James Shillitto, President, Local 1-2, NY, Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, announced today that the Union and SUEZ, the mammoth France-based global utility giant, had reached a Collective Bargaining Agreement sparing its nearly 1 million water users in Westchester County a dangerous labor dispute.

The negotiations were pushed to the deadline and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service joined the effort to reach a fair deal.

Shillitto said, “We reached an agreement last night. It was a difficult negotiation. Thanks to the intervention of the federal mediator, we were able to get SUEZ to agree to a deal that allows my Members to earn a fair wage and give SUEZ customers a safe, reliable water supply.”

Terms of the deal will be presented to Members before a vote to ratify the Contract as soon as possible.