IBEW Local 614’s First PECO Strike Hits Day 2 With Assault Allegations

The first PECO strike in 145 years entered its second day Saturday with IBEW Local 614 reporting three picketers injured on the line. One worker was pushed to the ground by an on-duty security guard at a Philadelphia facility; two others were struck by vehicles at a Chester County yard. PECO called the reports categorically false, saying the picketers “either fell in an unprompted manner or were not contacted by any vehicle.” About 1,600 Local 614 linemen, gas technicians, and call-center workers had walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after contract talks collapsed.

A federal mediator is now working with both sides, with a heat wave gripping the region and storms in the forecast. PECO has offered what it calls “nearly a 20 percent wage increase over five years,” plus enhanced retirement and medical benefits; the union says its members earn about 30% less than workers at comparable utilities.

Three Picketers, One Categorical Denial

Philadelphia police confirmed a man reported he had been pushed to the ground by an on-duty security guard at PECO’s Oregon Avenue facility while picketing Saturday morning. Police said the man suffered scrapes. Two more incidents reportedly took place at the Berwyn Yard in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, where Local 614 picketers were on the line. NBC10 requested information from Tredyffrin Township police about the reported incidents but had not received a response by Saturday evening. The NBC10 Investigators documented all three picket-line injury reports on strike Day 2.

PECO spokesperson Greg T. Smore rejected the union’s account in a written statement: “Based on our investigations, these accusations are completely false. There was union picketing activity at each location where union members were blocking vehicles.” He added that PECO “review[s] and investigate[s] every potential safety incident to determine the validity and accuracy.” Local 614 president Larry Anastasi called any violence against pickets “unacceptable” and said the company bears responsibility to keep interactions at its facilities safe.

At the Philadelphia site, Local 614 linesman Joseph Vassallo framed the day as a matter of presence: “I think the hardest thing is that this is our right to do this. We try to keep our guys safe and everything we do, especially the work that we do. It’s really a shame that someone would try to take advantage of the situation.” Workers left the picket lines Saturday evening to mark the Fourth of July, saying they planned to return.

A First in 145 Years, Six Months at the Table

In its 145 years, PECO had never been on strike before Saturday. The Philadelphia utility serves 1.7 million electric customers and about 550,000 natural-gas customers in the city and its Pennsylvania suburbs. Negotiations on a successor contract began in January.

The union framed Saturday’s walkout as the cost of management intransigence. “PECO’s lack of seriousness over six months of bargaining has forced us to this point,” IBEW Local 614 said in a statement that morning. PECO’s Smore said the company was “extremely disappointed” that workers had chosen to strike. The previous contract expired in March, and employees have been working under expired terms since April 1. PECO has had contingency plans in place, with backup crews available to handle electric and natural-gas calls. The union’s McCleery said the company “did not make any substantial changes to their offers until Wednesday of this week.”

It’s hard for me to sell the younger guys on what they’re going to be getting coming in here when I don’t even know myself. It’s a mixture of guys like me in the middle versus the guys in the beginning that we want to make sure that this stays beneficial for them and their families going forward.

Vassallo, a Local 614 linesman, spelled out what his younger colleagues need from a new contract.

The Pay Gap the Company and Union Can’t Bridge

The fight turns on a pay gap the union says it can no longer accept. McCleery said PECO employees earn roughly 30% less than workers doing comparable jobs at nearby utilities. PECO has put “nearly a 20 percent wage increase over five years” on the table, plus “significantly enhanced retirement and medical benefits that address the union’s long-standing priorities,” an offer the union has rejected as too little. PECO also posted a $278 million profit in the first quarter of 2026, and Calvin Butler Jr., the CEO of parent Exelon, took home $24.6 million in total 2025 compensation.

We have presented a strong, market-competitive proposal that includes nearly a 20 percent wage increase over five years, along with significantly enhanced retirement and medical benefits that address the union’s long-standing priorities.

Smore, PECO spokesperson, in a written statement Saturday.

The offers, McCleery said, didn’t move until late in the process. “PECO did not make any substantial changes to their offers until Wednesday of this week,” she said. The sides are now talking through a federal mediator assigned to the dispute. PECO, by the company’s own account, pays its average lineman $243,569 a year including overtime, disclosed in PECO’s Q1 2026 filings; the union has questioned how that average is built.

