It could do us bad depending on the process to do contract negotiations. The Utilities will go with the lowest bid/contract they can get. Even if there is representation doesn't mean they have to use the folks that have requested the representation. They can hire a bunch of Jr. qualified people, including within their existing organization as temporaries (secretaries, internal labor support, management personnel), and have their house Sr. techs oversee them. I have seen them do this many many times over the last 36 years Ive been in this mess. Or.....south of the border folks come in on a much lower wage (like they have been doing with Bartlett Mexico) and take the contract and be happy. They are just dying to get our jobs in this market.
A simple scaled wage for the various job descriptions, including Supervision and Engineering, and taking time/loyalty in the industry into account, with a minimum of $5/hr increase across all the scales would be a start. Pay per diem at least CLOSE to the Conus rate cause the cost of living sure as hell isn't going down any. And if a reasonable claim is made, pay full travel without cap. Expecting too much or making demands too high will get you nothing but the Utilities finding ways to eliminate our positions and work leaner. Its happened before and will happen again. They can do temporary hiring through their own organization, eliminate the middle man entirely, pay what they want, and get the people they need. If you haven't noticed, people are out of money and about to lose their possesions, and will take work no matter what.....
Have you seen any outages that came to a halt because they couldnt fully staff???!!! Hell no, if they dont get what they want, it doesnt matter, the outage goes on without. Its all about the big picture.....OUTAGE BUDGET.....you can boycott, whine, or whatever, but bottom line, they will get around it and get the unit back on line.