Some Con Ed Workers Return to Work to Prepare for Storm

-

About half of the 8000 members of the Consolidated Edison union who have been locked out since last month will return to work immediately to help the utility prepare for coming severe storms and deal with emergencies, the union said Thursday.

Gov. Cuomo met with the leadership of Con Ed and Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers of America Thursday morning, and the two sides agreed that the "necessary personnel will immediately return to work to prepare for the possibility of an approaching storm and will remain on the job for the duration of any emergency and any following repairs," Cuomo said in a statement.

Severe thunderstorms are expected this afternoon.

John Melia of Local 1-2 of the utility workers union said its entire electrical operations work force will go back to work Thursday.

The two sides will continue negotiating to reach a contract, Cuomo said. Neither side has indicated any real progress since workers were locked out June 30 after their contract expired.

Wednesday, both sides testified before state Assembly members about safety issues since Con Ed began using managers and retired workers to fill in for the locked-out union members. Also on Wednesday, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said he launched an investigation into whether consumers were being overcharged because the utility was relying on usage estimates, rather than meter-reading.

In a statement Thursday, Con Ed said they applauded the governor's "support and leadership for doing what's in the best interest of all New Yorkers."

NBC NY

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Huge Japan Quake Cracked Open Seafloor

-
The March 2011 megaquake off the coast of Japan opened up fissures as wide as 6 feet (3 meters) in the seafloor, a new study finds. The fissures now scar the seafloor where peaceful clam beds once lay, according to Takeshi Tsuji, a researcher at Kyoto University in Japan . Along with seismic studies, the fissures, revealed by manned submersible vehicles that investigated the seafloor after the quake, show how the crust around the quake's epicenter expanded and cracked.
Read more

Index for a million documents on Polish Jewry to go online

-
Researchers of Polish Jewry are set to gain online access to more than 1 million new documents following an agreement signed by the Polish State Archives. Under the agreement signed last week, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland will receive indices to the documents from the Polish archives authority and place them on the website of the online database within one year, a JRI-Poland statement read.
Read more

A lot of the bread in the US will no longer be kosher

-
The largest baking company in the United States will be removing kosher certification from nearly all of its bread and rolls. Bimbo Bakeries USA confirmed to JTA that it will be removing the certification. The company produces brands including Arnold, Sara Lee, Stroehmann, Freihofer’s and others. Two of its major brands, Entenmann’s and Thomas, will remain certified kosher. So, kosher eaters, your crumb doughnuts and English muffins are still safe. A couple of rye breads also will retain their certifications. “Removing the kosher certification from some of our products was strictly a business-process decision to enable more efficient operations, and it was one we did not make lightly,” Bimbo said in a statement. “Thomas’ and Entenmann’s products as well as Arnold’s and Levy’s Rye Breads will remain kosher-certified. It is important to note that we have heard our consumers’ concerns and are working with kosher certification organizations and discussing alternative solutions.” The c
Read more