COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS (CWA)
Felony Charge for Burned Unionists
An attempt by two striking unionists to
reportedly sabotage Verizon Communications backfired when one mistakenly
cut into a power line he thought was a phone line in Baldwin, N.Y. As 13,200
volts of electricity surged through Joseph Hertzel's body Aug. 17 and threw
him to the ground, his shirt caught fire and one of the blades on his tree-pruning
sheers melted. His girlfriend, Joanne Pender, was also injured by the explosion.
"They picked the wrong cable," said Nassau Detective Robert Winter. "They cut the main feeder for ... electricity for that area."
The two members of Communications Workers of Am. Local 1108 were charged with felony tampering and criminal mischief and were arraigned on Aug.18 in the hospital. Hertzel was ordered held on $1,500 bail and Pender on $750.
Nassau police said 20 similar acts of sabotage were been reported during the Verizon strike. For example, another striking unionist was arrested Aug. 17 for allegedly trying to run a Bell Atlantic van off the Long Island Expressway while driving his 2000 Lexus. [Newsday 8/18-19/00]
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