Union employees call off strike, say they’ll keep negotiating with Kentucky American Water
Kentucky American Water employees who had planned to go on strike Friday night will stay on the job for now while they continue negotiations with the company, a union representative said Friday night.
The union representing the 68 employees said in a news release Friday afternoon that a tentative agreement had been reached. However, employees did not approve the agreement when a vote was taken later in the evening, a representative said at a rally for the workers.
“An agreement has not been reached,” Bo Johnson, Kentucky state director of the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, told employees gathered in a parking lot across the street from Kentucky American’s headquarters on Richmond Road. “We’re going to work through this. We’re going to go back to the table.”
The water company employees, represented by the NCFO, had originally planned to strike on Friday just before midnight.
Johnson said told employees at the rally that “we could not come up with a decision based on the votes.”
“We just believe there’s room to maneuver through the negotiations,” he said.
The union said in a news release later Friday night that they are tentatively scheduled to meet with Kentucky American on Monday.
“The Union is still pursuing the unfair labor practices against the Company, but bargaining on Friday did produce some gains, so the Union is hopeful good faith bargaining can continue.” Robert Smith, secretary-treasurer for NCFO, said in the release, “so the strike has been called off.”
The workers have filed four complaints of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board since last week.
Their four-year contract with the water company expired Nov. 1, and the workers alleged that the utility had tried to negotiate directly with employees and had asked them about union activities. They argued that the water company was bargaining in bad faith and had violated labor laws.
.A representative of the water company said earlier that the allegations were unfounded.
“Unfortunately, filing allegations of unfair labor practices against an employer is a common strategy in these situations,” said Susan Lancho, a spokeswoman for Kentucky American Water. “While we are not able to comment on pending actions, the company is confident that the NLRB will find, as we have, that the charges made are without merit. In any event, the company remains willing to accept the union’s ratification of the company’s offer.”
The union said negotiations with the water company had continued Friday, and they said Friday afternoon that those negotiations culminated with a tentative agreement.
“We are very pleased with this development,” James Kinder, a water company employee and union steward who served on the negotiations team, said in a news release before the employees voted. “We know our value, and this tentative agreement acknowledges and respects that value. We know the company came back to the table because we stood strong and stood together. We are proud to be union members serving the Lexington area every day, and we’re proud to be a part of NCFO 32BJ.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 5:43 PM.
