Union worries about job losses in NStar merger
07/08/2011 10:34 AM
By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff
Following the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of a proposed merger between Boston’s NStar and Connecticut-based Northeast Utilities, the president of a local utility workers union said he is concerned about the jobs that would be lost if the companies combine.
The utilities have said the merger, which still needs state approval, would allow them to cut nearly 350 administrative jobs over five years, mostly through attrition. But on Monday, an NStar executive told utility regulators that at least some of those lost jobs could be union positions, said David Leonardi, president of the Utility Workers Union of America Local 369, which represents roughly 1,850 NStar employees.
Local 369, headquartered in Braintree, is an intervenor, or interested party, in the state Department of Public Utility’s review of the merger.
The CHANGE we have been waiting for!! (hic)