Other Unions Join "The 47" at CMP for Augusta and Lewiston Demonstrations

Events

Upcoming events

Unit 4, Berlin - Lancaster MEETING CANCELLED - Special Meeting Added on Dec. 10(11/26/2008)
Unit 11, Presque Isle General Meeting(11/27/2008)
Eastern Maine Labor Council, AFL-CIO(12/01/2008)
Unit 6, Portland Meeting(12/02/2008)
Southern Maine Labor Council, AFL-CIO(12/03/2008)
Unit 7, Lewiston(12/03/2008)

Other Unions Join "The 47" at CMP for Augusta and Lewiston Demonstrations

Lewiston demonstrators support "The 47."Augusta demonstrators greet other workers.As their contract negotiations drag on through another summer, “The 47” were joined by their allies in the Maine labor movement for spirited demonstrations outside Central Maine Power offices in Augusta and Lewiston. As a beautiful July morning dawned, marchers gathered to express their displeasure with CMP’s lack of movement during the bargaining process.

When this new group of 47 workers, many of them professional employees, voted in 2006 to join IBEW Local 1837, CMP insisted that they intended to negotiate an entirely new and separate contract for the new bargaining unit despite the fact that more than 600 CMP employees already belong to IBEW 1837 and have worked under existing collective bargaining agreements for decades. The National Labor Relations Board recently settled unfair labor practice charges that were filed in February of 2006 when the Company unilaterally suspended "The 47" from participation in merit increases and the all-employee incentive bonus program.

CMP has been stonewalling these workers for 18 months as they’ve battled for a first contract agreement. It has become clear that CMP’s main goal is to make this contract unattractive in an attempt to discourage other employees from joining labor unions.

Research conducted by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers indicates that many of these 47 employees are substantially underpaid for their skills and experience. But as the owners of CMP plan to merge with another profitable company, their employees are being asked to do more with less--thereby increasing the corporate profits leaving the State of Maine!

Throughout their ordeal, “The 47” has remained strong and united in their fight for a fair contract. As we’ve now seen in this first round of informational demonstrations outside the offices of CMP, other members of the Maine Labor Community are standing behind them in this fight.