Forum Post: Union Red Tape in N.J. Causes Alabama Recovery Crew to Head Home

Despite devastation and millions of power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, a utility crew from Alabama said it has been unable to help a ravaged New Jersey shore town due to a union dispute.

Officials from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers presented Alabama-based Decatur Utilities with documents that “required our folks to affiliate with the union,” Ray Hardin, general manager of Decatur, said “That was something that we could not agree to. It was our understanding and still is that it was a requirement for us to work in that area.” Unions are power grabbing scum