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Expert warns both sides in Turlock Irrigation District labor conflict could loseTURLOCK, Oct 03, 2012 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- It's still not clear just what happened over the weekend when the Turlock Irrigation District couldn't reach its line workers to handle power outages. But it has become apparent that the tension between the line workers and the board they are negotiating with for a new contract has spilled over into the public, and that can be dangerous. "People don't forget these things easily," said Chris Sablynski, associate professor of management at University of the Pacific. "It's a troubling situation I can see from both sides." Sablynski, who said he has no knowledge of the specific negotiations at TID, spoke generally about strife between unions and management. Customers were left without power when one power line went down Friday and a second Saturday, and the 40 line workers could not be reached. Requests for help from the Modesto and Merced irrigation districts were unsuccessful, so the Turlock utility turned to private crews. A crew from Visalia agreed to help, but left Turlock after talking to a local line worker, according to TID management. Union officials said they did not formally or informally authorize a strike, but the TID has never had a situation where it could not put together an emergency crew after hours, when line workers are paid double their $45.04 hourly wage. A Pacific Gas and Electric crew finally arrived Sunday morning and restored power to the roughly 50 affected customers, some of whom have complained about the situation and filed claims for thousands of dollars in losses of refrigerated and frozen food that went bad. "Turning it over to the court of public opinion is risky," Sablynski said, pointing to the recent National Football League lockout of its referees. That said, such drastic measures can yield results. "When things get rough, you can look to creative solutions," he said. Fans frustrated with bad calls by inexperienced replacement referees, for instance, suggested there be some kind of agreement in which at least one experienced official join each crew. The NFL and its referees reached an agreement last week, returning all the veteran referees to the field. "Both parties would agree they don't want to harm the public," Sablynski said. For the full story, see Thursday's Bee and www.modbee.com ___ (c)2012 The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) Visit The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) at www.modbee.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |