VALPARAISO — City Council backed the Steelworkers’ NIPSCO staffing petition Monday night.
The Times of Northwest Indiana reported Tuesday that the council passed Resolution No. 10, 2026 in support of United Steelworkers Local 12775, District 7’s push to strengthen NIPSCO staffing, system reliability and storm preparedness after the August derecho left prolonged outages across Northwest Indiana.
Council members Barbara Domer and Ellen Kapitan sponsored the measure on the Oct. 12 agenda. The meeting was at City Hall, 166 Lincolnway.
Key facts
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Vote | Passed Mon., Oct. 12 (The Times; vote tally not in open meta/body this check) | The Times (Hansen, Oct. 13); city resolution PDF |
| Measure | Resolution No. 10, 2026 — support USW Local 12775 NIPSCO petition | City resolution PDF; agenda |
| Sponsors | Barbara Domer, Ellen Kapitan | City agenda |
| Asks | Gov. Mike Braun, General Assembly, IURC, Office of Utility Consumer Counselor | Resolution No. 10 text |
| Prior / later local backers | Michigan City, Portage, Porter County (reading Oct. 27); Lake County Council 6-0 on Oct. 13 | WIMS; Post-Tribune; Post-Tribune (Wilkins, Oct. 13) |
What the resolution says
The adopted text is a support resolution, not a rate case and not a binding order on the utility.
It cites the Aug. 11, 2026 derecho’s outages across LaPorte, Lake and Porter counties and says Valparaiso worked with NIPSCO through restoration. It argues severe weather showed the value of well-staffed local crews who know the system.
The council “respectfully calls upon” Gov. Mike Braun, the Indiana General Assembly, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor to:
- Assess current utility staffing needs in Northern Indiana
- Develop workforce growth targets
- Support utility apprenticeship expansion
- Encourage local hiring and training
- Ensure communities get the level of utility service and emergency preparedness they deserve
It also urges the IURC to weigh workforce adequacy and emergency-response readiness in proceedings that affect NIPSCO customers, and to encourage public reporting on frontline staffing levels, vacancy rates and storm response.
Region pattern
Valparaiso is not the first local government to take the union’s side.
Michigan City’s council adopted a support resolution Oct. 6, WIMS reported. Portage asked the IURC’s storm review to include staffing, the Post-Tribune reported. Porter County commissioners voted to read a support resolution at their next meeting, set for Oct. 27.
Lake County’s council approved a similar USW staffing resolution 6-0 on Tuesday, with Councilman Charlie Brown absent, the Post-Tribune reported.
What’s next
The resolution does not change rates on its own. Any staffing findings would still have to move through the IURC and state offices named in the text.
Porter County’s Oct. 27 reading remains the next scheduled county-level action in Porter.
Photo credit
¹ Valparaiso City Hall (lead photo) — photo by Chris Light, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized for web; this copy is shared under the same license.
² Lincolnway facade of Valparaiso City Hall — photo by Chris Light, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for web; this copy is shared under the same license.
³ NIPSCO power lines across Porter County — photo by Chris Light, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for web; this copy is shared under the same license.
