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Electrical workers and NYPA announce new 3-year contract for workers in Massena and around the state

Posted 8/10/18

The New York Power Authority has ratified a new three-year contract agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a labor union representing nearly 750,000 electricians, …

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Electrical workers and NYPA announce new 3-year contract for workers in Massena and around the state

Posted

The New York Power Authority has ratified a new three-year contract agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a labor union representing nearly 750,000 electricians, lineman and other skilled trades in the electrical industry.

The union represents more than 550 employees of NYPA, the public power entity that provides nearly a quarter of New York’s electricity.

The new contract was voted on by the IBEW membership last month and was approved by NYPA’s Board of Trustees at its Aug. 7 meeting, said a NYPA press release.

In addition, the New York State Canal Corporation board of directors, at the same meeting, ratified a 10-year contract with the Public Employees Federation. NYPA runs the Canal Corporation as a subsidiary.

The IBEW contract extension includes 2 percent wage increases for IBEW employees every year from 2019 to 2022. Major provisions also include changes to the medical plan which better align with industry standards and maintain cost sharing formulas achieved in the last contract, according to the NYPA announcement. The contract also includes a new provision to digitize negotiated documents for easier access.

“As NYPA works to become the first fully digital utility in the country, we need NYPA’s talented craft labor force to lead the way” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO. “This contract extension will allow us to move forward together in NYPA’s new direction, bringing value to our customers and the State.”

“New York has embarked on the monumental task of modernizing its energy infrastructure and today’s vote demonstrates the commitment of the Power Authority’s unionized workforce to realizing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision strategy for transforming the state’s power grid,” said William Brown, Jr., business manager, IBEW Local 2032. “We are proud of the quality of the work we do and we are excited to partner with the Power Authority on its journey to become the first fully-digital utility in the country.”

The contract extension covers NYPA employees who work at NYPA’s St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project in Massena, its Niagara Power Project in Lewiston, its Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project in Schoharie County, and its small hydropower facilities in five upstate counties. It will be incorporated into the existing 2011-2019 collective bargaining agreement, set to expire on March 31, 2019, and will be effective April 1, 2019.