TSA Workers & Con Edison Lockout

1) Final Contract Between Union and TSA Expected Next Week
2) Con Edison Lockout Ending: Cuomo Announces Deal Between Con Edison And Union Workers


Final Contract Between Union and TSA Expected Next Week

By Kellie Lunney

Government Executive

http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2012/07/final-contract-between-union-and-tsa-expected-next-week/57006/

July 25, 2012

A final labor agreement between the Transportation
Security Administration and the union representing
airport screeners could come next Wednesday, according
to an official involved in the negotiations.

TSA and the American Federation of Government Employees
have been huddled in intense negotiations during the
past week and will meet July 31 and Aug. 1 to wrap up
the talks and announce a deal, said AFGE General
Counsel David Borer.

"I am cautiously optimistic," Borer said on Tuesday.
"Both parties have expressed that they believe we are
really close to an agreement." The negotiations have
continued for more than 120 days.

The first-ever collective bargaining agreement between
the agency and the union will mark a 10-year campaign
by AFGE to represent exclusively 45,000 transportation
security officers. AFGE won representation in June
2011.

TSA's current pay-for-performance system, known as the
Performance Accountability and Standards System, has
been a frequent topic of debate during the
negotiations, Borer said. PASS evaluates how well
screeners are performing and determines employees'
annual pay raises. AFGE claims the system is
discriminatory to older workers, minorities and women.

TSA's then-Deputy Administrator Gales Rossides told
lawmakers in 2008 during a congressional hearing that
PASS rewards an employee's performance to increase
overall transportation security. "How does PASS improve
security? When you get paid more to do a better job,
you do a better job," Rossides said at the time.

Borer said the union's objective is to work with TSA to
devise a system that is "perceived to be more fair and
transparent" than PASS.

The agency and the union have agreed separately on
independent third-party reviews of employee disputes,
Borer said. AFGE will be able to appeal discipline,
adverse actions, removals and other disputes to a
neutral third party. AFGE TSA Council 100 President
Kimberly Kraynak-Lambert applauded the move. "This is
great news and a huge victory for our officers from all
over the country," she said. "For a decade we have had
no opportunity to have our cases heard before a neutral
third party. TSA has been the judge and the jury for
too many years."

TSA would not discuss any specifics associated with the
contract negotiations. "At this time, we are focused on
working with AFGE on all remaining issues," David
Castelveter, TSA's director of external communications,
said in an email. "We will address questions about the
content of the agreement when negotiations are
complete."


Con Edison Lockout Ending: Cuomo Announces Deal Between Con Edison And Union Workers

By FAY ABUELGASIM

Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/con-edison-lockout-ending_n_1707145.html


NEW YORK -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo, fearing that a severe
storm could wreak havoc with the city's power system,
intervened in a labor dispute between the Consolidated
Edison utility and its workers and brokered a tentative
agreement Thursday after a weeks-long standoff.

"You don't want a storm hitting New York City without
Con Ed being at full force," Cuomo said at a news
conference announcing that an agreement had been
reached.

Terms of the four-year agreement were not disclosed,
since it must be taken back to the union's executive
committee and membership and to Con Ed's board. But
Cuomo said it was "a good deal, I believe, for both
sides."

Workers greeted news of the agreement with caution.

"I am happy as long as it works out," said Bob Missing,
who has worked for the company for 50 years. "I am
about to retire so I am really concerned about our
pensions."

City residents were glad the standoff seemed to be
over.

"It took long enough," said Elba Mendez, of the Bronx.
"Governor Cuomo should have gotten involved earlier. It
is not only a storm that could affect us."

The previous contract between Con Ed and Local 1-2 of
the Utility Workers of America had expired June 30,
with Con Ed locking out about 8,000 employees just
hours later. Among the points of contention had been
pensions and health care.

The lockout continued even as high temperatures stifled
the city on several days. But Thursday night was
expected to bring severe thunderstorms, with damaging
winds and hail, to the city and larger region.

That pushed Cuomo into getting involved, and he brought
the sides together. Initially, an agreement was reached
for half the locked-out employees to return to work
temporarily, for the duration of any emergency and any
following repairs.

The sides continued talking after that temporary
agreement was reached, leading to the tentative
contract agreement later Thursday.

Cuomo, a Democrat, credited the impending storm for its
role in the dispute's resolution.

"Sometimes a storm has a silver lining," he said. "And
I think this storm actually had a silver lining by
bringing the parties together."

He spoke at his Manhattan office after personally
overseeing several hours of negotiations between Con Ed
officials, including President Kevin Burke, and union
leadership.

Local 1-2 President Harry Farrell said the sides "never
would have been able" to get the deal done without the
governor's intervention.

"All of my members will be going back to work ASAP," he
said.

Burke said Thursday was the first day that he was
personally involved in the labor talks. He said Cuomo
"has certain skills that help bring people together."

About 5,000 managers, former employees and contractors
were keeping the power going for 3.2 million customers
in New York City and Westchester County, just north of
the city, during the lockout.

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