Hundreds of Atlantic City Electric workers on strike. Will it impact your power?

Atlantic City Electric union employees are on strike following failed contract negotiations.

What does this mean for locals' electrical service?

Why are Atlantic City Electric employees on strike?

Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 210 opted for a strike this week after contract negotiations with Exelon company Atlantic City Electric were unsuccessful. According to the electric company, the contract between the two parties expired on Nov. 2.

"We feel confident the company bargained in good faith and provided a competitive offer that is fair for employees and customers. At this time, the Union has elected to strike," Atlantic City Electric wrote in a Nov. 5 Facebook post.

The union represents almost 400 Atlantic City Electric employees.

Will the strike impact local services?

In short, no, the IBEW Local 210 strike won't majorly impact any customer's electrical services.

Atlantic City Electric explained via Facebook post that they have "contingency plans and highly qualified staff in place to ensure customers' electric service is not affected."

AC Electric services 2,800 square miles and 560,000 customers across South Jersey.

"We feel confident the company bargained in good faith and provided a competitive offer that is fair for employees and customers," said Zach Chizar, Senior Communications Specialist for Delmarva Power, an Exelon Company, in a prepared statement.

IBEW LU 210 also represents employees of Vineland Municipal Electrical Utility, but the strike does not impact that utility.

What did Atlantic City Electric negotiate?

The offer presented before the strike included a five-year deal with incremental increases totaling 16-20% by the end of the contract term with additional benefits, according to Chizar.

According to Chizar, the average AC Electric lineperson makes $177,326 annually including overtime and an average hourly rate of $53.72.

Additional offerings included pay premium, clothing allowance and meal stipend increases, additional vacation days and holiday time, military leave enhancements, a $1,500 ratification bonus and more.

A written statement by Zach Story, business manager for IBEW Local 210, described the offer from AC Electric as "insulting."

According to Story, the proposal from the electric company did not include a 20% wage increase as suggested, and the wage increase offered does not "keep up with inflation."

Story also claimed the company's statement on the average linemen salary to be "disingenuous," noting the apprenticeship, training and overtime necessary to earn those wages, in addition to mentioning that both the base wage for linemen and the average wage for the majority of IBEW 210 members is "substantially less."

The offer also included "harmful subcontracting language," Story said, which would allow the company to assign work to non-IBEW workers and reduce union employee compensation.

"IBEW Local 210 members remain committed to receiving a fair wage and equitable benefits, and will not agree to substandard working conditions imposed by a greedy national corporation and its high paid executives," Story said.

Who is supporting the strike?

Supporters of the union workers have expressed disappointment and concern with the electric company's decision to bring on additional workers to fill the strike positions.

Many comments flooded Atlantic City Electric's Facebook announcement, urging them to share the contract proposals that they had deemed fair and expressing their support for Local 210.

"Your best and final offer doesn't sound fair OR competitive if almost 400 employees have decided to walk out and forgo their wages," one commenter wrote.

"These linemen go out in dangerous conditions and all of the time and deserve proper compensation," wrote another.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Kaitlyn McCormick writes about trending issues and community news across South Jersey for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times. If you have a story she should tell, email her at kmccormick@gannett.com. And subscribe to stay up to date on the news you need.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Why are Atlantic City Electric employees on strike?