The Queens Beat
Thunderstorm 84°/72°
Home
News
Arts
Food
History
Photos
Traffic & Transit
Subscribe by Email Subscribe to RSS
Locked out Con Ed workers rally across city by Michael Gambina on JULY 20, 2012 in NEW S
Search...
Image POPULAR
LATEST
TAGS
Top 10 best Kosher restaurants and cafes in Queens JULY 28, 2012
First day brings excitement, traffic to the borough SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
History Lesson: Who put the ‘Queen’ in Queens? SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
It’s in Queens: Antique motorcycle show coming to Queens Farm Museum SEPTEMBER 4, 2012
Find us on Facebook
Outside the gates of Consolidated Edison’s Astoria Yard, five men milled around what used to be their place of work, now turned picket site. One man, David Castillo of Jackson Heights, has a 3year-old daughter and family to care for. He is just one of the 8,500 Con Ed workers who have been locked out of their jobs since July 1. Con Edison and Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America were at the negotiation table June 30 when their four-year contract expired at midnight. After refusing a last-minute offer to extend the negotiation period and work without a contract under Con Ed’s terms, along with providing notice if they were to strike, Local 1-2 found themselves at a loss. They were left without paychecks, and for the first 14 days, without health insurance.
The Queens Beat Like 188
The Queens Beat Awesome. Queens Boy, 13, Wins Scripps Spelling Bee With www.nytimes.com
Arvind V. Mahankali won the nationally televised contest
May 31 at 9:44am
“I found it to be a kick in the gut when they stopped our health insurance,” said Castillo, a Con Ed employee for six years. “To do that for the first two weeks, pretty disgusting.” F acebook social plugin
David Castillo picketed outside of Con Ed’s Astoria Yard
Employee health insurance was reinstated on July 14. Local 1-2 claims Con Ed was pressured into reversing its initial decision due to a news conference the union scheduled for the next day, which would have brought together sick family members of locked out workers.
The crowd picketing outside Astoria Yard with Castillo swelled to hundreds that afternoon outside CEO Kevin Burke’s home on East 86th Street and York Avenue. By 3 p.m., barricades lined the road and NYPD officers filled the street corners as they prepared for another rally. Workers chanting “Burke is a Jerk!” and “No contract, no peace!” could be heard from three or four blocks away.
QUEENS BEAT ON TWITTER
Follow @queensbeat on Tw itter
QUEENS COURIER RSS
Local 1-2 members handed out flyers to passers-by,
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
informing them Burke made $11 million in total pay last year. His employees make, on average, $80,000 a year according to Executive Board Organizer Rocco Talarico Jr.
W hitestone teen skates his w ay to success Senior Umbrella Netw ork aw ards scholarships to York College students Tw o dead, four injured, driver arrested in Grand
Senior National Representative Bobby Mahoney and Talarico both say Con Ed wants to break the union, by doing things like moving to a cash balance pension, which would allow the company not to provide medical benefits after employees retire.
Central Parkw ay crash Queens student expands creativity, mind through art program
According to Con Ed, the company wants to maintain current pension plans for all employees hired before July 1 and employees hired after will be given the cash balance pension. Rally at East 86th Street and York Avenue “The only impediment to getting this contract done which would end this lockout is all of Con Edison’s outrageous demands,” said UWUA National Vice President John Duffy. “We don’t come to the table with anything outrageous, we’re not looking to radically change the contract as it is, we’re looking for fair increases here and there in our wages. If there’s any radical or huge changes being sought for in the contract, it is all coming from Con Edison.”
While the 8,500 workers are locked out of their jobs, Con Ed has hired out-of-state contractors and is using a team of 5,000 managers to do the necessary field work. However, many of them do not have the same field experience as the locked out workers. Local 1-2 says this puts the city in danger. “The company rolls the dice every single day on what’s going to happen,” said Frank, a Con Ed employee for 30 years, whom requested for his last name to remain anonymous. “Everybody’s waiting for something to happen? As sure as we’re standing here, something is gonna happen. Hopefully no one will get killed, no one will get seriously hurt, and there won’t be a major destruction.” Frank said on Wednesday, there was a power outage in Queens that effected more than 3,000 people. He believes a lot of the outages they hear about are not being reported and until they are, and until Local 1-2 can go back to work, Con Ed is operating in “disaster mode.” “One of their supervisors was quoted in the New York Times recently saying ‘we can handle everything as long as nothing goes wrong.’” Duffy said. “It’s kind of like putting all the firemen out into the street, and New York City saying ‘we can handle it as long as there are no fires.’”
Photos by Michael Gambia/Queens Beat Follow msgambina Like
2
Tweet
16
1
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Subscribe Today's stories delivered straight to your inbox. E-mail
Submit
Related Posts: Restoring the Rockaways Sandy victims to get mortgage refuge during repairs Scouting beachfront homes in the Rockaways Jamaica HS still on the ‘D’ list Bloomberg responds to soda ban overturn
Astoria, Bobby Mahoney, Con Ed, Con Edison, Consolidated Edison, electric, gas, John Duffy, Kevin Burke, Local 1-2, lockout, Manhattan, New York City, oil, power, power outage, Queens, Rocco Talarico, steam, Utility Workers Union of America, UWUA ← Flushing HS principal arrested for meth possession
Local eats: Bayside Diner debuts new renovations →
No comments yet.
