Us West Workers Give Authorization For Strike Union Upset About Overtime And Health Care Expenses

Union complaints about excessive overtime and a potential shift in health care costs could trigger a walkout against US West Inc. in two weeks.

More than 92 percent of voting Communications Workers of America members approved a strike authorization, union leaders announced Monday. The three-year contract, which covers nearly 36,000 US West employees in 14 states, expires Aug. 15.

“It obviously intensifies the pressure on the company,” said union spokesman Jeff Miller. “It lets them know we have substantial support.”

US West spokesman David Beigie said the strike authorization from the 29,000 union members was expected.

“It would be news if they voted not to strike,” he said. “We’re continuing to negotiate steadily, and we’re working to try and achieve a contract in the best interest of our customers.”

Union Vice President Sue Pisha said downsizing that eliminated thousands of employees in recent years has created a shortage of trained employees just as demand exploded for new services, second telephone lines and additional business needs.

Beigie said US West assigns overtime on a volunteer basis whenever possible.

“We’re like police, fire and hospital service. It’s an indispensable service, and if there’s a power outage or some other emergency, we’ll ask people to come in on an emergency basis,” he said. “Our people are well paid, and there are emergencies that come up from time to time.”

He said the company also requests voluntary overtime when its order backlog becomes excessive.

U S West has hired hundreds of workers to cut overtime, Beigie said.

Marilyn Meehan, spokeswoman for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, said complaints about installation delays have declined significantly in the past two years.

Meehan said a strike probably will have little effect on customers not trying to get new services.

Union leaders are pushing for increased wages and benefits in line with company profits, which were reported at $1.25 billion last year.

Beigie said U S West wants to expand a voluntary incentive program that rewards employees who meet customer-service benchmarks.

However, the wage increase is not likely to be a contentious issue.