Time Warner workers unhappy with wage offer

WARREN — Union workers at Time Warner Cable in Warren have voted to strike at midnight July 14 if a new labor contract isn’t reached.

The 30 workers who install and maintain cable took the vote because they found the company’s wage offer unacceptable, said Robert Bernat, secretary treasurer of Teamsters Local 377. The vote was unanimous.

Time Warner offered raises of 1.5 percent annually in a five-year deal, Bernat said. Workers earn an hourly wage of between $9 and $16.

Bernat said the wage offer was too low because of the large profits made at the corporate level by the New York-based cable system. Other issues raised by the union have not even been addressed, such as increased training on new technology, Bernat said.

Heidi Mock, a Time Warner spokeswoman, said only two negotiation sessions have been held. “We are negotiating in good faith and believe the issues will be settled at the bargaining table,” she said.

Bernat said the next negotiating session is set for Friday.