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Talks fail; Hydro workers hit picket line

Wages, length of contract said to be issues

By: Aldo Santin

3/10/2009 7:41 AM | Comments: 20

Picketing workers acknowledge honks from passing motorists outside Manitoba Hydro’s yard on Sutherland Avenue Friday.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

Picketing workers acknowledge honks from passing motorists outside Manitoba Hydro’s yard on Sutherland Avenue Friday.

PICKET lines went up at several Manitoba Hydro facilities across Winnipeg and the province Friday night, after talks broke down between the utility and one of its unions.

The strike affects about 3,000 mem­bers of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034 -- linemen, truck drivers, meter techni­cians, mechanics and welders.

"Hopefully this will not be very long but no talks are scheduled," Lauris Kleven, business manager for Local 2034, said Friday night while walk­ing the picket line at the hydro yard in Point Douglas at 35 Sutherland Ave.

Hydro president Bob Brennan told media earlier in the day that the union's demands exceeded what the utility's customers can afford to pay.

The main issues have only been de­scribed as wages and contract length.

Kleven refused to detail the union's bargaining issues, but added that Hy­dro had offered the members a four­year contract with a wage increase of two per cent in the first year, zero in the second and a cost-of-living formula with a cap for the remaining two years. Workers had rejected that offer.

In an email to employees Friday, Bren­nan said he respected the right of Local 2034 members to strike and thanked non­striking staff for their co-operation.

"I respect the rights of IBEW and its members to take this action," Brennan states in his email to staff. "I remain hopeful that the strike will be short."

This is the first strike in Local 2034's 50-year history.

The striking workers can be seen briefly by motorists travelling on the northbound curb lane of the Disraeli Freeway.

Other pickets were to be set up at Hy­dro facilities on Waverley Street and Hemlow Bay. Twenty-four-hour pickets will be set up at Hydro's dispatch cen­tre on Grant Avenue and at its system control building at 453 Dovercourt Dr.

Late Friday night, Local 2034 an­nounced on its website that it would stage an hour-long picket at Hydro's new downtown headquarters on Por­tage Avenue at 2 p.m. today.

Hydro spokesman Glen Schneider said most customers will not be af­fected by the strike, adding the utility is also hoping it can avoid any weather­related disruptions. Schneider said some managers are being re-certified for maintenance work but added it's not believed they can provide the same level of service.

Hydro is also negotiating with two others unions in strike positions.

A spokesman for CEP Local 681, which represents the utility's natural gas operations, said its 235 members will not cross an IBEW picket line.

Jim Dixon, a CEP national repre­sentative, said Hydro has not asked CEP members to cross the IBEW picket line. Dixon said CEP members share a com­mon works yard with the IBEW mem­bers, where their trucks, equipment and tools are located. However, he said that CEP has made arrangements with the utility so that CEP members can be dis­patched from their homes without hav­ing to cross the IBEW picket line.

"We are in a legal strike position," Dixon said. "We're in conciliation at 8 a.m. Monday."

Marlene Kuleza, president of CUPE Local 998, which represents about 1,200 clerical workers and IT staff, said it's entering conciliation Oct. 5 but had not yet decided whether its members will cross the IBEW picket line.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

Union and issues

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034

Represents 3,000 workers, including metering technicians, building operators, storekeepers, truck drivers, mechanics, weld­ers, linemen and lab technicians.

Went out on strike at 6 p.m. Friday.

Work affected: Hydro says the flow of electricity to customers is not expected to be affected.

Lengthy delays can be expected for street light repairs and repair of distribution equipment.

New home connection will not occur during the strike.

Negotiation Issues: Dispute over wage demands and Hydro's insistence on a four-year contract.

Communication Energy Paper­workers Local 681 Represents 235 workers on Hydro's natural gas operation, including installers, gas-line re­pairs, underground line locators.

Conciliation talks set for Oct. 5, but in a legal strike position now. CEP said its workers will not cross the IBEW picket line, but the energy union is making ar­rangements to have its members dispatched from home if Hydro agrees.