Local 614’s specific demands going into the strike:

• Industry-standard wages to close the pay gap the union says it has with comparable utilities nearby.
• A universal pension plan covering all members, including the roughly 600 workers hired after 2021 who currently lack pension coverage.
• Retirement medical benefits on a uniform basis, ending the current multi-tier structure that disadvantages newer hires.
• A single unified contract replacing the existing two-tier system of agreements.

McCleery pointed to executive pay and recent rate increases, arguing the money isn’t flowing to workers. “There’s an enormous amount of waste and greed at PECO that’s a real problem,” she said. PECO has called the 30% framing exaggerated but pointed to its own contingency staffing and what it calls a “market-competitive” offer.

1.7 Million Ratepayers in a Holiday-Weekend Heat Wave

A strike during a holiday-weekend heat wave was always going to test the region’s largest electric utility. PECO’s territory covers 1.7 million electric customers in Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs, plus about 550,000 gas customers in the suburbs. The company has staffed positions left vacant by strikers with backup crews for both electric and natural-gas calls. “Our response times are not delayed, but restoration times may be impacted by picketing activity,” PECO said on its website. So far there is no public report of a major outage tied to the strike.

Temperature and storms could complicate that. PECO said high heat and incoming storms could affect equipment and service in the days ahead. Storms tend to drive calls to utilities, and storm response is exactly the kind of work union gas and electrical workers around the region would normally handle. With surrounding union locals honoring the line, PECO has fewer regional allies to draw on when storms hit.

Solidarity Across Six States

The picket line is drawing support from utilities up and down the East Coast. IBEW locals representing workers at utilities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia have directed their members not to accept calls, emergency work, or side jobs from PECO. United Association Local 855, which represents gas and utility workers in New Jersey, is also honoring the line.

Teamsters Local 107 business agent Shawn Dougherty framed the support as reciprocity: “Labor sticks with labor,” he said, accusing PECO of unfair labor practices and bad-faith bargaining. “This chapter of the IBEW has been very, very tolerant,” Dougherty said of the six-month bargaining run. “When PECO came to the negotiating table, guns are blazing right away,” he added.

The combined effect raises the cost of running out the strike for PECO. With neighboring locals honoring the line, PECO will struggle to bring in non-union reinforcements without breaking its own relationships with organized labor.

The solidarity stretches to other roles inside PECO. Joy Rodriguez, a customer care center consultant walking the line Saturday, said she is fighting to keep PECO from outsourcing the jobs. The wider message from Local 614 members on strike Day 2: a contract that benefits everyone from the newest hires up.

Where the Talks Now Stand

A federal mediator is now working with both sides, the company confirmed Saturday. PECO has “encouraged the use of the assigned federal mediator to help facilitate productive discussions,” Smore said. The union is engaging with the mediator as well, McCleery said. With a heat wave across the region and storms in the forecast, both sides are under pressure to settle without a service failure.

The bargaining remains ongoing as of Saturday evening, with no new contract and no immediate end to the strike in sight. Workers had walked off the job in the middle of the country’s 250th anniversary, with picket lines now active into the holiday weekend. For Local 614, Day 2 was about presence on the line and patience at the table.

Local 614’s broader message remains: “We strike strong, and we strike to win.” Both parties now have the same mediator and the same contract language on the table, waiting on a hot Philadelphia region to see which side breaks first.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the PECO strike about?

Members of IBEW Local 614 went on strike at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, 2026, after six months of contract talks with PECO collapsed without a successor agreement. The union says Local 614 members earn about 30% less than workers doing comparable jobs at nearby utilities, and is pressing for industry-standard wages, a universal pension plan, retirement medical benefits, and a single unified contract.

When did the strike begin, and is there an end in sight?

The walkout began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 4, 2026. As of Saturday evening, no end date had been set and a federal mediator had been assigned to the dispute. Negotiations between the two sides were continuing.

Will the PECO strike affect my power?

PECO says it has activated contingency plans and that “response times are not delayed.” The company does warn that “restoration times may be impacted by picketing activity,” particularly as storms move through the region. No major outage had been publicly tied to the strike as of Saturday.

Why is this the first PECO strike ever?

PECO is 145 years old, and the utility had never before had its IBEW-represented workforce walk out. The previous contract expired in March, and Local 614 has been bargaining for a successor since January. The union said it struck because of “PECO’s lack of seriousness over six months of bargaining.”