(KEMPER COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI) - In the State of Mississippi, a Dying Power Plant Construction Project is Being Given New Life as Developers Turn to Union Halls for Help.  

Mississippi Power’s New 582-Megawatt Project in Kemper County Had Faced Serious Logistical Struggles When Non-Union Contractors Fell Behind on the $4 Billion Utility Build.  So in Order to Meet the Original Deadline of December 2013, the Mississippi Power Affiliate Southern Company Services (SCS) Turned to Union Pipefitters, Welders, Ironworkers, Electricians and Millwrights.

However, Burns & Roe, Who Serve as Monitors of the Project For Mississippi Public Utilities, Still Doubts the Project Can Be Completed On Time, Because of How Deep a Hole the Non-Union Contractors Dug: Burns & Roe “is ‘Very Concerned’ the Project Cannot Find the Appropriate Number of Craft,” the Consultant said In Its Most Recent Report.  It said Mississippi Power and SCS Initially Underestimated By Half the 10.6 Million Man-Hours of Skilled Labor Needed to Build the Project and that the Pace of Monthly Progress Through March Had Been Only Three-Fifths What Was Needed to Finish the Job on Time.

Pipefitting is the Number One Concern, said the Consultant said, and is Falling “Further and Further Behind the Project Schedule.”  SCS has Added Three New Piping Fabricators and asked Local Union Pipefitters to Provide Up to 300 Welders, Burns & Roe Said.  They Also Boosted Craft Pay, Burns & Roe added.  On Another Front, SCS has Also Received a Union Commitment of 300 Electricians, If Needed, the Consultant said.

The Biggest Hurdle Facing the New Workers Is a Lack of Room to Work: The Multiple Schedule Items that Continue to Be Delayed … Will Cause a Tremendous ‘Stacking of Trades’ Effect.”  Even Though the Site is “Large and Spread Out, the Area Work Spaces are Limited, Making It Difficult to Perform Work Tasks Effectively.”

Currently, 600 Union Workers are On the Job Site With Unions Pledging to Provide More Men and Women When Needed.  

Anti-Union Advocates, meanwhile, are Wielding Public Relations Mojo to Deflect Blame For the Failure of the Project: I Don’t Think Southern Turned to Union Labor to Get The Project Back On Track,” said C.J. Edens, President and CEO of the Mississippi Chapter of the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC).  Edens says the Project Has Suffered From Poor Planning, Not Poor Performance by Non-Union Contractors or Workers.

But Edens and His ABC-Affiliated Workers Can Call It What They Want.  They Just Won’t Be Able to Use the House Phone on the Kemper County Power Project Job Site Anymore.

You Can Directly Read This Labor News Story At: http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2013/06/11/4b-ms-power-project-falls-behind-schedule-using-non-union-labor-turns-to-union-labor-to-meet-its-deadline/