IBEW 1837 Negotiating Team at CMP Will Try to Develop New Counterproposal

July 18, 2009 - The IBEW 1837 Negotiating Team will meet again this coming Tuesday, July 21, to try to develop another counterproposal to bring to the bargaining table. This meeting follows the recent receipt and actuarial analysis of information from Central Maine Power Company about their bid to cap retiree medical benefits.

The union had requested the information in an effort to gain a greater understanding of the financial motivation behind the Company’s proposal to cut this longstanding benefit. What they learned was that CMP was largely motivated by what they termed “keeping pace with marketplace trends” and “staying competitive with general industry.” In other words, “everybody else is doing it, so why shouldn’t we?”

“It is still our intention to leave no stone unturned in the effort to get a fair contract for our members at CMP,” said Assistant Business Manager Bill Dunn. “Our team has been working hard at it for months and we’re going to try again to craft an agreement acceptable to the Company that meets the needs of more than 650 workers in this bargaining unit.”

If the Union Negotiating Team is successful in developing a new counterproposal, they will approach the Company about setting another meeting date.

IBEW members have continued to demonstrate outside various CMP worksites and – on occasion – at other public places where Central Maine Power has a presence. One such occasion was on Tuesday, July 14, at a meeting of the Benton town Planning Board. A few dozen CMP workers and allies demonstrated outside the town hall.

“We weren’t there in opposition to the Maine Power Reliability Program (MPRP),” Brother Dunn said. “Our only goal was to educate the public about our ongoing efforts to get a fair contract.”

Meantime, the public is standing behind workers at CMP. During informational demonstrations and on the job, IBEW members have seen a tremendous outpouring of public support derived from the good will they’ve earned over many years of dedicated service.

Some of the recognition is of a more formal nature. As noted in a company-wide e-mail from CMP President Sara Burns distributed on Thursday, July 16, Central Maine Power just received its third J.D. Power award for customer satisfaction in two years. While CMP workers were pleased by the award, they found irony in the fact that the Company is seeking major cuts in benefits despite the excellent performance of their workforce.

The IBEW members in this bargaining unit have been trying to reach a new contract agreement with CMP and have been working without a contract since Friday, May 15, when an extension agreement expired. Union members are disappointed that the Company would be seeking major concessions from their workforce in spite of the fact that CMP made a $55 Million profit last year. Those profits go to CMP’s owner - Iberdrola S.A., a Spanish corporation.

At the end of April, CMP’s final contract offer was rejected by 70% of the union membership and a strike was authorized. For now, the union members are continuing to report to work.
 
IBEW Local 1837 represents a total of approximately 700 workers at Central Maine Power Company. These union members design, build, repair and maintain the electric grid serving the largest customer base of any electric utility in Maine, and provide customer service assistance to residents and businesses in most of Southern, Central and Western Maine.