Report: Non-Union Alabama Utility Workers Turned Away From New Jersey

[dodger501]

I am being hammered with this by wingnuts this morning:

http://nj1015.com/report-non-union-alabama-utility-workers-turned-away-from-new-jersey/

About all I can come up with is that it is the electrical employees, not Christie or Obama turning these people away.

[Justice]

1. we take care of our own. union proud

[joeglow3]

39. And fuck everyone else.

[datasuspect]

43. fuck scabs

[Logical]

53. Lol, what if their shop was non-union? They should quit?

[Care Acutely]

55. Fuck idealogues while children and elderly sleep in the cold.

If able human beings show up to help turn the heat back on, that help should be accepted.

[Union Label]

46. Fucking A!

We are the backbone of the country.

[Logical]

52. And that is why people have issues with unions!

[former-republican]

2. If this is true then I hope New Jersey enjoys it cold nights

[obamanut2012]

9. NJ didn't do this, local union topcats did

I just heard Bloomberg asked them to come to Lower Manhattan and help.

[former-republican]

14. I'm not blaming the people of New Jersey

hell in some cases people will take help from the devil himself.

But if true this is where the local or federal government should step in and over ride union officials.

[obamanut2012]

18. Oh, I totally agree

And, I'm pro union. But, this is ridiculous.

[dixiegrrrrl]

49. Seems to be not true:

from the link:

CP+L spokesman Ron Morano denies reports that the utility turned away help rom non-union workers from Alabama.

[rbrnmw]

3. It's a rumor as far as I can tell

I saw that horseshit on Facebook this morning and googled it only one news article and the rest were RW websites

[HereSince1628]

4. Told by another crew and they accept street talk as policy during a state of emergency?

IF this is true at all, and I have no way of knowing either way, it would seem to require the Alabama crew to have not coordinated with Emergency Management.

[onethatcares]

5. maybe they should have waited

for an actual request for assistance before showing up.

Look folks, what do you expect three days after a major storm? That the realization most utility line crews are union was going to go down just hunky with the RNC.

I would like to see WHO requested they assist, and WHO turned them away.

It'll probably boil down to some Alabama boys getting pissed off thinking they were gonna strike it rich and then being told there was enough help in the area they showed up in. I'm willing to donate $20.00 to the Red Cross if I'm wrong and the heads of both companies caused this.

[DiverDave]

6. LIES, man the nutjobs are on overtime

So, they are bashing the unions again?
And,of course, the other idiots believe it.
Half the MSM will be reporting it as fact by tonight.

Some people will believe anything.

[closeupready]

47. This x 100.

End of thread.

[rbrnmw]

7. I doubt the veracity of this story

Just a RW propaganda piece

[obamanut2012]

8. It was local electrical union people

And, if you know anything about NJ, it's obvious why this happened.

I am 100% pro union, but, again, it's obvious why this happened, and it's a damned shame.

[dixiegrrrrl]

50. read the link..they deny it happened.

[Horse with no Name]

10. I know there are non-union workers from Texas there

Perhaps there is a little more to this story?

Maybe they can't provide any type of credible credentials? Maybe it is a group of teabaggers who went exclusively to get this particular story?

And why on earth would they just find a crew on a street and ask them where they need to be?

In emergencies, there are places to check in from out of state so you can be verified and sent where you are needed. This just reeks as a piece of propaganda.

[LuvNewcastle]

11. It's probably an issue of standards.

One of my uncles here in MS is an electrician. He's worked for himself and for different companies and has always been a member of the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers). The union requires its members to meet certain standards, and people who aren't union are likely to be people who don't have sufficient qualifications. You don't want just anybody monkeying around with electrical lines.

[Recursion]

16. Exactly. The line chief is responsible for the safety of the workers...

...and if he can't verify that they are adequately trained, they have no business running wire.

