Utility, labor union clash

For the first time in 18 years, a union strike could threaten the reliability of power as air conditioners are roaring around the valley.

Nobody wants that, representatives of Nevada Power Co. and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 396 say.

Yet the utility and the union have been in stalled contract negotiations for months. The union's previous contract expired in February.

The company has refused to budge on plans to change a pension program that could reduce benefits for union workers up to 70 percent, said Jesse Newman, union senior assistant business manager.

Newman said Nevada Power negotiators are saying the utility faces a bleak financial future if changes aren't made in pension benefits.

"It's like a car," management representatives say, according to Newman. "Company representatives say: 'You don't change the oil after the car blows up. You change the oil before the car blows up.' "

Mark Shank, Nevada Power regional executive for operations, declined to discuss the company's proposed changes.

"I can't go into any details about negotiations," Shank said, adding that the union representatives are making incorrect statements. "I think (union representatives) are picking an extreme (outcome.)"

County Commissioner Tom Collins, a union member and former Nevada Power worker, said a work stoppage is likely if the company continues to refuse to compromise on the pension program.

"If Nevada Power management doesn't move off their pension demands, it's probably 90-to-10 percent (the IBEW local will strike)," Collins said.

Shank declined to speculation on the likelihood of a strike but said he hopes a walkout can be avoided.

Nevada Power on Wednesday said it has a contingency plan for operations if union workers walk off the job, but he declined to say what it entailed.

The last time the union walked out, the company kept the power on by using nonunion workers and management personnel.

But, Collins said a work stoppage could cause delays in repairing downed lines and restoring power after outages.

"You're rolling the dice on reliability when you have a labor stoppage," Collins said.

Setting meters and other construction-related work also could be delayed, Collins said.

"It would just be too much for them to cover," Collins said, referring to nonunion employees and managers at Nevada Power.

The union counts 1,300 employee members at Nevada Power. The utility says it employs 1,800 workers.

The union doesn't want a strike, Collins said, and has no strike fund to pay workers during the down time.

"If these guys walk out, they have to start spending their savings, their credit cards, whatever," he said.

Collins negotiated with Nevada Power before the last strike in 1990 and then stood on picket lines for hours.

The company then benefited from a short-term reduction in payroll, Collins said.

Shank, another veteran of the 1990 strikes, said the company "did whatever we had to do to make sure power plants, lights stayed on and air conditioners kept turning (in 1990)."

That strike ended after about two weeks, Collins recalled, mainly because the business manager accepted a new job out of town.

Several union representatives criticized Nevada Power during a Public Utilities Commission consumer meeting Tuesday at the Sahara West Library.

"They are trying to slash the retirement benefits of some of their most loyal employees," said Amy Wilson, a union member from Henderson.

"Why do they want to strip my livelihood away?" asked Corey Poeller, a union worker from North Las Vegas.

Union member Robert Brien of Boulder City said he has worked for Nevada Power for 16 years and typically works 50 to 60 hours of overtime every two weeks. He complained about the "revolving door" of seven CEOs during that time.

"I don't think (Nevada Power has) a direction or vision or anything," Brien said.

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.