June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Consolidated Edison Inc.'s unionized workers are preparing for a strike that could begin Sunday morning at the utility owner's operations in most of New York and Westchester County.

The two sides remain ``miles apart'' in round-the-clock talks on conditions for a new contract, said Joe Flaherty, a negotiator for the 9,000-member Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America. Local members voted 97 percent in favor of a strike on June 13, Flaherty said today in a telephone interview.

The union refuses to accept company proposals including a plan to deduct workers' compensation payments from the pension paid to injured employees, Flaherty said. The strike would include power-line crews, meter readers and other workers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Westchester County.

``It certainly seems Con Edison wants to provoke a labor dispute and has not been bargaining seriously,'' Local 1-2 President Harry J. Farrell said today in a statement.

Consolidated Edison expects to reach a contract agreement without a work stoppage, company spokeswoman Elizabeth Clark said. Managerial employees are ready to run the power, gas and steam systems in event of a strike, she said. She declined to comment on details of the negotiations.

The union local's most recent contract, ratified in August 2004 after a strike threat, provided wage increases totaling almost 14 percent over four years, the union said at that time.

Consolidated Edison fell 93 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $39.17 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has dropped 20 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Polson in New York at jpolson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 26, 2008 16:17 EDT