An Update on NIPSCO Contract Negotiations

On April 16, NIPSCO and United Steelworkers leadership reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. This tentative agreement reflects our commitment to our customers, communities and employees and best positions us to continue delivering safe, reliable and affordable energy.

This agreement is not final and is subject to ratification by represented employees. The lockout will remain in effect until the ratification process is complete.

HERE ARE THE FACTS ABOUT OUR PROPOSAL:

Increasing Pay

NIPSCO already pays employees well above industry average – and our proposal raises pay even more.

Higher wages: Increase wages by 4% annually over the next 3 years for both clerical and physical employees*, including:

For lineworkers, an additional 5% in year one (totaling a 9% increase), and an additional 1% in year two (totaling a 5% increase)
For senior building mechanics, an additional 3% in year one (totaling a 7% increase)

*The final written offer included slightly different wage increases. The increases presented here reflect the Company's final verbal offer.

Enhancing Benefits

Our proposal protects and strengthens existing benefits and adds new ones.

Expanded leave: 2 weeks paid parental leave, increased bereavement leave, and holiday flexibility.

More health benefits: Enhance vision coverage and a $100 increase to HSA contributions.

Protecting your pension: Ensure employees will continue to benefit from their already robust pension program.

Supporting safety and quality of life: Increase allowances for safety boots, clothing, and tools.

Protecting Safety & Service

Our proposal supports safer working conditions and more reliable service.

Enhanced safety: Cap 16 hours of continuous work, rather than 32 hours straight. Our approach steps down first to a 24-hour cap, then a 16-hour cap to match the industry standard.

More efficient emergency response: Staff storm response teams within regions and create new rules to ensure employees accept at least 30% of call out requests per quarter, accompanied by a flexible and generous grievance process to account for family circumstances or personal conflicts.

Clear overtime rules: Set clear parameters with standby schedules posted 6 months in advance.

More personal time: Shift to a 9-hour flat rest time between shifts, greater than the 8-hour standard.

Investing in Employees

Our proposal creates new positions and career paths, while protecting union jobs. Our final proposal does not cut union jobs.

New career paths: New roles for Lead Solar Technician, Gas Combo, and Permanent Working Foreman — with a new Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee.

Enhanced apprenticeships: Enhancements to the Gas Measurement and Technician (GM&T) Field Technician Apprenticeship program to develop the next generation of skilled workers.

Limited outsourcing: Clerical contractors capped at 600 hours per year, only during verified call volume surges and only after internal resources are exhausted.

From Our Leadership

Read more about our perspective on this opportunity for NIPSCO and our responsibility to the customers we serve.

Read Now

Our Commitment

Supporting the Team Who Powers Northern Indiana

Our employees are the backbone of NIPSCO. Their skill, experience and dedication are essential to serving customers safely and reliably every day. We remain committed to recognizing that contribution and rewarding their work fairly.

We approach negotiations with respect and a commitment to reaching a fair agreement. Our focus is on maintaining the right balance, supporting our people while continuing to deliver dependable, affordable service for customers.

Fact vs. Fiction: NIPSCO Labor Negotiations

There has been a lot of information circulating online about NIPSCO’s labor, use of contractors, and lineworker pay. Some of it is inaccurate, incomplete, or missing important context.

Claim

Facts

“NIPSCO is cutting jobs and eliminating positions.”

There is no proposal to cut jobs. NIPSCO's proposal commits to creating new roles — lead solar technician, gas combo, permanent working foreman — to expand career pathways.

“The lockout is union-busting. NIPSCO is trying to get rid of the union.”

NIPSCO is not trying to get rid of the union. A lockout is a lawful labor action explicitly recognized under the National Labor Relations Act. NIPSCO has presented its Last, Best and Final Offer – the strongest and most comprehensive in our history – and remains committed to reaching an agreement.

“The company slashed benefits and made workers pay more.”

The proposal includes no changes to active or retiree medical plans. It adds two weeks of paid parental leave, enhanced vision benefits, expanded bereavement leave, and significantly higher safety equipment allowances.

“The new overtime rules force workers into unsafe conditions.”

The proposal actually reduces maximum continuous work hours — from an extreme 32 hours to 16 hours — bringing NIPSCO in line with industry safety standards. Fewer consecutive hours means safer workers and better outcomes for customers. The proposal also establishes a clear, fair standard: employees are expected to accept at least 30% of emergency callout requests per quarter, with a flexible process to account for family circumstances and personal conflicts.

“NIPSCO offered a lowball raise that doesn't keep up with inflation.”

Just the opposite. In times of significant customer affordability pressures, the proposal offers above-historical wage increases of 4% for physical and clerical workers. Three years of compounded increases reflect a real investment in the workforce.

“Negotiations are over. NIPSCO walked away from the table.”

NIPSCO bargained in good faith through nearly 200 proposals and continued beyond the contract extension deadline. The Last, Best and Final offer remains on the table — the union can accept it at any time. NIPSCO is not walking away; we are waiting for the union to accept a comprehensive, fair deal.

“NIPSCO lineworkers aren’t paid well.”

NIPSCO lineworkers are among the highest paid in Indiana reflecting the skill, risk and responsibility the job requires. We remain committed to rewarding that work fairly while also balancing the need to keep service affordable for customers.

“High pay means NIPSCO lineworkers are always available and ready during outages.”

NIPSCO lineworkers are among the highest paid in the state, but that does not mean they are consistently available during outages.

Sometimes a storm or outage doesn’t meet the current contract rules that trigger premium overtime pay above and beyond regular overtime pay. When that happens, there may be fewer incentives for crews to come in, and restoration can take longer.

In situations where NIPSCO lineworkers do not show up, the company must bring in qualified outside contractors to restore service or complete time-sensitive work. Hoosiers feel the impact of these delays and operational challenges.

The LBFO directly addresses this: it establishes clear overtime acceptance expectations so customers get faster, more reliable emergency response.

“NIPSCO uses contractors to avoid paying NIPSCO lineworkers and charge customers more.”

NIPSCO does not use contractors to replace local lineworkers.

Customer bills are determined through an extensive, careful regulatory process and influenced by customer usage.

“NIPSCO is demanding extreme concessions from workers. ”

Updating current contract provisions would:

Improve safety by supporting better staffing, scheduling and fatigue management
Strengthen storm and emergency response by allowing crews to be deployed when needed, not only under narrow classifications
Improve reliability for customers while protecting employees in high-risk situations

NIPSCO respects its employees and the important work they do every day. At the same time, NIPSCO has a responsibility to customers to deliver safe, reliable and affordable energy.

The goal of these negotiations is to reach an agreement that supports employees, protects safety, and ensures NIPSCO can respond effectively when customers need us most.

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