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International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1837 is proud to represent approximately 1,650 working men and women all over Maine and New Hampshire. Most of our members work at electric utilities or broadcasting stations throughout the two states. We work at companies such as Central Maine Power, Public Service of New Hampshire, and WGME-TV 13, just to name a few!
IBEW Union Local 1837 maintains two offices to better serve our members—one in Manchester, Maine and the other in Dover, New Hampshire. The office in Maine includes a separate building with a conference room and meeting area for union programs and training sessions.
Maine PUC Approves AMI System at CMP; 141 Jobs Will Be Lost – Many IBEW 1837 Members
February 1, 2010 - The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will be issuing an order for Central Maine Power Company to move forward with their Smart Grid Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiative. The PUC held deliberations on the AMI case on February 1, and all three commissioners agreed that CMP had done a good job at working toward and achieving 50% of the funding for their proposed system through a federal stimulus grant. The commissioners believe that the system will produce benefits for customers that will outweigh the costs. The installation of so-called “smart meters” will lead to steep job cuts at CMP.
The Commissioners acknowledged that the installation of the system will create a long road for the affected employees. They said they appreciated the testimony from the public hearing on January 20 and that the testimony raised several concerns regarding the effects of the system on employees. Commissioner Cashman strongly urged that CMP negotiate with the Union over those effects. Commissioner Vafiades and Chairperson Reishus agreed that CMP should give fair treatment to the employees and also have a reporting requirement to submit a workforce reduction plan to the Commission prior to any plan taking place. Assistant Business Manager Bill Dunn scheduled negotiations with CMP on February 19 to discuss the impact on employees.
Contract Extension Approved at Unitil
January 19, 2010 - IBEW Local 1837 and Unitil Energy Systems have agreed to a two-year contract extension. The current collective bargaining agreement was due to expire May 31, 2010.
On January 14, 2010, the IBEW members at the Company approved the extension which left the hours, terms, and working conditions unchanged. Members agreed to a 2% wage increase effective May 30, 2010 and an additional 3% wage increase effective May 29, 2011.
"This is a good deal for our members. Keeping medical costs fixed and retirement benefits intact along with a fair wage adjustment made it an easy choice for the negotiating committee to recommend ratification," said Assistant Business Manager Tom Ryan.
The negotiating committee was composed of Brothers Donald Palmer and Willis Mailhot of the Unitil Seacoast work center, and Bob McNeff and Mike Yurek of the Unitil Capital work center.
Unitil is an electric distribution company with 72,500 customers in the Capital and Seacoast regions of New Hampshire. There are 40 members of IBEW 1837 who work at the former Exeter & Hampton Electric Company and Concord Electric Company. The two companies combined and became Unitil in 2002. After that, in 2005, the collective bargaining agreements were also combined and a single contract was negotiated for IBEW members working at the Company.
141 Jobs at CMP on the Line at PUC Hearing
January 15, 2010 - The Maine Public Utilities Commission is set to hold a crucial public hearing on Wednesday, January 20 at 5:30 p.m. that may well determine the fate of 141 workers at Central Maine Power Company and have an impact of CMP’s customers for years to come.
Union members and their allies are being encouraged to turnout to show support for union workers at Central Maine Power. The hearing will be held at the PUC offices at 101 Second St., Hallowell, Maine.
The PUC appears ready to approve an Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) System - built with $96 million in federal stimulus funds - that will eliminate 141 jobs at CMP. Many of these workers have jobs as meter readers and most are members of IBEW Local 1837.
While the installation of so-called “smart meters” may have some benefits for CMP ratepayers, other services could be adversely impacted and some of the future costs of the AMI System are unknown. One thing is clear: these workers threatened with layoffs provide important services and tremendous value to CMP customers and their loss could impact electric service and reliability in numerous ways.
