19 July, 2012IndustriALL affiliate, the Utility Workers Union of America is calling for solidarity after the electric and gas utility company Consolidated Edison locked out 8,500 workers on 1 July 2012.
Utility company Con Edison imposed the lockout as part of its scheme to extract huge bargaining concessions from utility workers. The concessions included demands to eliminate the existing retirement plan for new employees and impose additional healthcare costs on all workers. The utility giant has made these demands despite posting $US1.1 billion in net profits last year.
Negotiations between the company and the locked-out members of the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) have not been promising. IndustriALL affiliate, UWUA have no intention of backing down in the face of the company’s abusive behaviour. On 17 July, a large rally was held at Union Square in Manhattan in support of the locked-out workers. The rally was organized by the state AFL-CIO and the New York City Central Labor Council.
IndustriALL Global Union has written to the CEO of Consolidated Edison calling on him to end the lockout and stating that the concessions being demanded are unacceptable. (See letter here)
Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL General Secretary writes, “I strongly urge you to put an end to the unacceptable lockout at Consolidated Edison. IndustriAll Global Union stands with the UWUA in their demand for a fair and just resolution to this vicious assault on their members.”
To give added solidarity support to the electrical workers, IndustriALL is also using its strength in its mining networks. Vincent Calarco, the non-executive chairman of Newmont Mining, is also a member of the board of directors of New York’s Consolidated Edison. Calarco collected US$495,000 in total compensation in 2011 from Newmont, and an additional US$220,000 from Con Edison. IndustriALL and the UWUA call on workers and trade unions at Newmont Mining to broadly publicize Vincent Calarco’s association with the company. (See letter here)
Send a letter of protest to management and a message of solidarity to workers at UWUA in New York City:
Send protest letter to the management of Con Edison:
Kevin Burke, CEO
Consolidated Edison
Craig Ivey, President
Con Edison Company of New York
Send letters of solidarity to:
UWUA Local 1-2