| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Davisburg trucker turned away in NYC after hauling power transformers |
| 2012-11-04 |
| In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, it seems to be pretty clear that residents of New York City and the surrounding areas could use all the help they can get. However, a Davisburg man said some people in the area are more interested in "protecting their turf" than in distributing those supplies to the masses. Mike James, an independent trucker, said he and three other truckers were told to haul a load of transformers to the city to replace equipment anticipated to be lost in the storm. James, two men from Holly and a Flint man arrived in the city Tuesday night and slept in their trucks before attempting to deliver the 144 transformers to emergency workers. When they arrived Wednesday, they were turned away by Con Edison employees because they were not union workers. "These transformers here, I don't know how many lines they would power or how many homes they would power, but just the fact that they were supposed to be going to help people, and these union guys care more about protecting their turf -- I got a very sour taste in my mouth about New York City people," James said. The transformers weren't the only help to be turned away. "Utility crews came up from Alabama," James said. "They called them scabs and sent them home. They said those people from Alabama were taking food out of their families' mouths." |
| Posted by:Au Auric |
| #11 In a two-page Oct. 29 contract, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) local 1049 demanded union dues, pay hikes and benefit contributions from Florida electric utilities before its workers would be permitted to help reconnect power to Long Island communities. The demand came as Hurricane Sandy was bearing down on the Northeastern United States, stranding tens of millions without electricity. The “Letter of Assent,” which The Daily Caller obtained from the Florida Municipal Electric Association, demanded 11 separate financial commitments from municipal power companies and electrical cooperatives in the Sunshine State. The agreement, for any utility that decided to sign it, would have been in force from Oct. 29 to Nov. 29. Barry Moline, the association’s executive director, told TheDC that by Nov. 1 the union, based in the central Long Island town of Hauppauge, had relented and stopped insisting that nonunion crews pay dues and other union fees. they have a link to the document. f*ckers |
| Posted by: Frank G 2012-11-04 11:48 |
| #10 At this point I trust no one, I just distrust some more than others. Posted by Glenmore Prediction: You will live a very long and fulfilling life. :-) |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-11-04 11:36 |
| #9 JohnQC, it would not surprise me if the story was true; it would not surprise me if it was 'embellished'; it does not surprise me that the media did not confirm it. At this point I trust no one, I just distrust some more than others. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-11-04 10:08 |
| #8 New Yorkers - apparently you don't need any help. Your Con Ed Union workers said so |
| Posted by: Frank G 2012-11-04 09:39 |
| #7 Glenmore, it would not surprise me that independent truckers and utility workers were turned away in NYC when I think of the union behavior in Wisconsin; those people were thugs. I doubt the people who needed help would turn down the help. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-11-04 09:23 |
| #6 The problem is they are too direct to live in an alternating universe. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-11-04 08:57 |
| #5 Face it James, there's just no transforming some folks. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-11-04 04:10 |
| #4 Mod -- link fixed |
| Posted by: Sherry 2012-11-04 03:44 |
| #3 Distressing story, but is it true? It is just based on one guy's statement, with no verification. Several similar stories have come out, some false, some at least partly true. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-11-04 01:24 |
| #2 Link no work. Correct one is here. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2012-11-04 01:11 |
| #1 The unions are a criminal pestilence upon the nation. RICO from the ground up. America needs to "clean house" in big way. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2012-11-04 01:11 |