Business Manager Tony Sapienza
P: (603) 743-1652
July 4, 2008 - More than 400 union members and other supporters of working people in Maine gathered in Brewer for the 8th Annual 4th of July Solidarity Celebration. This wonderful event featured great food, two U.S. Congressional Representatives, live folk music, fireworks, an original stage musical, and a large, rolling museum bus powered by bio-diesel. Clearly, this was not your average holiday picnic.
June 27, 2008 - The National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. has denied IBEW Local 1837’s request for review of the decision rejecting the effort of PSNH Working Foremen to join our union. This effectively ends the months-long campaign to allow these workers to join IBEW 1837.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
April 28, 2008 - After 10 years in our Rochester office, IBEW 1837 has relocated our New Hampshire office to Dover. Along with that move came an improved facility for conducting union business and working with our members in the Granite State.