Wash Gas Forced to Open Books

Washington Gas blinked. A months-long campaign by gas company workers paid off when the utility was forced to turn over a copy of a contract this week that will outsource hundreds of workers at the gas company's call center.  "What are they hiding?" OPEIU Local 2 President Dan Dyer asked Wednesday after the news broke in the Washington Post, noting that Local 2, which has been pushing for release of the contract, has yet to see a copy. "Faced with a fine growing at a rate of $5,000 a day, Washington Gas Light's parent company has turned over a copy of a controversial outsourcing contract to the District's Public Service Commission," reported Steven Mufson in the Washington Post Wednesday. "The commission imposed the fine Friday -- starting at $350,000 -- after WGL Holdings refused to supply it with a copy of a $350 million agreement the company had made with Accenture that would mean laying off about 300 people in the Washington area. The commission ordered the company to produce the agreement July 20, and Friday it criticized WGL's 'egregious violation' of local legal codes and 'willful and knowing violation' of commission orders," Mufson reported. OPEIU Local 2, which represents 160 workers who received layoff notices on Monday, has warned that Accenture, a consulting and outsourcing firm based in Bermuda, will move customer service call centers overseas, potentially creating hazards if people unfamiliar with the area are fielding calls from customers reporting gas leaks or other problems, Ken Thomas of Local 2 told the Post. Click here to read the whole story.