It is, and always has been, the policy of the Michigan State Utility Workers Council to preserve and protect Union jobs in the community, not only to guarantee current and future job opportunities for Union Members, but also to insure a safe, reliable, and efficient utility system and work environment.

The recent increase by Michigan utility companies in their subcontracting of Union work to non-union contractors threatens both of these goals. The use of such contractors, of course, jeopardizes well-paying Union jobs. Moreover, the employees of these contractors are generally inadequately paid and poorly trained and lack the same sense of dedication and commitment to the community that a utility's own employees possess. As a result, the workforce and the public suffer.

To combat this increase in downsizing, the cooperative efforts of the utility's employees and customers and of the government are needed in order to convince the utilities that it is better to have work performed by its own well-trained employees. To this end, the Michigan State Utility Workers Council encourages its own members, when they have a good faith belief that customers have been victimized by fraudulent or incompetent work by subcontractors, to notify the customers of their legal options, including their right to contact the Company or appropriate state agencies to investigate their complaints. If the customer is reluctant to take action, the member should call these incidents to the Council's attention and we will notify the appropriate agency.