“Right-to-Work” Legislation Looms as Threat to Unions in NH & Maine; IBEW 1837 Members Fight Back
January 29, 2011 - The collective bargaining rights of IBEW 1837 members and all union members in Maine and New Hampshire are being threatened by so-called “Right-to-Work” legislation being considered in Augusta and Concord. They’re often called “Right-to-Work (For Less)” laws because workers in 22 states that already have them tend to get paid less money and have worse benefits.
Union contracts – including worker pay, benefits and working conditions – could ultimately be damaged if this type of legislation is enacted in New Hampshire, Maine, or any of the 16 states where it is now being... Read More
CMP Workers Meet to Discuss Safety and Staffing Concerns
December 5, 2010 - With the impending layoff of dozens of CMP meter readers and the imminent early retirement of an unknown number of CMP workers age 55 and older, IBEW members met in Gardiner to discuss the impact on the Union and the Company in the weeks and months ahead.
As reported on this website and in the IBEW newsletter The Current, the Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system will directly impact more than 100 union members in the meter department. Some with more than five years on the job will be offered other positions at CMP. Those with less experience will be subject... Read More
Northeast Utilities and NStar Make $4 Billion Merger Deal
October 21, 2010 - Northeast Utilities, the owner ofPublic Service Company of New Hampshire, will purchase NStar for $4.17 Billion in a deal that both companies describe as a “merger.” If approved by federal and state regulators as well as shareholders, the new company will be New England’s largest utility with a total of 3.5 million electric and gas customers in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The merged company will have a total enterprise value of $17.5 Billion, according to a joint statement.
The announcement earlier this week came as a complete... Read More
IBEW 1837 and CMP Reach AMI Agreement
October 15, 2010 - Months of uncertainty for more than 125 members of IBEW Local #1837 followed the February 2010 final approval from the Maine Public Utilities Commission that gave Central Maine Power the green light to move forward with their Automated Metering Infrastructure project. Once the AMI was complete and CMP’s residential and business customers had so-called “Smart Meters” installed, the positions of Revenue Data Readers and other workers in the Revenue Service department were slated for elimination. For those workers, their future at CMP raised many questions that were left... Read More
IBEW Members at Granite Ridge Enjoy Improvements with Union and Prepare to Negotiate 2nd Contract
October 14, 2010 - Workers at Granite Ridge Energy in Londonderry, New Hampshire are preparing to negotiate the successor agreement to their first union contract. The power plant workers voted to join IBEW Local #1837 on August 4, 2006, though it took until March of 2008 to complete negotiations on the first contract. The represented workers include all 20 maintenance and operating personnel at the plant. Their first contract runs through March 26, 2011.
At first, the relationship between the Company and the Union got off to a bumpy start with a flurry of grievances after the first contract... Read More
IBEW 1837 Makes Rare Endorsement in Maine Gov. Race
October 8, 2010 - When a Maine union local with more than 1,000 members endorses a candidate for Governor, it’s a pretty big deal. It’s an even bigger deal when it’s a union local that rarely makes endorsements.
At the meeting of our IBEW 1837 Executive Board in Manchester on August 20, our elected unit representatives voted overwhelmingly to endorse Libby Mitchell for Governor. The decision was made largely because of Mitchell’s support for workers throughout Maine, but in particular, her support for members of our own union.
"Our Local Union E-Board generally hasn't made endorsements of... Read More
Most Unit Meetings Set to Resume in September
August 19, 2010 - As a great summer in New Hampshire and Maine draws to a close, most of the Units in our Local Union are gearing up to resume regular monthly meetings in September. The only exception is Unit 6, Portland, which will resume monthly meetings in October.
Meetings for members of Unit 3, Laconia, are moving to a new date and location. The Opeechee Park Clubhouse is no longer available. Meetings for Unit 3 will now be held at the Laconia Elks Lodge at 17 Sugarbush Lane in Gilford on the third Thursday each month at 5:15 p.m..
Monthly unit meetings are where the important business... Read More
IBEW 1837 Reaches Tentative Agreement for New Contract at Bangor Hydro
July 10, 2010 UPDATE - IBEW 1837 members at Bangor Hydro have voted to pass the tentative agreement and accept the new contract.
July 1, 2010 – IBEW Local 1837’s negotiating team has reached tentative agreement with Bangor Hydro on a new five-year contract with wage increases each year. Union members in the bargaining unit will vote on whether to ratify the package at a meeting on Saturday, July 10, 11:00 a.m. at the Ramada Inn in Bangor.
With 23 bargaining sessions since contract talks began in late February, negotiators discussed a wide range of both economic and non-economic issues before... Read More
IBEW 1837 Stewards Receive Training from Renowned Labor Educator
July 1, 2010 - Stewards from eight of our represented companies enjoyed a daylong advanced training from Charley Richardson, an award-winning labor educator and former teacher for the UMass Lowell Labor Extension Program. Gathering at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall in Augusta on June 14, IBEW 1837 stewards talked about some of the challenges and concerns facing our Union, and they developed strategies we can all use to help deal with them.
Brother Richardson led a great discussion about how the difficult economic landscape facing workers impacts all of us – even though we enjoy many... Read More
IBEW Workers at PSNH Approve Contract
June 14, 2010 - IBEW members at Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) have ratified a three-year Generation Contract and a Utility Contract after five days of voting that included polling places in Randolph, Keene, Laconia, Hooksett and Dover. Final approval of the deal on June 14 followed an unprecedented 20 bargaining sessions that began in early March, in what the head of the Union Negotiating Team termed “a difficult negotiation.”
The agreement includes a 3% wage increase in each of the three years with the contract running until June 1, 2013. Although the health plan cost share... Read More