[arthritisR_US]

40. +1

[former9thward]

48. What BS

They were workers from Decatur Utilities. They do this stuff all the time in Decatur, AL. Thanks for your concern.

http://www.waff.com/story/19981857/some-nonunion-ala-crews-turned-away-from-sandy-recovery

[LuvNewcastle]

56. So they're willing to enjoy the better wages they would make in NJ which are

a result of union bargaining, but they don't want to affiliate with a union? Fuck them.

[former9thward]

57. And fuck the people of New Jersey. Right?

If you have a medical emergency and a non-union first responder comes to help you will you stick to your principles and tell them to go to hell? I think we all know the answer to that question. Thanks for your concern.

[LuvNewcastle]

60. Yeah, because this is all about concern for the people of NJ,

not about some guys who want to go to a union state and make a fast buck without affiliating with a union. There are always people who swoop in like vultures when some disaster occurs and do shady shit. NJ will have enough electricians to get the job done there. They don't need shitheels like that stinking up the place.

[cherish44]

12. Com Ed.-Northern IL has been trying to bust the IBEW union for more than 20 years

My ex husband is a lineman, started in 1991. They've managed to weaken the union quite a bit and you'd be suprised how many of his UNION co-workers vote Republican. Believe if they had their way they'd be paying their workers miniumum wage with no overtime bonuses. Linework is FRICKIN DANGEROUS...but they're just drones to the management...believe me I cringed at some of the things that went on there. I've been out of the loop now so I don't know what it's like now but it was BAD in the 90s and 00s. Com Ed guys are out there now, helping out the east coast - stay strong and union proud guys and gals!

[Are_grits_groceries]

13. I saw an Alabama crew working

in a neighborhood on GMA this morning.

[LisaL]

15. Doesn't sound like a credible story to me.

[sufrommich]

19. Alabama utilities deny that it happened:

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/huntsville_utilities_denies_cl.html#incart_river_default

It's propaganda being spread by Glenn Beck.

[Horse with no Name]

21. Most excellent!

"We were not turned away," he said. "It's a lot more complicated than that. One of the problems is whenever this kind of thing happens people call and ask, 'Are you going to send crews out?' but it's not a situation where everybody jumps in truck and heads up there. You have to work through trade associations. You have mutual-aid agreements and you've got to find a system that needs you and is able to take you."

He said some systems don't use the same voltage and may have different configurations. "You don't just go up there and say, 'Hey, we're here. We're going to start putting up poles for you."

[WilliamPitt]

22. Win.

[Frustratedlady]

23. Thank you for that link. Ironically, I had just received the propaganda and ran a search on DU

to refute the claim, if possible. Your link popped up by magic.

Considering the person who sent it, I would guess his source was Drudge, but I don't want to go there to confirm my suspicions.

[Solly Mack]

25. Thanks!

[Go Vols]

26. The men from Huntsville are working

The men from Decatur and Trinity were told they had to affiliate with the union after being asked to come.

Vid at link.

http://www.waff.com/story/19981857/some-nonunion-ala-crews-turned-away-from-sandy-recovery


http://whnt.com/2012/11/02/decatur-utilities-crews-return-from-virginia/

[sufrommich]

27. They weren't turned away for being non union.

The documents stated they had to affiliate with a union to work, which the crews could not agree to.

Hardin said the crews were told this was a requirement to work.

As they waited for confirmation on the documents, crews received word that Seaside Heights had received the assistance they needed from other sources.


They attempted to look for work in other areas but because a resolution could not be reached, they made the decision late Thursday night to return home.


Moore said they're frustrated being told "thanks, but no thanks."

The six of them refused to affiliate with a union while there,it was their choice. Again,it was 6 guys and they were not turned away for being non-union.

[Go Vols]

28. I have since edited the "turned away" part out.

[sufrommich]

29. So the story changes from "union thugs kick non union

workers away to the peril of people without electricity" to "six bozos from Alabama choose not to coordinate with unions to score cheap right wing propaganda".

