José Cajigas Romero, president of the Unión Independiente Auténtica (UIA), issued an ultimatum to Puerto Rico’s Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (AAA) to address union proposals on its Classification and Compensation Plan before the executive committee activates a strike vote approved by employees on August 22. The UIA and AAA will meet Thursday at 2:30 PM to continue discussing wage issues affecting union members, many of whom still start at $10.50 per hour.
The AAA also faces staffing shortages, worsening the burden on employees managing the drinking water crisis, since low pay makes it hard to recruit specialized operators. Cajigas Romero said the union is exhausting all dialogue mechanisms and has asked for intervention from the AAA Governing Board, the Department of Labor and Human Resources, and other government agencies.
Before over 600 union members authorized a possible strike vote at a special assembly, AAA had proposed raising the base wage to $11.74 per hour (a $1.24 increase), which the membership rejected. The last proposal came from former Vice President of Administration Karim del Valle Gregory, who resigned September 1, possibly delaying negotiations. An earlier Classification and Compensation Plan endorsed by the Financial Oversight Board had proposed a $10.90 base wage, which employees called unfair.