Electricians union reaches deal with Vermont Yankee
Entergy Vermont Yankee and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers reached an 11th hour deal August 19 over a new three-year contract. The tentative contract agreement coincided with a visit to Brattleboro from Rudolph Giuliani, who is now a security consultant working with Entergy Nuclear.
Electrical workers at the nuclear plant, located in Vernon, were set to go on strike if a new deal had not been reached. Managers at the plant were set to take over those jobs to keep the plant operational. The sticking point was over health care costs. IBEW workers had struck twice in the plants history, once in 1974 and again in 1979.
The union represents 148 of the plants 500 employees.
Giuliani, mayor of New York on September 11, 2001, was Time magazines Person of the Year because of his leadership following the terrorist attacks. He was in Vermont touting the security upgrades made by Entergy since it bought the plant in 2002.