posted
KIRKWOOD -- Employees at New York State Electric & Gas Corp.'s call center in Kirkwood must decide whether to work for less pay or lose their jobs.
NYSEG is considering shutting down the customer service center on May 1 if it doesn't reach an "economical" agreement with the union that represents local employees.
A vote by union members is scheduled by March 17, according to a memorandum of the proposed agreement obtained by this newspaper.
A meeting of employees was held at the customer service center Monday morning to provide details about the agreement, NYSEG spokesman Clayton Ellis said. He did not say how many employees work at the facility, though workers estimate the number is about 200.
The proposed agreement between NYSEG and its exclusive collective bargaining agent System Council U-7 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers states NYSEG must reduce its work force to remain competitive in the market.
Actions would include:
* Lowering wages for all customer representatives now working at the Kirkwood center to $16.35 per hour effective May 1. This rate would rise in July by the "general percentage increase" agreed upon between the union and NYSEG.
Indications are this new pay scale would amount to a 50 percent cut for some long-term employees.
* Offering a voluntary early retirement program to eligible, regular, full-time union employees who are at least 55 years old and have at least 10 years of credited service.
* Implementing a severance program for employees who don't qualify for the early retirement program but want to leave the company rather than accept the new wages. The program would provide two weeks of base pay for each full year of service, up to one year of pay. The last workday for employees who choose the severance benefit would be April 30.
"The details of any and all discussions and agreements between NYSEG and System Council U-7 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are confidential personnel matters, and we do not comment on such matters," Ellis said.
According to the memorandum:
* Customer representatives with 10 or more years of service who want to stay on the job and are willing to accept the new pay scale of $16.35 an hour would receive a one-time payment of $20,000 plus one week of base pay for each full year of service.
* Customer representatives with less than 10 years of service who want to stay and receive the new rate would receive a one-time payment equal to one week of base pay for each full year of service.
* Starting May 2, new hires for customer representative jobs at the Kirkwood center would be paid $15.38 per hour. This rate would rise in July by the general percentage increase agreed upon between the union and NYSEG. This amount was not provided in the document.
Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
