PECO, IBEW Local 614 Resume Talks After 1,600 Workers Strike as Utility Offers 20% Raise
Updated
Updated · WPVI-TV · Jul 5
PECO, IBEW Local 614 Resume Talks After 1,600 Workers Strike as Utility Offers 20% Raise
3 articles · Updated · WPVI-TV · Jul 5
Summary
Saturday night talks between PECO and IBEW Local 614 ended without a contract, with bargaining set to resume Sunday as picketing continues across the five-county Philadelphia region.
About 1,600 union workers walked out after the sides clashed over wages, a universal pension plan, retirement medical benefits and a unified contract; the union said it has not received a wage proposal in months.
PECO said it has made meaningful progress and already offered nearly a 20% wage increase over five years, plus enhanced retirement and medical benefits; it also said a federal mediator was assigned but the union declined.
Friday storms knocked out power to about 9,000 customers, and PECO said roughly 80% had been restored by Saturday evening, though some residents reported longer outages and website errors during the strike.
Three striking workers were reported injured in separate picket-line incidents, including two involving vehicles, but PECO said its investigation found the allegations false and that picketers had blocked vehicles.