By now, you have all heard that the company will be laying off later this year. I want to let you know that your Union leadership is doing all we can to limit the impact this will have on our members. Business Manager Joe Adams and the System Committee requested to meet with labor relations and senior management as soon as possible. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss options other than laying off our members. I do not know what will come of this meeting but hopefully there will be a better understanding of what the real issues are and options offered to fix the problems. The Company has cited a lack of new meters being set and a lack of new construction as the driving force for this pending layoff. What happened to the rest of the work we do? What about "restoring power" and "maintenance" work? I thought that was our primary responsibility anyway. Where has all that work gone?
Financially this company is doing good. It is not like we are going belly up and need to shed costs or go down with the ship. Florida is still growing by the day. Just look east to the other big utility in the state. As of today they have hired over 100 employees and are continuing to do so as we speak. They are not the only ones either.
I feel that our company needs to take a closer look at the phrase "Human Capital Investment". They take great pride in announcing new base loaded generation, capacitor programs, new trucks, etc... What about the employee? What about the investment that gives back with innovation, dedication and commitment?
If you look on our web (http://www.ibew1412.org/) page links are posted to other utilities where you can search for jobs within the industry. The links were put up since we do not know how deep the cuts will be. My goal is to eliminate or reduce any impact to the bargaining unit. This type of information will at least give you an idea of what is out there. If you do not see a job on the web, I encourage you to at least contact the companies and see what options they might have.
I encourage all of you to get involved by going to local meetings, reading the newsletters and checking the web out daily. I will post any changes as soon as I know them.
Fraternally,
David B Price
President, LU 1412
