And people wonder why unions are losing in popularity


SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY (WAFF) -

The hurricane-ravaged east coast has been receiving north Alabama help, but crews learned they could not help out in New Jersey unless they affiliated with a union.


A six man crew from Decatur Utilities headed up there this week, but Derrick Moore, one of the Decatur workers, said they were told by crews in New Jersey that they can't do any work there since they're not union employees.

The general manager of Decatur Utilities, Ray Hardin told Fox Business they were presented documents from the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers at a staging area in Virginia. The documents stated they had to affiliate with a union to work, which the crews could not agree to.

Hardin said the crews were not turned away but were made to believe that affiliating with the union was a requirement to work.

As they waited for confirmation on the documents, crews received word that Seaside Heights had received the assistance they needed from other sources.

They attempted to look for work in other areas but because a resolution could not be reached, they made the decision late Thursday night to return home.

Moore said they're frustrated being told "thanks, but no thanks."

Huntsville Utilities said they were not turned away and are in Long Island, New York working.

Joe Wheeler EMC said they did not respond to New Jersey, but did go up to Maryland and headed home once they were done.

Copyright 2012 WAFF. All rights reserved.

If this was volunteer work then that's one thing. If it was paid labor then I see nothing wrong with this. Natural catastrophe or not, union agreements need to be honored. The union I used to be in had an article in their agreement which stated that any work that can be done in house must remain in house and be performed by members of the bargaining unit. This was for good cause because if not for this the union would have no bargaining power knowing that the corrupt-*** company could just lay us off and bring in outside guys or use their own corporate employees to do our work. It's not even completely a matter of money. Agreements are highly detailed documents which outline the working conditions, how employees are to be treated, what the company and the workers can and can not do, etc. This document is reviewed, revised, and voted on by both sides before it is signed and once signed must be abided by. If the company is allowed to get away with violating any part of the agreement then it is a worthless piece of paper and there might as well not even be a union.

So you'd rather see people homeless and without food and water for a PO her period of time?
Good looking out.

PO her? Not sure what you were trying to type. Anyway, as I said, if this was volunteer help then due to the circumstances the union should've dropped the red tape and let them help. However if these were paid contractors trying to work on union soil then it's just a matter of the city or the company trying to capitalize on the situation and bring in cheap labor and I'm glad they didn't get away with it. You mean to tell me that the nearest outfit they could get to come up and work was from Alabama? I find that hard to believe, more likely they were specifically chosen. Of course I don't know all of the specifics and could be wrong. If I'm reading into this correctly though then I stand by everything I said above.

Great, millions of people are without power and water and your concerned with union contracts. That's awesome

Help people with all we got! All this red tape is what got peoples bodies floating down the street in New Orleans. Our brothers and sisters in NY need our help now. I support unions but help is more important, suspend all laws governing help until this passes then return them.We are not worried about unions when some other country needs help.

If they were volunteers, great!

If they were gonna' be paid workers, their Unions will supply labor.

I wonder, was the help going to work for free?

I remember N.O. The illegals got the jobs.

Yeah I know; hurricane, death, destruction, all around bad situation. I get it and I believe I've already addressed this. Apparently nobody is really reading what I wrote so I'm not sure what else to say. Again, I'm sure this isn't the only help that could've been available and I'm sure that they weren't there for any moral, humane purpose. They were there to bend the rules knowing that people would just look at the surface story and say, "You won't let them help, that's despicable." And again I could be wrong. If anyone has further details to support me being wrong or right please provide them, keeping in mind that I'm already aware of the fact that people on the east coast are in bad shape and need help.

Welcome to Mingle2.

http://news.yahoo.com/jersey-town-ala-volunteer-utility-crew-don-t-053500307.html

New Jersey town to Ala. volunteer utility crew: Don’t help with Sandy unless you’re unionized

Utility crews from several states East of the Mississippi River hit the road this week to volunteer their time and talents in Northeastern states hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. But crews from Alabama got the shock of their lives when other workers in a coastal New Jersey town told them they couldn’t lend a hand without a union card.

Derrick Moore, who works for Decatur Utilities in Decatur, Ala., told WAFF-TV in Huntsville that crews in Seaside Heights, N.J. turned him and his crewmates away, saying they couldn’t do any work there because they’re not union employees.

As a result, crews from Decatur and Huntsville left the Jersey shore and headed to Long Island to pitch in.

WAFF’s Mark Thornton reported that Moore and his coworkers “are frustrated being told, in essence, ‘thanks, but no thanks.’”

Another nonunion Decatur Utilities crew is idling in Roanoke, Va., waiting for instructions from Seaside Heights. The town asked them days ago for help, but later told the workers to stand down.

A rejected crew from the Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Co-op in Trinity, Ala. has already turned around and headed back to Dixie.

Electric repair work for public utilities in New Jersey is dominated by the International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers, a unit of the politically powerful AFL-CIO.

Many parts of coastal New Jersey are projected to be without electric power for at least seven to 10 more days.

Disgusting!

On this, I agree.

Free help denied?

If I were lying with a broken back in a house demolished I would'nt care if the teamsters or an illegal saved my life.

That was suposed to be longer period of time.
Alabama isn't the only place where crews are coming from.
It shouldn't matter union or not when it comes to the safety and welfare of people. You do what it takes to clean up and restore.

I wonder how utility customers will respond to this news story.

I read your 1st response, I just disagree with it. Union agreements/contracts need to be voided in certain situations, situations like hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, plagues of locust, heat waves and blizzards.

That keyword volunteer makes all the difference. Now this looks more like a case of union bullying. In that case I agree, especially since they turned away numerous crews, that they should've accepted the help and just tried to get things cleaned up. In fact since this is a union that serves the public interest in this area (even though they are a trade union) that there should be an article in the agreement that pertains to natural catastrophe. Since this apparently isn't the case the city has to abide by the contract or face numerous grievances later on. Maybe they will take this situation into consideration at the next contract negotiation. However, as an ex union member, if I was in the shoes of one of the workers there I would have had no problem with the outside volunteer help. This is completely different than my first impression that the city was purposely exploiting the situation and using it to cut corners and circumvent the agreement.