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Pilgrim strike possibility looms, union votes sealed
By Kathryn Koch
Thu May 15, 2008, 05:29 AM EDT
Instead of releasing the results of a secret ballot vote that may authorize members of the Utility Workers Union Local 369 to strike at Pilgrim Station Nuclear Power Plant, union leaders agreed to seal the ballots overnight Wednesday.
The ballot box was turned over to a federal mediator, Union President Gary Sullivan said in a statement, as a show of good faith and in cooperation with requests made by Gov. Deval Patrick and Secretary of Labor Suzanne Bump.
The workers' contract with Entergy Nuclear Operations expires at midnight tonight (Thursday), May 15. Sullivan described ongoing negotiations with Entergy as intensive but unsuccessful. The union has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to require that the plant be shut down if its workers are locked out.
