Next steps for PG&E bargaining

By Tom Dalzell, Business Manager

In the week following the ratification vote count, I met with PG&E officers to explain my preliminary understanding of the reasons that led to the no vote.  I tried to convey the disappointment that our members felt with the company’s proposal in light of the many sacrifices that our members have made for the last 17 years as the company has stumbled from one blunder to another.  On Monday, February 27th, I met with the union members of the benefits and physical bargaining committees in Vacaville to discuss the no vote and the next steps.  We all agreed that we need to ascertain the reasons that led to the no vote to the best of our ability.

To do this, surveys are being mailed to all PG&E members to identify reasons which drove the no vote.  Everyone thinks that they know why our members voted no, but we believe that a survey will reveal more than anecdotes based on personal experience.  The surveys will also be distributed at March unit meetings.  Between March 7th and 13th we are also conducting focus groups in seven locations with members who strongly objected to the proposed medical plan to flesh out the grounds for their objections.

Based on what we learn through the surveys, the focus groups, and unit meetings, we will formulate a proposal for PG&E.  We hope to meet with the company before the end of March.  Unless there is a ratified new agreement, wages, benefits, and working conditions will remain as they were in 2011 for 2012.  Because neither the company nor the union terminated the agreement, the company may not impose its last, best and final offer in 2012 and the union may not strike.