The potential labor action we’ve told you about against the state’s biggest utility, Xcel Energy, could start any day now. The union representing Xcel workers says the vote to walk out could come as soon as tomorrow…
(Potential Xcel Strike Looms wrap :45)
After months of negotiation, 23 meetings, and some 150 different proposals, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union says it’s hit a wall. A federal mediator was brought in this past Thursday trying to come up with some solution both sides could go with, but there still was no deal. The union’s asking for better pay- a 20% increase over 3 years, instead of the 13% Xcel is offering. It also wants guarantees for employees at coal-fired power plants, and the union does not want mandatory “on-call” shifts. Nate Gutierrez speaks for IBEW Local 111…
230723 N Gutierrez- deadline next Sunday :11 Q:…more of a reality…
If they don’t reach a deal this week, some 19 hundred linemen, power plant operators, and gas pipefitters could vote to strike.
TAG– In a prepared statement, an Xcel spokesperson says, in these words, “we are negotiating in good faith and will continue to do so. We would like to continue making progress.”