Scriba (WSYR-TV) – Union workers at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Oswego County have overwhelmingly ratified their contract with Entergy Nuclear Northeast.
On Wednesday, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97 voted 176 “yes” to 30 “no,” confirming a four-year contract with the company.
The contract includes a 2 percent raise for workers each year throughout its duration.
The union made minor concessions on medical benefits, but those were largely preserved, along with retiree benefits , according to the IBEW .
“It’s a pretty decent contract,” said Union President Ted Skerpon.
Union: No strike at FitzPatrick nuclear plant, tentative agreement reached
Sept. 30, 2011
Scriba, NY (WSYR-TV) – The union representing workers at the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in Scriba says a tentative agreement has been reached with the company that runs the plant, and workers will not strike at midnight Friday.
A representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 97, says the current contract with the Entergy Corporation has been extended for one week so union members can consider the new agreement.
There had been a midnight Friday deadline on the current contract, which would have potentially led workers to go on strike had an agreement had not been reached.
In July, unionized workers at the Nine Mile Point nuclear power plants went on strike for two weeks. Those workers are represented by the same union, but the plants are run by Constellation Energy.
The IBEW said one of the major issues in that contact negotiation was pensions. Union members and their families picketed during the strike.
Entergy said 238 workers would have been affected by a strike at FitzPatrick, from the areas of administration, operations and maintenance.
The company had a contingency plan in place to make sure operations wouldn’t be impacted if a strike happened. The plan involved using management to fill in the gaps. The company said a fleet of out-of-state workers was also on stand-by.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was also monitoring the situation. If a strike had happened, the NRC would have put inspectors at the plant 24 hours a day. Normally, inspectors work different shifts and aren't at the plant all day.
