08/31/11 CT Post's Ken Dixon Had To FIO Letter That Malloy Withheld From Public - Unions Say Utility Workforce Cuts Imperil Prompt Power Restoration

BRIDGEPORT'S CONNECTICUT POST NEWS INVESTIGATION:

KEN DIXON REPORTS ON DAN MALLOY'S IRENE COVER UP

CONNECTICUT GOVENOR SAYS HE NEVER SAW THE LETTER .....

• Lack of workers affecting power restoration?
  Unions charge that cuts are catching up with companies

  

  
  

Unions that work for the state's electric utilities said systematic reductions in line workers over a number of years at Connecticut Light & Power and the United Illuminating Co. have finally caught up with the companies.

The companies have been slow to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers because reduced work forces can't be supplemented adequately with mutual-assistance crews from other states, union officials said....

....Cirillo wrote a letter this week to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, requesting a meeting to review staffing levels, which he said have been dramatically reduced over time, to the point where during emergencies the utilities bring in out-of-state crews rather than pay state workers to perform the repairs.

He estimated line crews for CL&P have been reduced by 40 percent to 50 percent since Hurricane Gloria 26 years ago.

The letter, which was obtained from Malloy's office by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers under the state's Freedom of Information Act, said the staffing levels are so low that even regular line work is subject to backlogs....

...Malloy, during a late Wednesday afternoon news conference, said after electric service is restored, there will be plenty of time to examine the state of Connecticut's utilities. But for now, he said, the number of people working to restore power is "spectacular." Asked about the union's staffing charges, the governor said he hadn't seen Local 420's letter.

"How much is too little, I think, is a very legitimate question," Malloy said...

...Tom Swan, executive director of the nonprofit Connecticut Citizen Action Group, a consumer advocate, said the 1998 legislation is responsible for worker attrition.
"We don't have the means to hold accountable the utilities to make sure we have the number of linesmen we need. ..," he said.