Allegheny Energy, union reach accord
Allegheny Energy Inc. and Local 102 of the Utility Workers Union of America have reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract that would cover the union’s 1,165 members. Ratification votes on the new pact, details of which have not been released pending voting, will be held over the next several weeks, a spokesman for the union said.
“We believe that we have reached a fair agreement that meets the needs of our employees and our company,’ Robert Saunders, Allegheny Energy’s chief negotiator, said.
“This agreement demonstrated our continuing commitment to valuing our employees and providing reliable, low-cost energy with industry-leading service to our customers,’ he added.
“The Local 102 negotiating committee believes that this tentative agreement accomplishes many of the goals the union membership had set,’ William J. Sterner, Local 102 president, said.
“After many months of intense bargaining, this agreement has good provisions to enable both parties to solve long-standing problems,’ Sterner added.
The Utility Workers of American Union Local 102 executive board members from four states will meet to review and approve the agreement. Membership ratification will occur after that.
Safety concerns, hiring practices and other issues were at the heart of negotiations between Allegheny Energy and the Utility Workers of America.
The company and union negotiators met more than 30 times this past year. The two sides, which had gone into federal mediation, have been working on a new contract since before the last one expired in April 2001.
Local 102 has 1,165 members in both the power station and the distribution side of the company in western and central Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and a small portion of Virginia.
Thousands of signs labeling Allegheny Energy as unfair to families, women and the consumer, had also been placed within the four-state region its serves, Sterner said.
Sterner said most of those signs were on customers’ property and not on that of workers.