Progress' N.C. workers told of union
Florida members of the IBEW and other union representatives talk to Progress Energy Carolinas workers about organizing.
By LOUIS HAU
Published March 21, 2006
In a modest meeting with potentially big implications, a small group of power plant employees from Progress Energy Carolinas met over the weekend with officials from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
The topic? The benefits of union membership.
The approximately 2,000 trade employees of Progress Energy Florida are represented by the IBEW. But their counterparts in the Carolinas are not represented by any union.
Some employees at Progress' Roxboro and Mayo power plants near Roxboro, N.C., want to consider changing that. In response, IBEW officials, including two from Florida, held a meeting Saturday in the cafeteria of a nearby North Carolina high school to answer questions.
Only five employees showed up, even though the union sent out notices to the approximately 150 trade workers at the two plants.
Still, IBEW international representative Rick Ellis said the meeting was a good first step. Ellis is based in the IBEW's 10th District office in Chattanooga, Tenn., which oversees the union's operations in Arkansas, Tennessee and the Carolinas.
"We've had half a dozen contacts within the last six months," Ellis said. "They have contacted us wanting to know how to start (an organizing) campaign."
Ellis acknowledged that he had expected a larger turnout but attributed the small numbers to scheduling conflicts over the weekend.
If Progress Energy Carolinas employees were to join the IBEW, it could present a new management challenge for the parent company, Progress Energy Inc. of Raleigh, N.C.
But Progress chief financial officer Peter Scott, who acknowledged he wasn't aware of Saturday's meeting, said organizing efforts in the company's Carolina operations "really is not a major concern for us."
Scott also heads Progress Energy Service Co., which handles shared administrative services, including human resources, for all Progress subsidiaries. He said the company treats its employees fairly, adding that if some want to consider joining the IBEW, "they have the ability to make that decision themselves."
Also attending the meeting was Joe Adams, business manager of IBEW System Council U-8 in Crystal River, which represents Progress employees in Florida. Adams and David Price, president of IBEW Local 1412 in Winter Garden, drove 12 hours Friday to attend the meeting. Adams said he and other IBEW officials mostly fielded questions about benefits and protections provided under a collective-bargaining agreement.
No further meetings have been scheduled, Adams said, noting that the union isn't actively recruiting Progress Energy Carolinas employees, but rather simply responding to their requests for information.
"We always welcome new members," Adams said. "We would love to have them be a part of it. ... The ball is in their court."
--Louis Hau can be reached at 813 226-3404 or hau@sptimes.com