By Doug Cunningham

Governor David Paterson has intervened in contract talks between Con Edison and New York City’s Utility Workers union. The union says ConEd is trying to force the union to go on strike. ConEd is offering just a 1.5 percent total raise in wages over four years and wants to eliminate pensions for new employees, replacing them with 401 (k)’s. ConEd is also demanding that workers pay much more for health insurance, while threatening to reduce those benefits. The strike deadline has been extended to Wednesday.