A National Grid crew from Fredonia, N.Y., repair power lines on Port Washington Boulevard that were brought down by Superstorm Sandy in Port Washington, N.Y. Thousands of utility workers from New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts say many are still waiting to be fully compensated for their efforts to restore power after Superstorm Sandy.MINEOLA, N.Y. – Mike Valaskatgis slept in his National Grid truck for two nights, and then on a cot two more nights before getting a bed in a hotel room during a 10-day visit to New York last month to help in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
The Gloucester, Mass., overhead lineman said he logged 18-hour days working in various Long Island neighborhoods to restore power. He opened his latest paycheck this week, and was disgusted to see that an estimated $7,000 in overtime has yet to be paid.
“It was frustrating up until today. Now I’m angry,” he told The Associated Press Thursday in a telephone interview. “I’m going to get it eventually, but I shouldn’t have to go looking for it.”
Valaskatgis is one of thousands of National Grid utility workers complaining they have yet to be fully compensated. Some say they haven’t received their overtime pay, others contend they have gotten paychecks with zeros, while still others say payroll deductions they arranged for mortgage, child support and alimony payments were not made, according to union officials.
The problems, according to a spokesman for energy company National Grid, stem from a conversion to a new payroll software system in the weeks preceding the Oct. 29 storm that knocked out power to millions in the Northeast.