Peco workers vote to ratify new contract with raises and pensions
Of the union members who voted, 97% favored ratifying the agreement.
Peco workers ratified their new union contract on Saturday, officially adopting an agreement that includes raises and pensions for all workers.
“Local 614 members stood together and won a great contract, and we’re proud to be back at work serving the public,” Larry Anastasi, president of IBEW Local 614, said in a statement when the results were announced. “They said it couldn’t be done, but we brought back pensions, medical coverage, and raises for all our members.”
IBEW local 614 represents roughly 1,500 Peco employees, including linemen and call center workers, who have been without a contract for months. Their most recent five-year agreement expired on March 31, and workers walked off the job on the Fourth of July after the union and Peco couldn’t reach an agreement. The work stoppage was the first in the company’s history.
A tentative deal was reached just before midnight on July 6, bringing an end to the three-day strike. The agreement was described as “historic” by the union that evening.
The vote took place on Saturday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Of the union members who voted, 97% were in favor of ratifying the agreement.
The five-year contract is effective immediately and goes through March 31, 2031.
In a statement Saturday night, Peco said it was pleased IBEW Local 614 had voted to ratify the contract.
“This agreement reinforces our shared commitment to maintaining a safe workplace and delivering exceptional service to the communities we serve,” the company said.
The new agreement includes 4% annual raises for field workers in the first four years of the contract and 4.5% in the fifth year. Call center workers will get 3% raises annually throughout the five-year contract.
During bargaining, Peco had said that on average, its customer service employees earned $45.12 an hour. Average annual pay in 2025 for a lineman was over $243,500, including overtime.
The agreement also includes cash-balance pensions for all workers. Previously, some 600 workers hired after 2021 didn’t have access to a pension, while those who did have one were on different plans.
In 2001, Peco gave workers the option to switch over from a traditional pension plan to what is known as a cash-balance plan, union spokesperson Melissa McCleery said.
A cash-balance plan, like a traditional pension, is employer-funded, typically doesn’t require the employee to make their own contributions, and often the employer manages how the funds are invested. But like a 401(k), the amount available to the employee upon retirement is based on a stated account balance rather than monthly payments for the rest of the retiree’s life – though the amount can be split up over time.
Roughly 80% switched over to a cash balance plan when the choice was offered, according to McCleery. Since then, the benefits of those cash balance plans have been reduced twice, she said.
“Like many employers, Peco transitioned from traditional pension plans to cash balance pension plans and, more recently, to enhanced 401(k)-based retirement programs,” the company said in a statement Friday. These programs “have evolved over time in a manner consistent with broader employer and utility industry practices.”
Roughly 20 to 30 workers still have the traditional pension and are able to keep it under the new union contract, said McCleery.
Peco did not share how much the new contract will cost the company.
“While specific contract details remain confidential between the company and the union, the tentative agreement will not result in any immediate changes to customer rates,” a company statement noted.
