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A contract affecting about 5,000 employees, who are members of Utility Workers Union of America Local 132, expires at midnight tonight . Also on Friday, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, to which the Utility Workers of America belongs, voted to sanction a strike by the utility workers if they choose that route. According to federation spokeswoman Mary Gutierrez, the utility local asked for the support of the federation, which represents 350 unions. "By granting a strike sanction, the Federation will support these strikers in various forms including picket line support, rallies, demonstrations, boycotts, financial assistance to pay for household expenses, and in coordinating food drives, political, union and community support," said Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the federation, in a Friday statement. Members of the utility workers union local voted by a 4-1 margin Sunday to authorize a strike if negotiations fail. The earliest a strike could happen would be when the contract expires at midnight. "We're going to continue to work on this up to the deadline," said John Duffy, a national vice president of the Utility Workers Union and lead negotiator for the union in ongoing talks. Company officials said Southern California Gas has made some contingency plans should a strike take place, but they are optimistic that a strike can be avoided. "We're still hopeful we will be able to reach an amicable agreement with the union," said Denise King, spokeswoman for the company, which is owned by San Diego-based Sempra Energy. While the company says it is bargaining in good faith, the union contends Southern California Gas is using the condition of the overall economy to avoid improving worker benefits, despite posting a 22 percent increase from last year in its third-quarter 2008 earnings. Duffy said the federal mediator was expected to begin work Friday afternoon and continue with talks throughout Saturday if needed. Issues in dispute include worker wage, sick time and pension provisions, as well as health care contributions. Southern California Gas Co. has 20.3 million customers in its service territory, which includes all of Riverside County and most of San Bernardino County. King said that in the event of a strike, the company's nearly 2,000 management personnel would step in to make certain gas service is not interrupted. Protracted labor disputes are unusual for the utility, which has not experienced a strike since 1993, when Local 132 conducted a one-day walk-out. To see more of The Press-Enterprise, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.PE.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. For full details for SOCGP click here.
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