Union protests NIPSCO hub decision

CROWN POINT | Fifty union members and NIPSCO employees surrounded City Hall on Monday to protest officials' decision to let the company downsize its presence in the city.

Waving signs and shouting, "Dan Klein's gotta go," the group filed into the City Council meeting. Though the topic wasn't on the agenda, the utility's employees and United Steel Workers of America Local Union 12775 members used the public comment period to urge Mayor Dan Klein and the City Council to reconsider.

"I don't feel it's in the best interests of the city to downsize the (Local Operating Area)," said David Beaham, who has worked for NIPSCO for 25 years. "Someone is going to suffer for it."

But at least one City Council member said he thinks the agreement, which only counts if state regulators reopen the case, is right for the city.

Beaham and others claimed the move would mean NIPSCO first responders handling the east side of Crown Point would have to commute from Hobart and Portage. Randy Bernhardt, a NIPSCO first responder, said response times might average 45 minutes, but fixing problems could take four to five hours or longer.

The settlement calls for the closing of the NIPSCO maintenance hub in the city's center and transferring a reduced staff to the Liberty Park substation.

It's been reported that total staffing in the city would drop from 38 to 25 workers, eight of whom would be home-based NIPSCO service workers at areas in the Crown Point service area. Nine of the support workers transferred elsewhere would still be available to Crown Point.

The agreement came after the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission ordered NIPSCO on Aug. 10 to keep its service hub in Crown Point, along with 11 others in the region, open at full staff. The utility had planned to cut as many as 300 jobs as part of a consolidation plan, closing hubs in Crown Point, Hammond, LaPorte, Plymouth and LaGrange.

City Councilman Bob Corbin, R-5th, said Monday that the city had reached the agreement with NIPSCO before state regulators entered their order. City officials then reconvened and reconfirmed the original agreement, Corbin said.

"I felt it achieved the part that we set out to secure from the beginning," he said, saying a Crown Point facility will remain open and pointing to an increase in first responder staff.

It's been reported the agreement adds three home-based electric and gas service workers.

A joint committee of NIPSCO and city representatives that meets quarterly to assess NIPSCO's service is another accomplishment, Corbin said. Klein did not comment.

Colleen Reilly, director of communications and public affairs for NIPSCO, said the company's goal is to improve service to the community. The committee, in particular, will help NIPSCO keep ahead of issues, she said.

The city's agreement with NIPSCO is not final. Reilly said NIPSCO filed a motion for reconsideration, appealing state regulators' order. It's up to the regulatory commission to decide whether to rehear the case.

David Chlebek, vice president of Local 12775, said he hopes no more hearings will be held.

"This is a big impediment to the public safety when we close this facility down," he said.