UAW rallies for laid-off solar workers; company cites seasonal downturn

Several dozen members of the United Auto Workers union and their supporters rallied in Bethpage Saturday in support of 21 solar-installation employees of EmPower Solar, who the union charges were laid off after they voted in December to unionize.

Bethpage-based EmPower has denied the charge, saying the furloughs were due to a seasonal downturn.

UAW Local 259 vice president Mike DiGiuseppe said the rally was a peaceful protest in support of the workers and the union’s commitment to start collective bargaining for the EmPower workforce, which voted 29-16 last month in favor of union representation. He said the union on Jan. 2 filed four charges with the National Labor Relations Board against EmPower, including for alleged union busting.

“We are not going to be bullied and we are not going to allow our workers to be bullied,” DiGiuseppe said.

David Schieren, chief executive and co-founder of EmPower, which is one of Long Island’s largest solar installers, said he expects to begin bargaining with the union “very soon.” He rejected the UAW’s claim that the furlough of 21 employees in December was related to the unionization effort. Rather, he said, the solar market has seen a downturn tied to higher interest rates and supply costs and sees a seasonal slowdown in winter.

“We are not anti-union,” said Schieren, who is also board chairman of the New York Solar Energy Industries Association. “We admire unions.”

EmPower had filed a charge against the UAW with the NLRB alleging the union made “repeated false claims about wages and other examples of defamation” in public comments over the past several months.

DiGiuseppe, who denied the defamation charge, said he visited EmPower’s office on Nov. 27 seeking to open a dialogue with Schieren, saying, “We were escorted off the property. I couldn’t even get a hello.” Schieren noted the visit was unannounced and said union officials were “rude and intimidating to my staff.”

In an opinion piece in Long Island Business News, DiGiuseppe and EmPower Solar installer Daniel Lozano wrote that workers sought to unionize “because of [EmPower's] labor practices,” including “low-base wages” and an “untransparent” bonus structure. “No one knows how their bonus structure works,” said DiGiuseppe, who noted that Lozano was among the workers who have since been laid off.

EmPower said the company pays installers and technicians an average of $65,000 in annual compensation, with full health benefits and a 4% 401(k) match.

“EmPower’s wages and benefits are competitive, there is upside mobility,” the company said in emailed responses. “If workers are unhappy, they are free to leave and join one of the other 100-plus solar companies operating in this territory that compete in a thriving marketplace.”

As part of its accusation of union busting, the union noted the company hired a firm that helps companies repel unionization efforts.

Schieren said the company hired the consulting firm because “we were ambushed. We’ve never been through this before. We had to do a quick search for people who had experience working with unions.”

Schieren on Friday suggested the company wants to move beyond the acrimony. “Tomorrow is a new day,” he said. “We’d encourage all participants to cease the divisive attacks and engage in a productive way.”

DiGuiseppe said he’s ready to “mend this relationship” and encouraged Schieren to “answer our letters. Communicate with us.” But he emphasized, “We’re not going anywhere. These workers chose us because they know we are going to fight tooth and nail for them.”

Most local solar installers who work on residential rooftop arrays do not employ unionized workers, though larger utility-scale project developers, including wind-farm companies, have committed to union labor. 

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.