Hundreds of Xcel Energy employees could vote to strike as soon as next Tuesday. The union started a public pressure campaign on Thursday by saying negotiations aren’t making progress, in order to get customers on its side. Their lines power Colorado’s lives, but the workers who fix them might soon stop repairs and any other work…
(Potential Xcel Strike wrap :49)
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union wants more pay– a 20% raise over 3 years, not the 13% Xcel is offering…
230721 N Gutierrez- Xcel Unfair :04 Q:…to be fair…
They also don’t want mandatory “on-call” shifts, and they want guarantees for workers at coal-fired power plants. Union business manager Nate Gutierrez says talks aren’t going well…
230721 N Gutierrez- no progress :05 Q:…to report…
Without a deal soon, they could vote to strike when the current contract expires at the end of July…
230721 N Gutierrez- will affect communities :05 Q:…that xcel serves…
In a statement, the utility says in these words, “we are negotiating in good faith, and will continue to do so. We would like to continue making progress.” If they don’t, the union says all 19 hundred of its members will stop working at power plants, stop repairing power lines, and stop fixing gas mains.
OPTIONAL TAG– Xcel could hire non-union contract crews, like power companies sometimes do during natural disasters. But the union’s betting that finding people willing to take those jobs would be difficult for the company. The union says it’s met with Xcel 23 times in recent months, and there’ve been more than 150 proposals back and forth. The 2 sides are scheduled to meet with a federal mediator for a second time Tuesday.