Our local radio talkshow host Dale Jackson was interviewing a rep from Hunstville Utilities this morning. This rep said this report is NOT true, they were re-directed to Long Island from their original destination, where they had plenty of help from neighboring companies .... in fact, too much as their communication systems were beginning to suffer.
Muscle Shoals (??) Utilities were also redirected.
At the end of the program, Dale Jackson said that Decatur Utilities vehicles had, in fact, turned around. There were no spokesmen from DU to report what happened, or if it was due to there being plenty of extra help there already, or "union clashes."
So, in fairness, it may in fact be that the Decatur squad returned due to being non-union. But this doesn't explain why the other municipality's service vehicles were simply re-directed, not returned.
I don't know what the full story is, but it's more complicated than what has been reported.