Work affected: Gas line repairs, hookups for new homes, underground line location.

Negotiation issues: Wages.

Canadian Union of Public Em­ployees Local 998

Represents 1,200 workers involved in clerical work and information technology.

Conciliation talks set for Oct. 5, but in a legal strike position now. Local 998 had not yet decided if it would follow CEP and prohibit its members from crossing IBEW picket lines.

Negotiation issues: Wages.

 

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20 Commentscomment icon

"Maybe he should also look at his own salary and bonuses before attacking the front line workers union!"

Yeah! Why is it that the VP's and CEO's of these companies are making six, sometimes seven figure salaries and get thousands upon thousands of bonunes, yet cannot "afford" pay raises for the front line workers?

What a bunch of BS!! There's something wrong with that picture!

It's the front line workers that absolutely DESERVE the salary increases AND bonuses.

Beep! Honk! You have my support Striking Employees! Go get 'em!

After you get done with University,do you expect a good wage? And then after three of years of Gas hikes,Groceries,taxes,water bills,housing and all the other things that continue to go up in price,do so. Are you going to say. I'll just go back to school and then get a new job. Or are you going to expect a certain amount of financial compensation for your years of service. People work to provide for the future. All I ask is that you stop and think about how you would feel in 7 years after you have an education and get told no to your requests for a raise.

I have worked for Manitoba Hydro for 28 yrs and I have never seen the morale so low in all my years with this company. First Gary Doer forced Man Hydro to build a brand new head office downtown to the tune of $300 Million dollars when they were forced to buy out Winnipeg Hydro. He then basically stole $10 million from Hydro's rainy day fund a couple of yrs ago to cover up his overspending.

And now Hydro cannot afford to give there well deserved employees a raise. This is nothing but BS,

avatar

@Breezer:
SO disrespectful.
I'm not denying that you didn't make a huge contribution to your community while in service.....but you have NO IDEA how difficult it is to raise a family financially today. Everything's going up - except wages. These are employees who have an opportunity to do something about that - and they are. More power to them.
PS - You're retired? I take it on a pension? That's something many - even unionized - employees don't have the luxury of in this day & age. So many from YOUR generation have no idea how good they had it.

To R Galston: A lot of our employees that are on strike ARE attending university. Our lineman and electrical technicians are seriously underpaid for the hazards that they deal with on a day-to-day basis.

I'd like to see any of you opposing the strike go out and do the things that Hydro workers do.

Stop taking the utility service for granted. The province needs Hydro.

breezer,,,its not about you and your past job,,,its about hydros current status,,if your union(if you had one)needed you to stick by your group,i'm sure you would have been doing the same thing the hydro employees are,,,all jobe are different and we cannot compare everyones job to one another,,,good luck hydro employees,,and lets hope the power stays on!!

@Hydrowife
Cry me a river.

I retired after 30 years of being a fire fighter, I too worked during rain storms, snow storms, frozen to the bone etc. not once did I say no to people like YOU who needed my help. You didn't see me denying you any service. Unions had there place at one time, now they are nothing but a pain in the a$%.

For those of you who know nothing about the situation understand this. We don't have a choice about paying union dues, we don't all agree with what has happened and those who don't can't go back to work because we have in essence been LOCKED OUT! Why doesn't someone in the Press ask Union Leader/Premier Gary Doer if that's the legacy he is leaving for us as he jets off south!

Let Manitoba hydro be run like any other large corp - keep the pay raises inline with acceptable levels and get rid of the excess labor overages.
There is no doubt that Manitoba hydro employees provide an excellent service to their customers - US - but at what price -
Watching the hydro vehicles run up and down the highway with one person in them - the extra staff standing around at the hydro dams - the unending parade of engineers in the new building raises the question - -
is Manitoba hydro a labor efficiently run corp,
Let the new NDP leader candidates prove to Manitoba which one it is - by relaxing the controls on the access to information act.

Go Union!! I completely support their right to strike and the reasons why.

MB Hydro is about as useful as a f**t in a spacesuit when it comes to making fair financial decisions. (Edited)

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