Decatur Utilities today issued a press release in response to media stories that their workers were turned away in Seaside, New Jersey because they lacked union affiliation.
The utility company from north Alabama said they could not agree to union terms to work in the storm ravaged area
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The company statement from Janice Armor says a six man crew was sent to Seaside, New Jersey to help with the recovery effort after storms swept the northeast last week.
The press release states, “Upon arriving at a staging area in Virginia, crews were held in place pending clarification of documents received from IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) that implied a requirement of our employees to agree to union affiliation while working in the New York and New Jersey areas. It was and remains our understanding that agreeing to those requirements was a condition of us being allowed to work in those areas. As we waited for clarification, we became aware that Seaside Heights had received the assistance they needed from other sources. To be clear, at no time were our crews ‘turned away’ from the utility in Seaside Heights.”
The company statement went on to say, “In connection with state and regional public power associations, Decatur Utilities attempted to contact other areas that needed assistance. However, based on the uncertainty of union requirements that we could not agree to and the uncertainty of whether a resolution could be reached, we ultimately made the decision to return them to Decatur after being stalled in Virginia area for most of the day on Thursday.”
Decatur Utilities general manager Ray Hardin told FOX Business News that the company could not agree to the terms laid out by IBEW. You can watch that interview here.
