IBEW 1837 member Bob Toole makes a point as Jane Allen listens at Labor 2008 training.

May 29, 2008 - The Democratic Party may not have officially chosen their presidential candidate yet, but IBEW 1837’s Worksite Coordinators have already begun to take a look at some of the issues in this year’s presidential campaign. In the case of the presumptive Republican nominee, they don’t always like what they see.

“I’m concerned by John McCain’s plan to tax our health insurance benefits as income,” said Bob Toole, an IBEW 1837 Worksite Coordinator at Bangor Hydro Electric. “I’m anxious to help get the word out to other IBEW members about this and other election year issues that are important to working people.”

Brother Toole is not alone. He’s been joined by dozens of other IBEW 1837 members at our represented companies in an effort to distribute literature and share information about the policy positions of the presidential nominees as well as candidates for state and local office in the run up to November. In that way, our Worksite Coordinators can help our members to make an informed decision when they cast their ballots on Election Day.

May 22, 2008 - IBEW 1837 will hold elections this year for offices at both the local and unit levels. Offices to be filled at the local level include President, Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, eleven Executive Board Representatives, and Business Manager/Financial Secretary. Offices at the Unit level include Unit President, Unit Vice President, and Unit Recording Secretary.

Election details and materials have been posted on the IBEW 1837 website for several weeks now, and members should already have received a letter at their homes announcing nominations (which were held at April Unit meetings). Unit 10 is the only unit where more than one candidate was seeking any of the unit offices that would normally be elected in June, so several of the others have already elected their slate of officers by acclamation.

The Current is distributed quarterly by IBEW 1837 stewards at worksites. You can also download the most recent edition here. Highlights include:

NLRB Denies Right of PSNH Working Foremen To Join Union

Special Feature: IBEW 1837 Members Help Bring "Labor 2008" Into Their Workplaces

Automated Meter Reading Has A Big Impact on Workers

Workers Ratify First IBEW 1837 Contract at Granite Ridge Energy

IBEW 1837 Local and Unit Offices to be Filled at Elections Held in June

Union/Company Relationship Deteriorates at WGME-TV, Channel 13

Revenue Data Reader John Washburn from CMP reads a meter in Augusta.

May 9, 2008 - Bangor Hydro Electric and Unitil have already made the switch to various forms of automated meter reading, resulting in the loss of dozens of Union jobs. Now, Central Maine Power has asked the Maine Public Utilities Commission to grant a significant rate increase to pay for the installation of an automated system at Maine’s largest electric utility.

CMP has thus far refused to talk to IBEW 1837 about how this will affect their employees if it is approved by the PUC. A decision is expected sometime in May. The Company currently has approximately 100 Revenue Data Readers on staff who may be impacted by the proposed change.

The CMP request is part of a $90 million increase sought from ratepayers to install an Advanced Metering Infrastructure system, more commonly known as an “AMI System.” In addition to helping to pinpoint outages, and enabling remote connects and disconnects, an AMI “Smart Meter” could automatically be read several times each day by remote control. This could lead to the offering of Adjustable Rate Plans (ARPs) that would charge different rates for power consumption during different parts of the day. Some parts of ARP may lead to an increase in employment in the Line Department as part of a stepped-up maintenance schedule, but the outlook for workers who read meters is less promising.