PECO, IBEW Local 614 reach tentative agreement to end 3-day strike
PECO and the union representing workers reached a tentative agreement Monday night to end the three-day strike.
The strike, which was the first work stoppage in the electric company's 145-year history, started on July 4 as 1,600 IBEW Local 614 workers walked off the job.
"Tonight, we declare victory," Larry Anastasi, the president and business manager of IBEW Local 614, said in a statement, in part. "IBEW Local 614 is ending our strike with a historic win and a landmark contract. This is the beginning of a new era at PECO, one where greed does not go unchecked and the workers who make modern life possible get the respect and dignity we are owed."
According to IBEW Local 614, the union won all of its major contract priorities, including cash balance pension plans, retirement medical coverage and significant wage increases for all members.
In a statement, PECO said the tentative agreement "reflects our commitment to recognizing the important contributions of our represented employees while ensuring we continue to provide the safe, reliable energy service our customers depend on every day."
Union members are returning to work Wednesday while the process to ratify the agreement gets underway.
The contract, which IBEW Local 614 called "historic," also requires 24-hour notice of mandatory overtime for call center workers, improves pay for members doing work outside their job duties and allows union members to see any doctor for medical certifications. Previously, the union said they were required to see a company-selected doctor.
"We said from day one that our members' top priorities were restoring pensions and retirement medical coverage for all members, and we won that and more. For years, PECO has disrespected, devalued, and denigrated the men and women who keep the lights on and gas flowing," Anastasi said in part.
IBEW Local 614 had been working without a contract since April 1, and negotiations began in January. The union went on strike as storms over the holiday weekend knocked out power for thousands across the Delaware Valley, and PECO had to bring in contractors.
"Our three-day strike showed just how much PECO needs Local 614," Anastasi said in a statement. "Without our labor, our expertise, and our experience, PECO saw widespread outages that they were slow to address. We are not easily replaced. We feel deep appreciation for the ratepayers and the public, whose support for our members never wavered, even in the heat and the storms."
IBEW Local 614 represents 1,800 members and 1,600 of them went on strike. The union is filled with the lineman, gas technicians, mechanics, call center workers and back office workers who maintain the region's electrical and natural gas utility system and serve PECO customers.
