Workers Prolong a Service Disruption

A minor mishap turned into a major nuisance when public officials failed to plan for work rules in responding to a utility failure. Their blunders reveal important lessons for small businesses dealing with unionized workforces. Today, a section of a 30-inch water main in Jersey City broke and was shut down for repair. This particular water main serves most of the large companies in Jersey City, those that are along the Hudson River waterfront. The first lesson is the need for redundant delivery methods. You should never have a system vulnerable to a single point of failure.

The failure of the human systems to promptly repair the broken pipe is inexcusable. The water main is the property of Jersey City and was under contract for repair under the supervision of United Water of Jersey City. The workers belong to a union which began to negotiate a scope of repair work with the City. The City reportedly offered no objection and the negotiations were extended to ensure that the repair would not begin until after business hours; that is, when payment of overtime wages is required. Had the repair work started immediately, the disruption would have been minimal. But the work was delayed until the night time hours, such that employees who work in the area, in the upper floors of the high rise office buildings were unable to use their restrooms for most of the day. They went home in the evening unsure if water service would be restored when they would return to work in the morning. Don’t make the mistake made by Jersey City public officials today. If your business is dependent of unionized workers, make sure the contract spells out who is immediately responsible for what when disaster strikes.