June 13, 2008 - Cynthia Phinney was re-elected as Business Manager/Financial Secretary and Ray Colello was re-elected as President of IBEW Local 1837 following a mail-in secret ballot election. Ballots were counted on June 13, 2008 with Election Judge Rebecca Johnson helping to supervise the tally at our Union Local office in Manchester, Maine.

Also re-elected to their posts were Vice President Bill Tarallo, Secretary Pamela Paquette and Treasurer Donald Leighton. Elected to seats on the Executive Board were Donald M. Palmer, Anthony Sapienza, Kerry R. Guptill, Barry A. Crawford, William "Bill" DeMotta, Lisa A. Bartell, Raymond H. Boyle, John R. Kelly, Dale C. Blethen, Jeffrey B. Linscott and Patrick S. Cote.

June 6, 2008 - Television viewers in Maine and New Hampshire have been forced to endure a seemingly endless barrage of anti-union commercials in recent weeks. The TV ads, funded by the so-called “Center for Union Facts,” are being broadcast by television stations in Bangor and Portland. Viewers in New Hampshire can also watch those stations either over the airwaves or on cable.

The Center for Union Facts is a front group for a notorious Washington D.C. lobbyist named Richard Berman. The center is supported by business groups and anti-worker interests who seek to inflict the maximum possible damage on labor unions while staying discretely in the background. Berman himself is known for mounting public relations campaigns for corporate groups that seek to relax drunk driving laws, minimize the health risks associated with obesity and tanning, and prevent increases in the minimum wage. He has also advised that pregnant women can eat a lot more mercury-laden tuna than the FDA recommends. Berman doesn’t really care about canned tuna fish, or your rights in the workplace. He’s just a paid lobbyist looking to make a buck.

Richard Trumka

June 9, 2008 UPDATE- Richard Trumka's appearance at this weekend's Maine AFL-CIO COPE Convention has been cancelled, but there will still be a Labor-to-Labor Walk on Saturday morning, June 14, leaving from the Wyndam Hotel in South Portland. All IBEW 1837 members are encouraged to participate. For additional information, please call the Union Office.

June 3, 2008 - IBEW 1837 members from Maine and New Hampshire can join members of many other unions to hear nationally-known labor leader Richard Trumka address the Maine AFL-CIO COPE convention in South Portland, Maine, on Saturday, June 14 at 9:00 a.m.

Formerly a three-term president of the United Mine Workers, Trumka currently serves in the top leadership of the national AFL-CIO. The talk will be at the Wyndham Hotel, 363 Maine Mall Road in South Portland (formerly the Sheraton Hotel, the two round buildings across from the Maine Mall).

Trumka is sure to address labor issues of interest to union members in either state. The talk is expected to last about an hour.

Following the talk, some members will join Trumka on a "Labor to Labor" walk in the Portland area to discuss issues and the upcoming election with union members at their homes. Members are welcome to attend the talk even if they cannot participate in the walk.