Mea Culpa. That's the term people use around here to disparage Com Ed.

Perhaps the point is that that partisan politics(and union membership) should be put aside in moments of disaster and emergency.

I think that's part of the point. I think the other part of the point is that adequate and coordinated communication is crucial. I find it all to easy to believe that work crews in the field and in the stress of trying to deal with crises think they know what they're talking about (such as the requirement of union membership) when they actually don't.

I'm pretty sure this all boils down to standard operating procedures gone wrong and some miscommunication. In normal times if these guys were to work out in IBEW "turf" even as a part-timer, seasonal, temp, etc they would have to temporarily affiliate with the local there. I bet that these work crews that believe they are being told to unionize are getting those standard forms when offering to help. The utility companies should have a separate temp work form for in case of emergencies.

^^^ Exactly.

Agreed.

Are these guys working for the same pay as the union?

Probably not since these guys are most likely getting paid their normal wages (maybe some overtime) from wherever they come from. Considering the cost of living differences between Alabama, Michigan, and NYC I'm assuming the NYC guys get paid much better.

Okay, this is the part I don't really get...wouldn't affiliating with the union get them better wages? Or does it not work that way at all?

I believe that paying the high union dues is a lot of the problem.

It doesn't work like that. This is more of a pay to play situation. A local in NY who strictly deals with employees of say, Con Ed isn't going to be able to bargain for people who don't work for Con Ed, let alone a self employed truck driver.

Okay, so they are not really affiliating with the union, then? Or they are, but just in a looser affiliation?

They would be paying union dues but not getting union representation. It's good for the union coffers but I can see how it can be annoying for the people having to pay the dues just to do a two or three day job.