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

Posted By David Martosko On 12:35 AM 11/02/2012 @ 12:35 AM In DC Exclusives,DC Exclusives - Blurb,Featured,US,Yahoo! Linkbox,Yahoo! News | No Comments


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.

Protection of the Unions is far more important then the poor folks without power, food and heat.

It's not the average union employee that is the problem. It's the "union mentality" that eventually takes over too many who boldly state that they NEED the union. Those are the twerps who flex their union muscle to compensate for their lack of ability.
The union brass who made the call to turn back qualified electric crews should be fired or worse.
Their names should be posted in the local papers so when the family without heat has to go an extra week, they'll know who to blame.

The concept of the union is a good one. One that was necessary for generations of Americans.
But like Obamas bayonets, their time has come. They have officially become a characature of themselves, replacing beaurocratic red tape and attrocitites for common sense in dire times.

Very stupid move to turn down help in such a tragic disaster. I feel bad for the citizens that would have benefited. There have to be plenty of other cities run by politicians who will stand up and speak out. I'd love to see union bosses interviewed on TV on this one. Can't imagine what they could possibly think of saying.

Union bosses are hard to come by and we shouldn't just remove them for their politics.

They spend years honing their skills waiting for an opportunity. Only the cream rises to the top.

Or on strike.

How much are you worth?

Who can do your job?

Who should decide that..........

I guess your situation and locale are different than mine.

I don't march in union parades, and shout from rooftops " go union ". It's fair to say, after 40 years on this planet, owning a construction company (non union), and working for a union company, I found what works for me. Where I'm at, I work my 40-60 hours, and get time with my family in a better proportion than anything else I've tried.

Everyone should do what works for them, and not bash the other.

Along the same lines, the union plant hourly employees in the company I work for make less per hour, have no company matching 401(k), no salary continuation in event of a medical leave, and about half the pension of comparable non-exempt employees who aren't union.

From the CBS report:
"Upon arriving at a staging area in Virginia, crews were held in place pending clarification of documents received from IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) that implied a requirement of our employees to agree to union affiliation while working in the New York and New Jersey areas. It was and remains our understanding that agreeing to those requirements was a condition of being allowed to work in those areas."

Even IF the initial "stand down" reports were exaggerated, it seems to me that this is nothing short of bureaucratic red tape during a time of dire emergency.

Bravo, IBEW.
You embody all that is wrong with unions.

You should go learn to do something truly productive and useful to society like sell mortgage backed securities and derivatives, or rig bids to handle the moneys municipalities obtain through bond issuance, or short positions you just sold to your clients (aka, suckers). Those kind of jobs are pure meritocracies where only frauds and thieves of the highest caliber survive and thrive. It's disgusting how lazy, unionized government employees engage in such frivolous behavior as going up high rise buildings in a hurricane to check on the condition of a failing crane. That's the kind of crap that continues to give unions a bad name.

I pay for health, dental, wc, and other insurance for my employees. 100%. I pay for their uniforms, I buy them steel toed boots. I even provide tool loans with no interest costs so they can build up their tool collection so they can be more efficient.

Not all business owners are ****.

the hell I dont! It's still there! And I bought beer from them after work today! lol

FU.


Tell that to the people without power. They drove utility trucks all the way from Alambama. You think think some Hicks stole a truck and thought "hey bubba lets go volunteer".

Jackass.

The crews were not turned away, read the report and press release from decanter utilities, Huntsville utilities, and Electric Cooperative of Alabama. They had to affilate to work, no problem if they were there to work. Most seamed to without hesitation.

The problem here is opportunists who have an made the tragedy into an anti union rant.

So, if professional utility workers belong to the IBEW they are "qualified", but if they choose not to join, the exact same professional workers are "un-qualified". Do you realize how ridiculous that is? It only makes sense to folks brain-washed in "Union-think".

Both my BILs work in the Trade Unions at Temple University. One is a plumber. He carries a union card, so I guess that makes him a "qualified" plumber. News for you. I'm a better plumber then he is, and I wouldn't let him touch a pipe in my home.

My other BIL tried to recruit me for a Union General Maintenance position over there. Read the booklet. I was allowed to paint 4' of trim, but not 4'1". Have to call in the painters for that extra inch. Could replace 2 floor tiles. Three required the flooring guys. Could plunge a toilet, but not snake it. That required a Plumber. Was allowed a 16 oz. claw hammer. I'm a contractor and use a 22 oz. ripping hammer most efficiently, but no, on this job, I would have to use a less efficient 16 oz. claw hammer. Had a 5-1/2" American made battery saw. Rule book stated 3-1/4" battery saw only. So, by Union rules, I'd have to retire my American made saw, and buy one from Japan. Rules on sizes and lengths of screw drivers, files, tape measures, etc. etc. Every possible tool I was permitted to have on the job site was spelled out and specified in detail in the book, and no deviations where permitted. Most union folk see this, and think it's normal. The rest of us see these kinds of rules and requirements, designed to increase the cost of labor, and decrease efficiency as "insanity". Just say'n.

A union shop probably built the crane that couldn't withstand high winds. Then a union contractor decided to use it atop a high rise anyhow, and a union crew then left it up during the hurricane.

Just sayin.

I bet it was a scab crane that didn't have a union card.

My experiences working with unions have been a mixed bag. On the plus side, I've seen some great shops. Not necessarily "better" than non-union, but not any worse either.
On the other hand, 100% of the troubles that I've encountered on a manufacturing floor or at a trade show have been the direct result of union rules and/or thuggery.

So yes, I was a bit "opportunistic" with this report when I posted it. But it is entirely with merit.
The IBEW didn't confirm qualifications. If they had, this is a non-story.
They insisted that all non-union crews agree to assimilate to their union rules. As if this made them somehow more qualified. And it wasn't a request. It was a demand. They could sign on the dotted line, or hit the road.

This is indefensible, considering the situation.

http://mobile.nj.com/advnj/pm_31092/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=7MFBiYqD

You keep blasting people for something that apparently was a misunderstanding by the Alabama power company. Non union crews were working there. IBEW says they did not send them paperwork to affiliate, and Alabama power company cannot produce the paperwork they say they received.

Looks like we have been mislead:

From a flashlight forum:

First we read that the non union crews were sent away.

Then we're told that they weren't sent away, they were just given an ultimatum to affiliate or leave.

Now we learn that it was all a misunderstanding. By the Alabama power company. Not the union.

Obama should have hired IBEW after that pesky youtube video caused that riot...

So, after being proven wrong, you guys call for conspiracy outrage?

Do you guys hang out with mel Gibson?

Probably a catholic, democratic, union conspiracy.