Overview
- Union members representing about 1,500 PECO workers officially walked off the job just after midnight on Saturday after contract talks failed to produce an agreement.
- IBEW Local 614 says the dispute centers on wages, uniform retirement coverage and safety protections, and that roughly 600 newer hires currently lack pension coverage.
- PECO says it offered nearly a 20 percent wage increase over five years plus improved retirement and medical benefits and that it has contingency plans to keep service running.
- Several contractor and sister-utility locals have directed their members not to cross the picket line, and union leaders warn that could slow outage restoration and emergency response during the ongoing heat wave and forecast storms.
- A federal mediator has been assigned to the talks but the union has not agreed to mediation, and both sides continued last-minute bargaining through the strike deadline after roughly six months of negotiations.