Genera PR workers vote to unionize under United Steelworkers

The newly unionized workers serve as technicians, electricians, field operators, instrumentalists and maintenance workers, among other positions, in 17 power plant locations across Puerto Rico.

By The Star Staff

Some 480 workers at Genera PR, the private operator of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) legacy power plants, recently voted to join the United Steelworkers (USW) union.

The newly unionized workers serve as technicians, electricians, field operators, instrumentalists and maintenance workers, among other positions, in 17 locations across Puerto Rico. Genera PR is an independently managed subsidiary of New York-based energy company New Fortress Inc., which generates electricity through natural gas for the entire island. The 261 to 149 vote in favor of joining the USW took place last week.

“This is a historic moment for not only the USW but also our new members at Genera PR,” USW District 4 Director David Wasiura said. “This victory has significant implications for electricity generation in Puerto Rico as well as our ability to hold companies that seek to enrich themselves by privatizing public services to account.”

Puerto Rico began privatizing the island’s power generation in 2017 after PREPA declared bankruptcy. Genera PR officially took over for the PREPA as power plant operator on July 1, 2023. Genera refused to recognize any of the unions that represented workers at PREPA, including the Electrical Industry and Irrigation Workers Union, which the government has tried to dismantle.

Workers said the transition from a public entity to a private company left them without labor protections.

“The transition to the private sector left us without the protection of a collective bargaining agreement,” said Stephany Resto Sierra, an electrician at the Genera PR San Juan plant. “Winning our union was a priority because uncertainty reigned here previously. Now, through our union, we’ll be able to improve our working conditions and have a say in the decisions that affect us. We now call on Genera PR to sit down with us and swiftly negotiate a fair first contract.”

“Working in the private sector brings new challenges, and the surest way for us to improve our working conditions and defend our labor rights was through securing union representation,” said Oscar Roque, a worker at Genera PR’s Palo Seco plant. “We trust that future collective bargaining will be done in good faith and for the benefit of all parties.”