HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Representatives with Huntsville Utilities and Joe Wheeler Cooperative, two area utilities mentioned in media reports claiming their crews were not allowed to help with storm aid in New Jersey because they were non-union, said this morning the story is untrue.

The general manager of the other department mentioned, Decatur Utilities, has since verified claims that his workers were asked to affiliate with a union.

Bill Yell, spokesman for Huntsville Utilities, said nine of his employees are currently helping with recovery from Hurricane Sandy and had no union-related issues.

"That's a rumor," he said. "We are starting work this morning with Long Island Power Authority. We were headed to a New Jersey utility but they had all the crews they could handle."

A spokeswoman for Joe Wheeler Electrical Membership Cooperative said the crews from Trinity also are assisting with storm recovery and, in fact, are unionized.

"It is not true for us," she said. "I don't know how we got lumped in there (in that report). We sent eight guys to Maryland, not New Jersey. They have been there since before the storm but they've finished work and are headed home this morning."

The crews from Joe Wheeler EMC went to Denton, Md., in anticipation of the storm and worked with Choptank Electrical Cooperative.

Yell and Phillips said they have been inundated with calls from national media outlets in the wake of the report, including Fox News and CNN, and several newspapers in New Jersey.

Yell said going to assist with utilities recovery is not as simple as sending donated goods and requires a lot of coordination.

"We were not turned away," he said. "It's a lot more complicated than that. One of the problems is whenever this kind of thing happens people call and ask, 'Are you going to send crews out?' but it's not a situation where everybody jumps in truck and heads up there. You have to work through trade associations. You have mutual-aid agreements and you've got to find a system that needs you and is able to take you."

He said some systems don't use the same voltage and may have different configurations. "You don't just go up there and say, 'Hey, we're here. We're going to start putting up poles for you."

Because of the storm and snow, it took two days for his crews to arrive in New Jersey, where they learned they were not needed. The American Public Power Association then coordinated with the Long Island system and the Huntsville crews arrived there this morning, Yell said.

"We've been through enough of these situations," he said. "We know how these things work."

Check back here for more details.

Updated at 9:17 a.m. Nov. 2, 2012, to mention that the mayor of Decatur had been contacted and to include additional comments from Bill Yell.

Updated at 11:34 a.m. Nov. 2 to link to an update from Decatur Utilities.

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