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Union leaders tell Baltimore council contractors, not in‑house crews, are driving costs as trainees are laid off
Summary
IBEW Local 410 leaders testified that BGE’s expanding use of contractors for pipeline and storm work has coincided with layoffs of trainees and entry‑level union employees and may be more expensive for ratepayers than in‑house labor.
Brian Swiger, assistant business manager for IBEW Local 410, told the City Council that BGE has shifted core work — gas pipeline installation, leak remediation, underground cable and substation tasks — to outside contractors and that strategy coincided with record profits and layoffs.
Swiger said the layoff notices initially covered roughly 64 employees and that about 30 trainees or first‑year workers remained displaced at the time of the hearing. He testified this cadre includes electric trainees, gas construction and maintenance employees, and emergency gas responders.
“The filings and the financials paint a clear picture. A deliberate strategy to prioritize contractor arrangements and shareholder returns over stable jobs and long‑term reliability for Maryland customers,” Swiger said.
Council members and union witnesses cited PSC dockets and a 2023 reconciliation filing that indicated BGE overspent gas infrastructure budgets by roughly $73.3 million and then sought additional recovery. Witnesses also referenced an internal breakdown in which contractors performed a sharply larger share of forecasted capital work (the transcript cited a forecasted rise to 71% contractor work in a multi‑year plan filing).
Union representatives said contractor labor rates for storm response and specialized work can be several times the overtime cost of in‑house crews — testimony that, if reflected in rate cases, would be material to PSC review. They also said a hiring freeze at BGE since June 2025 has left the utility dependent on outside firms even as senior management hires continued.
No BGE representative was present to answer questions at the hearing. Council members urged the PSC to use rate‑case oversight and statutory fixes to force clearer comparisons between contractor and in‑house costs and to protect trainees from permanent displacement. The hearing record includes references to pending PSC proceedings where these costs can be tested.
