Alliant, union in contract dispute [Telegraph-Herald (Dubuque, IA)]

Alliant Energy and the company's union members are working to hammer out a contract as the days tick down to the expiration of the current agreement between the parties.

Alliant and IBEW Local 949 and 204 were in negotiations throughout the summer, with the contract dispute centering on health care benefits and the role of seniority in some positions.

The current contract was extended for 30 days at the end of September, and it will expire at the end of this month.

Union members are in the process of voting on a contract proposal from Alliant, and results are expected Friday.

The stalemate is not about money, but core union issues, said Dave George, business manager for IBEW Local 204.

"I've never seen anything like this where the company has dug in their feet and really wants to do this to the members. I don't see the advantage to it. I don't know there's any cost savings," he said.

But an Alliant spokesman said the company believes the contract offer is a good one and is open to continuing negotiations.

"We don't want any ill will or to make this a political issue. It's just a disagreement on what a contract should be," said Ryan Stensland, company spokesman.

"I don't think our intent is to say we really want to stick it to them."

Contract dispute

Alliant is proposing bargaining unit employees be on the same health insurance plan as the non-bargaining employees, moving from a preferred provider organization to a consumer-driven health plan.

With all the employees on the same plan, cost-sharing of premiums would no longer be a negotiable item.

"We are a self-insured company and having all employees on the same plan provides us a better position to mitigate cost increases," said Stensland, who said this in turn would benefit ratepayers.</p>

He said the consumer-driven health plan will allow employees to accumulate money in a health reimbursement account to help cover the costs of major illnesses and medical costs in retirement.

But George said the current health plan for bargaining unit members is cost-efficient and only went up half of 1 percent from 2012 to 2013.

The switch to the consumer-driven plan would mean union members in Iowa, Interstate Power & Light employees, would be subsidizing the higher health care costs of Alliant employees in Wisconsin, according to George.

"We want to have a plan that's based here, based on our usage here in Iowa," he said.

On the seniority issue, Alliant wants to increase the role of qualifications while reducing the role seniority plays in filling apprentice and foreman positions, according to Stensland.

"We are not proposing to eliminate the role seniority plays in filling positions but are seeking to ensure that we attract and utilize the talent and skills of employees to fill positions in which they have the training to fill a particular position," he said.

George called Alliant's stance on the issue "misleading."

He said the union has worked with the company over the past 12 years to establish a procedure for qualifications that involves a series of metrics, including seniority.

"They've struck through all that in the contract. They're doing away with everything we've done in the last 12 years," George said. "They're taking the seniority component out completely."

Temporary workers

Earlier this month, Alliant staffed the sites with temporary workers in the event of a strike. That includes the Dubuque plant.

"We have a business to run, a system to operate," said Stensland, who said the move is part of the company's typical contingency plan for contract negotiations.

"It's not a scare tactic, it's just reality," he said, adding that it is "fairly unusual" to have reached a point in negotiations where temporary workers are stationed on site.

"The clock is ticking. The contract runs out on Oct. 31. We've got to make sure we have workers in place," Stensland said.

George said bringing temporary workers on site seemed to be a little bit of both - scare tactic and necessity - and questioned the qualifications of the workers. He said the safety of the public and those in the plant could be in jeopardy.

"The possible damage to the power plant that could result from inexperienced operators could affect the system reliability of delivering power to Alliant's customers, not to mention the damage to an asset that the Iowa ratepayers have bought and paid for," George said.

Stensland said the workers all have experience in the field and are being trained in specific plant operations.

George disputed this.

"If they're truly qualified, they wouldn't need to be trained," he said.