Posted on 11/03/2012 2:52:37 AM PDT by markomalley
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie bristled at reports Friday that an electricians’ union stood in the way of some utility workers who wanted to help restore power to victims of Hurricane Sandy. He would use his emergency-management powers, he said, to guarantee that nonunion crews could help restore his state’s electricity grid without interference.
“I’ve been on the phone with PSE&G [Public Service Electric and Gas Company], JCP&L [Jersey Central Power & Light] and the union, and they’ve all absolutely promised me they would never turn away a single worker whether they were union or nonunion, and I wouldn’t allow it,” Christie told reporters shortly after 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon.
“I would invoke my powers under the Disaster Control Act to prevent that from happening, but they’ve assured me we don’t have to.” (RELATED: NJ utility denies turning away nonunion electric crew volunteers from Ala.).
But a spokesman for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg didn’t reply to emails asking whether his boss would take a similar hard line. A spokeswoman for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo similarly didn’t return phone calls asking the same question.
Christie said Friday that “there was one incident of this in Seaside Heights” since Superstorm Sandy hit.
“First of all, the workers never came to New Jersey, okay? They weren’t turned away when they got here. They heard that New Jersey was a union state, coming from Alabama. When they stopped in Virginia, they called to see what they would do and they were given bad information.”
Christie said his state’s major utilities and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) “have all said they do not have that requirement.”
The Daily Caller had published a report more than an hour earlier about electric utility crews from central Florida that idled for two days instead of working on Long Island, while their managers dealt with the union’s demands.
“It turns out there was a 300-page contract that the union controlling LIPA [the Long Island Power Authority] wanted everybody to sign first,” the crewman told TheDC. “We don’t have time for that. We’ve got guys ready to go. You need lawyers for this.” (RELATED: Ala. utility, Fla. crewman blame electricians’ union for interfering with Hurricane Sandy relief)
An IBEW spokesman told TheDC on Friday that ”the IBEW did not send the documents” the Florida crew’s managers described, “nor did any of our locals.”
But he didn’t reply when asked if he had communicated with all 273 locals in the union districts where Sandy’s impact was felt. Those include 20 IBEW locals in New Jersey, 48 in New York, 10 in Connecticut and 52 in Pennsylvania.
A few hours after Christie spoke, TheDC reported on another case — this one involving an electric co-operative in Georgia whose workers were turned away from New York because they weren’t union members.
Neither of those cases involved New Jersey, but Christie threatened to invoke the authority he holds under New Jersey law if it became necessary. The state’s Civilian Defense and Disaster Control Act gives the governor broad power to control “utility repair squads” and other volunteer agencies in times of crisis.
Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts told TheDC that both ”union and nonunion crews” are “at work right now in New Jersey, restoring power.”
He said he believed those nonunion crews included some from outside New Jersey, but conceded he “would need to confirm that.”
Roberts reiterated Christie’s vow to bring utility companies to heel if nonunion workers weren’t welcomed into the Garden State. But he stopped short of saying the governor would apply the same level of aggressiveness to the IBEW.
“It would be absolutely premature for me to talk about what the governor would or wouldn’t do” in the absence of more proof, Roberts told TheDC.
“We’re always open to evaluating new information.”
Agreed, however earlier in the day when asked if Romney could come and tour with Christie the Governor blew up that he had no time for Presidential politics, and he would not play that game while under a stste of emergency. Obamas press conference should have been a solo act, wouldn’t you think?
Liberals are so feeling, ain’t they?
Look how they are taking care of their fellow citizens in liberal NYC.
Massive FAIL.
Their liberal leader had to be publicly shamed into canceling the NYC Marathon.Hubris greater than the storm debris.
obama has Bloombergs back, you know, being from the libtard side of the tracks. Christie needed to do what he did in order to get his people the money that would not have flowed to him only because of the R after his name. Sometimes life hands you a sh!t sandwich and you gotta take a bite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuQHEIdLv3s
This is a great example of how the media helps democrats.
The original story was the unions would not allow non-union members to work. Well, that wasn’t quite right, but whose fault is it that the original story was wrong?
Then, we learned that the actual story was that the non-union workers were asked to sign union contracts. Well, that is still a bad thing, and kept the non-union workers from helping.
But, because it is a “different” story, Politifact is running around calling the original story “false”, and all the liberals are mocking conservatives for “lying” about the union deal.
It’s just like Benghazi. What we know now is still bad for Obama, but because it’s different than what Obama’s administration originally leaked out, the media keeps covering the “false narrative” of the right, even though we are just trying to keep up with the lies of the administration.
This is a great example of how the media helps democrats.
The original story was the unions would not allow non-union members to work. Well, that wasn’t quite right, but whose fault is it that the original story was wrong?
Then, we learned that the actual story was that the non-union workers were asked to sign union contracts. Well, that is still a bad thing, and kept the non-union workers from helping.
But, because it is a “different” story, Politifact is running around calling the original story “false”, and all the liberals are mocking conservatives for “lying” about the union deal.
It’s just like Benghazi. What we know now is still bad for Obama, but because it’s different than what Obama’s administration originally leaked out, the media keeps covering the “false narrative” of the right, even though we are just trying to keep up with the lies of the administration.
Yeah, how’s that o’blamer cutting red tape promise working out for you, Mr. Gullible?
Agree. He lost his gravitas with he blubbering, whining, sucking up to Obama. I didn’t think he would ever shut his fat pie hole. In fact, I thought for a minute he has going to drop down on his knees an service The One right there on national tv......
bmfl
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