Con Ed Strike Deadline Pushed to Tuesday

Late last night, Gov. David Paterson made his presence felt in the negotiations between Con Ed and its union representing 9,000 workers -- most of its labor force -- minutes before the midnight strike deadline, and persuaded both sides to agree to a "cooling off period," according to wcbstv.com.

Negotiations are scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Con Ed is offering its workers a raise of half a percent, followed by 1 percent in the years after that, according to the Daily News.

The NY Times reports that the last Con Ed strike occurred in 1983, when 16,500 workers went on strike for nine weeks. Con Ed said that the strike had little effect on most consumers, but union officials said it delayed repairs of an electrical substation knocked out by a fire and caused a three-day blackout in the garment district.

Photo by MK Metz