For press inquiries, please reach out to Communications Director Erin Bzymek at ebzymek@uwua.net or 202-702-9655.
I am humbled and honored by the overwhelming support and faith to be elected to this new role as vice president. I look forward to serving our union and all UWUA’s members across this country. I wanted to use my first column in The Utility Worker to introduce myself and offer insight into the experience…
UWUA members at five Columbia Gas units in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Ohio recently won significant gains in wages, healthcare, and other benefits, after facing down intransigent management bargaining tactics during contract negotiations. When negotiations opened last fall, UWUA local bargaining teams were determined to secure fair wage packages and to rein in excessive out-of-pocket employee…
Members of Local 351 have long operated the combustion turbine power generation plant in Lorraine, Ohio. When their collective bargaining agreement expired last July, they faced bargaining with the plant’s new owner, Starwood’s IHI Power Service Corp., which had purchased the plant from First Energy. The natural gas and diesel-powered plant serves as a peak…
John Duffy concluded 48 years of service to UWUA on March 1. Hired at age 17 by Consolidated Edison, Duffy became a member of Local 1-2 and his dedication to the union never wavered. Through five decades of membership, 32 years as a union leader, and 23 of those as a full-time local and National…
Electric workers employed by the City of Cuyahoga Falls in Ohio ratified a new three-year agreement in February that includes annual percentage increases (retroactive to July 1, 2021) and a $1,500 ratification bonus. The city-owned municipal power company employs 35 line and substation workers represented by Local 399. The old contract expired July 1. Dave…
Members of Local 304 ratified a new agreement on March 1, bringing increased wages, time off protections, and more to 160 members at Monongahela Power’s Harrison Plant. The facility is a coal-fired generation plant in West Virginia owned by First Energy that provides power to large parts of West Virginia and western Maryland. The unit…
I recently traveled to the West Coast to attend our Region V conference in Redondo Beach, CA. For those who participated, this gathering signaled a step forward in our return to normalcy.
America’s utilities are on high alert due to an elevated threat of cyberattacks. Hacking, ransomware, and data breaches have been longstanding concerns, but rising tensions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February have moved cybersecurity to the top of the agenda for electricity, gas, and water operations. The Biden administration has warned U.S. companies…
For three mornings last November, members of Local 116 gathered to watch the Power for America (P4A) virtual training sessions. Local 116 President Jason Fabynick recounted, “We wanted to be able to have discussions about what we were seeing and learning.” Matt Compton, the local’s vice president and a veteran, arranged for the meetings at…