabama in this? What agenda were they following and was this agenda worth sabotaging DU's participation in the relief effort? It would be nice to have more information about this. My suspicion is that the old rule, "Follow the Money" applies.
And @Rebecca: Dailycaller.com? Really? What would expect a right wing site founded by a Dick Cheney crony to print, actual facts? Not even.
WOW! William, must you really resort to such immature namecalling? Truly alot of unnecessary hostility. I didnt read that much into Johns question. Did i miss something? Maybe anger management counseling could be an option for you. Exspecially if you lash out over small things regularly. Its not healthy. It could be deeper issues that make you like that. Good luck wth that. ( i applogize to everyone else here for getting off the subject, however his hostility is concerning.)
willam lives in paradise... you know, where ignorance is bliss........
Pure spin, if you ask me. The truth is, the president DID say he would cut red tape and he DIDN'T. But, I also remember the BIG handout he got from the unions for his campaign. More lies.