From truck-mounted laptops to mobile laptops to smart phones, Northern Neck Electric Cooperative (NNEC) in Warsaw, Va., has come a long way in the past couple of years. "We have made our field crews into telecommuters," said Mike Hyde, customer information systems (CIS) and IT manager.

Compared with the plight of the United Automobile Workers, which has seen its membership cut in half to 140,000 in three years, the two major utility unions have been bastions of calm and stability. Both the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) have seen steady membership and limited downsizing since linesmen and other employees must be on site to conduct their jobs, which can't be easily outsourced. Since Barack Obama was elected president and Democratic presidents tend to support unions, will these unions see a rise in membership? Indeed, how will the labor landscape change in 2009?  more...
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