[Go Vols]

30. It seems that if your world was

torn all to hell,you would take help where you could get it,maybe thats just me.

[sufrommich]

31. Which is why it's so hard to understand why these six

electricians would choose to refuse to work with the union to get in there and help.

[Go Vols]

32. Not hard to understand at all

it is in the article I linked to after all.

A six man crew from Decatur Utilities headed up there this week, but Derrick Moore, one of the Decatur workers, said they were told by crews in New Jersey that they can't do any work there since they're not union employees.

[sufrommich]

34. Holy cow, we just went through this, they were not

turned away for not being non union, they were turned away for refusing not to affiliate with the union, other non union electricians from Alabama are up there working.What stopped them from affiliating with the union?

[Fla Dem]

33. What does "affiliate with the union" mean?

Does it mean the men from Decatur and Trinity had to join the union in order to work? Or does it mean they just had to work with union members? I do have a problem if the NJ unions were putting conditions on the non-union guys before they would let them help. But if the non-union guys were just refusing to work with union guys, I think that's ridiculous.

[sufrommich]

36. I'm sure it meant they had to coordinate with the unions,

which means going where they're told to go and doing what they're told to do by union supervisors. They had to sign an agreement to affiliate with the union and THEY refused to do so.

[Hugabear]

20. Sounds like anti-union bullshit to me

This is purely anecdotal, typical anti-union bullshit - red meat for the teabaggers right before the election.

[trumad]

24. See post 19 and delete this thread.

[Stuchase]

37. FWIW

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/decatur_utilities_manager_veri_1.html

Decatur Utilities verifies claims workers were asked to affiliate with union before aiding storm victims (update)

[azurnoir]

41. apparently not all too much n/t

[LondonReign2]

35. Answer: GOOD!

[oberliner]

38. Debunked

Huntsville, Joe Wheeler utilities deny claims of union discrimination during Sandy response

Representatives with Huntsville Utilities and Joe Wheeler Cooperative, two area utilities mentioned in media reports claiming their crews were not allowed to help with storm aid in New Jersey because they were non-union, said this morning the story is untrue.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/huntsville_utilities_denies_cl.html

[azurnoir]

42. Thank you it appears the Righties are getting desperate

it's no mistake that it was NJ either, not after Chris Christie's comments on how well Obama handled the storm

[Stuchase]

44. Check above

Those are two different companies. The one with the problems is Decatur.

[jeff47]

51. Check below

Decatur also denies it.

[Hogjowls]

45. Decatur Utilities Press Release

No one was turned away, all parties initially reported on have debunked the claim they were turned away.

http://www.decaturutilities.com/images/stories/DU/PDFS/Press_Release_%20Hurricane_Sandy.pdf

[lpbk2713]

54. With just days to go before the election ...

I expect more anti-union, and thus anti-Dem, bullshit just like this.
These assholes are desperate and nothing will deter them from
any attempt to gain an edge.

Thanks for the link.

[panAmerican]

58. FALSE: Response from our utility company, JCP&L

http://www.app.com/viewart/20121102/NJBIZ/311020065/JCP-L-union-deny-reports-nonunion-electrical-workers-were-turned-away-from-Sandy-help

[Hogjowls]

59. GM Decatur Utilities denies any paperwork

I think this has been wrapped up, Ray Hardin says Decatur Utilities was never presented with an agreement asking them to join the union and that the issue is quickly being turned into something political.

http://www.waaytv.com/news/local/article_a4982e5a-250e-11e2-904f-001a4bcf6878.html

[Hogjowls]

61. Governor responds

http://www.inquisitr.com/385759/alabama-utility-crew-claims-they-were-turned-away-from-hurricane-sandy-cleanup-because-they-are-non-union/

[GeorgeGist]

62. Way to stand up to those wingnuts.

[eppur_se_muova]

63. Thoroughly debunked. See these threads by Omaha Steve:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014288086

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021816086