ROCK SPRINGS -- Union electrical workers at three Wyoming power plants are voting on a three-year contract proposal from the Rocky Mountain Power Co., union and company officials said Tuesday.

Both sides, however, see little chance of the offer being accepted by union members.

"This [offer] will fail and it will fail miserably," union spokesman Harold Giberson said. "If they want a message from our vote, then they're going to get one."

Rocky Mountain Power President Richard Walje also predicted the vote won't pass.

"We gave them a package to vote on ... but I don't believe that the vote will ratify the contract," Walje said Tuesday during the company's annual Wyoming Customer and Community Conference in Rock Springs.

"[If not,] then we'll get back to negotiations," he said. "But I fully expect to reach a resolution at some point."

The Utility Workers Union of America, Local 127, represents 587 employees at three PacifiCorp power plants -- Jim Bridger Power Plant east of Rock Springs, Dave Johnston near Glenrock and Wyodak near Gillette -- and transmission line workers across the state.

The union and company have been engaged in the collective bargaining process since August, but do not appear close to agreeing on a new contract. Both sides indicated there were still many issues to be resolved in the negotiations.

Giberson said Local 127 members are hesitant to ratify a contract offer from the company that includes cuts in benefits for union workers.

Proposed cuts include eliminating the pension plan, reductions in vacation time, changes in health care premiums and other proposed takeaways.

"We're not going to give up our pensions, we're not going to start paying double-over-double for our medical premiums, Giberson said.

"And we're not going to let somebody hired after us work their whole career for this company and get nothing in the way of medical subsidies," he said in a telephone interview from the union's Casper office.

The union has been working under a three-year contract approved in 2004. The contract was extended by the union for two years in 2007.

The union-company contract expired on Sept. 25, but employees are continuing to work under the old contract while negotiations continue. This continues until either party gives 60-day notice to terminate the contract.

Both sides said they hope to avoid a strike if possible.

Wilje said the power industry has been known for a long time as the "strikeless industry" and said the company hopes to keep it that way.

He said the "proposal on the table is relatively equivalent" with past Local 127 contracts with the company, and with contracts with other unions in the industry and with other non-union employees.

The union ballots were mailed to members across the state over the past few weeks, said Giberson, a heavy equipment operator at the Jim Bridger Power Plant and head of the Local 127.

The ballots will be counted Friday afternoon, he said.

Rocky Mountain Power is a division of PacifiCorp, which is part of the MidAmerican Energy Company.

MidAmerican is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm that is owned by billionaire Warren Buffet. Berkshire Hathaway is based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Rocky Mountain Power serves approximately 132,000 utility customers in Wyoming and employs 1,389 workers in the state.

PacifiCorp is one of the western United States' largest utility companies and serves more than 1.7 million electrical customers in seven states.

Contact southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino at 307-875-5359 or gearino@tribcsp.com