CenterPoint strike looms
Unionized workers vote today on a new contract
Unionized employees of CenterPoint Energy, the utility that owns the transmission and distribution system that delivers electricity in the Houston region, are scheduled to vote Wednesday on a new contract proposal and whether to authorize a strike if the contract approval fails.
The votes follow seven months of negotiations and come after a contract proposal was roundly rejected by workers in August.
A federal mediator was brought in after the August vote, and workers have been working under extensions of a contract that expired in May, according to CenterPoint spokesperson Michelle Hundley.
Nearly 40% of CenterPoint’s workforce is made up of union employees, she said.
A vote in favor of a strike authorization would not necessarily mean a walkout was imminent.
Union leadership said it was committed to continuing negotiations with CenterPoint, and the local branch needs permission from the international union headquarters before any work stoppage, said Ed Allen, business manager of Local 66 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union representing more than 1,400
CenterPoint workers.
“The union is not promoting to go out on strike. The union is making preparations regardless of what happens,” Allen said.
A strike by CenterPoint workers could be acutely felt by Houston-area residents if a storm blows through the area and knocks out power, as repairs to company operated power lines and poles could be delayed by a work stoppage, the union said.
Alyssia Oshodi, CenterPoint’s director of communications, said the company is
prepared for any situation. “We will make sure that our operations can continue and that we can safely and reliably continue to deliver our service.”
Results of the votes, which are scheduled to take place throughout the day, will be available after 4:30 p.m. Passage of the contract requires a simple majority of the vote; the strike authorization vote requires a two-thirds majority, Allen said.
If approved by the union, the new three-year contract
would be effective retroactively from May 26, Hundley said.
IBEW Local 66 is the Houston-area branch of an American and Canadian union with members working in the utility, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing and railroad industries.
The CenterPoint unit of IBEW Local 66 has about 1,430 members, including those who work on substations, transmission and distribution infrastructure; mechanics who operate CenterPoint-owned vehicles and buildings; and warehouse material handlers, Allen said.
The main sticking point in negotiations between CenterPoint leadership and the union is a reduction in paid sick leave, Allen
said.
The company declined to discuss the terms of the its contract proposals.
In the first contract proposal, the first five days of sick leave that workers take each year would be unpaid.
It was rejected by 99.3% of union members who voted.
The proposal up for vote on Wednesday restores paid leave from the first sick day for current employees based on years of employment, as was the case in the expired contract; for those starting in January 2024, the contract calls for unpaid leave for the first five sick days each year, Allen said.
“When you get a really bad sinus infection, your equilibrium is off. So these guys need their sick leave, because they can’t climb up poles when they’re not well. It’s hazardous to their
health,” Allen said.
While he said he preferred all members have the same benefits, Allen said the latest contract offer would help retain workers, a persistent problem within CenterPoint in the last couple of years.
“Most young people today live paycheck to paycheck, and I’m sympathetic to that,” Allen said. “But I’m also driven by my responsibility to protect the people that are currently working here.”
Other issues
The latest CenterPoint contract proposal also ends the 3% annual bonus for union employees, awarded based on good attendance and lack of vehicle accidents, Allen said.
In return, the company offered to do away with the company’s disciplinary system for
attendance, which put workers on tiered warning levels if they missed work for reasons beyond an approved list. In the new proposal, the consequence for missing work would be no pay, Allen said.
Wage increases offered in the latest proposal are also smaller than previously offered.
CenterPoint is now offering an increase of 6% the first year, 4% the second year and 3.5% in the third.
The earlier offer would have increased wages 7.5% the first year, 4% the second year and 3.5% the third year, according to documents reviewed by the Chronicle.
Net earnings are down
The vote comes as CenterPoint’s net earnings have declined 39% over the last year, with the company reporting net income of $443 million in the six months ended June 30, compared to $721 million in the yearearlier period, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“This management team continues to execute even during times of continued headwinds from higher interest expense, persistent inflation and extreme weather events,” CenterPoint CEO Dave Lesar said in a July statement.
The company recently increased a component of its rates paid by retail electricity consumers by 46%, leading many Houston-area residents to see a spike in their September electricity bill.
Earlier in the year, CenterPoint was kicked out of the Houston chapter of the Better Business Bureau for a pattern of consumer complaints.