The Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU)
in Solidarity with
Con Edison Workers in New York

The Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU) follows with concern the news that Con Edisson locked out 8,500 members of Utiliy Workers Union of America Local 1-2 in New York. This is an attempt by the company to impose worse and unjust conditions on its workers with the expiration of the current contracts. The company insists on having big concessions on both health care and pensions, and is demanding that workers pay for safety equipment required by federal law.

Con Ed is a huge private utility, covering tens of millions of consumers in the New York metropolitan region. There have been recent well-documented reports to the effect that it has been spending money on lobbying and not paying any taxes during 2008–2010, instead getting $127 million in tax rebates, despite making a profit of $4.2 billion, and increasing executive pay by 82% to $17.4 million in 2010 for its top five executives.

Even though the union has shown a significant amount of flexibility and moderation, offering to continue working under the terms of its expired contract, especially because of the heat wave which the city is currently experiencing, Con Ed insisted it would only allow the workers to continue working if the union pledged to give seven days’ notice before going out on strike, which the union refused to do. Con Ed seems adamant to use the heat wave that will leave New Yorkers more vulnerable to brown outs and blackouts as a weapon to pressure the workers and their unions into accepting blatant and unjust worsening of their conditions of work.

The union rightly questions Con Ed’s decision to bring in replacement workers at a time when residents fighting the heat could lead to greater pressure on Con Ed’s system. Replacement workers currently performing the jobs out in the field are either supervisors who haven’t performed fieldwork in years or outside replacement workers, some of whom are fresh out of trade school.

The EFITU esteems this behavior on the part of Con Ed to be irresponsible and very dangerous. In addition to threatening thousands of workers of dismissal and adding to the ranks of the unemployed, the company is endangering consumers in great need of its services in a period likely to witness an increase in utility emergencies. The company is also endangering the lives of non-qualified replacement workers. In addition, the greedy behavior of Con Ed is placing unnecessary pressure on public finances at a period of huge economic difficulties. Because Con Edison locked out their workforce, those workers will be eligible to file for Unemployment Insurance benefits seven days after the lockout began.

The EFITU expresses its total solidarity with our American coworkers and comrades. It urges the American government to exercise its role by preventing these dangers and intervening in favor of just lobor contracts preserving workers legal rights. It also calls upon unqualified replacement workers, supervisors and trainees to disobey Con Ed orders and refuse to replace their colleagues. Accepting to do so is endangering their lives as well as citizens’ lives, and represents an attempt to break the will of their colleagues and impose unjust working conditions on them all.
The solidarity campaign within the American labor movement with Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 is a source of joy and inspiration for EFITU. We join this campaign, as we consider that workers’ solidarity not only at the national but also the international level is the way that allows workers to gain their rights against savage capitalism and multi-national companies.

Long Live the Struggle of Con Ed Workers!
Workers of the World Unite Against the Injustice and Tyranny of Savage Capitalism

Kamal Abou Eita
Head of the EFITU
July 6, 2012