Leave a Reply You must be logged in to post a comment. Please Login with:
About | Twitter | Facebook | Contact
© 2012 The Queens Beat | By Elisabeth Ponsot
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Home
News
Arts
Food
History
Photos
Traffic & Transit
Subscribe by Email Subscribe to RSS
Locked out Con Ed workers rally across city by Michael Gambina on JULY 20, 2012 in NEW S
Search...
Image POPULAR
LATEST
TAGS
Top 10 best Kosher restaurants and cafes in Queens JULY 28, 2012
First day brings excitement, traffic to the borough SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
History Lesson: Who put the ‘Queen’ in Queens? SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
It’s in Queens: Antique motorcycle show coming to Queens Farm Museum SEPTEMBER 4, 2012
Find us on Facebook
Outside the gates of Consolidated Edison’s Astoria Yard, five men milled around what used to be their place of work, now turned picket site. One man, David Castillo of Jackson Heights, has a 3year-old daughter and family to care for. He is just one of the 8,500 Con Ed workers who have been locked out of their jobs since July 1. Con Edison and Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America were at the negotiation table June 30 when their four-year contract expired at midnight. After refusing a last-minute offer to extend the negotiation period and work without a contract under Con Ed’s terms, along with providing notice if they were to strike, Local 1-2 found themselves at a loss. They were left without paychecks, and for the first 14 days, without health insurance.
The Queens Beat Like 188
The Queens Beat Awesome. Queens Boy, 13, Wins Scripps Spelling Bee With www.nytimes.com
Arvind V. Mahankali won the nationally televised contest
May 31 at 9:44am
“I found it to be a kick in the gut when they stopped our health insurance,” said Castillo, a Con Ed employee for six years. “To do that for the first two weeks, pretty disgusting.” F acebook social plugin
David Castillo picketed outside of Con Ed’s Astoria Yard
Employee health insurance was reinstated on July 14. Local 1-2 claims Con Ed was pressured into reversing its initial decision due to a news conference the union scheduled for the next day, which would have brought together sick family members of locked out workers.
The crowd picketing outside Astoria Yard with Castillo swelled to hundreds that afternoon outside CEO Kevin Burke’s home on East 86th Street and York Avenue. By 3 p.m., barricades lined the road and NYPD officers filled the street corners as they prepared for another rally. Workers chanting “Burke is a Jerk!” and “No contract, no peace!” could be heard from three or four blocks away.
QUEENS BEAT ON TWITTER
Follow @queensbeat on Tw itter
QUEENS COURIER RSS
Local 1-2 members handed out flyers to passers-by,
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
informing them Burke made $11 million in total pay last year. His employees make, on average, $80,000 a year according to Executive Board Organizer Rocco Talarico Jr.
W hitestone teen skates his w ay to success Senior Umbrella Netw ork aw ards scholarships to York College students Tw o dead, four injured, driver arrested in Grand
Senior National Representative Bobby Mahoney and Talarico both say Con Ed wants to break the union, by doing things like moving to a cash balance pension, which would allow the company not to provide medical benefits after employees retire.
Central Parkw ay crash Queens student expands creativity, mind through art program
According to Con Ed, the company wants to maintain current pension plans for all employees hired before July 1 and employees hired after will be given the cash balance pension. Rally at East 86th Street and York Avenue “The only impediment to getting this contract done which would end this lockout is all of Con Edison’s outrageous demands,” said UWUA National Vice President John Duffy. “We don’t come to the table with anything outrageous, we’re not looking to radically change the contract as it is, we’re looking for fair increases here and there in our wages. If there’s any radical or huge changes being sought for in the contract, it is all coming from Con Edison.”
While the 8,500 workers are locked out of their jobs, Con Ed has hired out-of-state contractors and is using a team of 5,000 managers to do the necessary field work. However, many of them do not have the same field experience as the locked out workers. Local 1-2 says this puts the city in danger. “The company rolls the dice every single day on what’s going to happen,” said Frank, a Con Ed employee for 30 years, whom requested for his last name to remain anonymous. “Everybody’s waiting for something to happen? As sure as we’re standing here, something is gonna happen. Hopefully no one will get killed, no one will get seriously hurt, and there won’t be a major destruction.” Frank said on Wednesday, there was a power outage in Queens that effected more than 3,000 people. He believes a lot of the outages they hear about are not being reported and until they are, and until Local 1-2 can go back to work, Con Ed is operating in “disaster mode.” “One of their supervisors was quoted in the New York Times recently saying ‘we can handle everything as long as nothing goes wrong.’” Duffy said. “It’s kind of like putting all the firemen out into the street, and New York City saying ‘we can handle it as long as there are no fires.’”
Photos by Michael Gambia/Queens Beat Follow msgambina Like
2
Tweet
16
1
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Subscribe Today's stories delivered straight to your inbox. E-mail
Submit
Related Posts: Restoring the Rockaways Sandy victims to get mortgage refuge during repairs Scouting beachfront homes in the Rockaways Jamaica HS still on the ‘D’ list Bloomberg responds to soda ban overturn
Astoria, Bobby Mahoney, Con Ed, Con Edison, Consolidated Edison, electric, gas, John Duffy, Kevin Burke, Local 1-2, lockout, Manhattan, New York City, oil, power, power outage, Queens, Rocco Talarico, steam, Utility Workers Union of America, UWUA ← Flushing HS principal arrested for meth possession
Local eats: Bayside Diner debuts new renovations →
No comments yet.
Leave a Reply You must be logged in to post a comment. Please Login with:
About | Twitter | Facebook | Contact
© 2012 The Queens Beat | By Elisabeth Ponsot
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
