Inside IBEW 1837

February 24, 2010 - Negotiations with Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) formally began today. Following weeks of preparation, the Union Negotiating team, consisting of members from both IBEW Local 1837 and Steelworkers Local 8938, sat down across the table for opening statements and an initial exchange of proposals.

Due to the inclement weather and the nature of our work keeping the power on during such events there were some empty seats on both sides of the table and participants in jobs related to power restoration returned to the field immediately following the meeting.

February 22, 2010 - The Union Negotiating Team at Central Maine Power has reached a tentative agreement for a contract for 650 workers at Maine’s largest utility. Prior to negotiations on Thursday, February 15, it had been nearly six months since the last bargaining session between the parties. During that time, three other Iberdrola USA companies settled contracts with their respective unions.

February 1, 2010 - The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will be issuing an order for Central Maine Power Company to move forward with their Smart Grid Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiative. The PUC held deliberations on the AMI case on February 1, and all three commissioners agreed that CMP had done a good job at working toward and achieving 50% of the funding for their proposed system through a federal stimulus grant. The commissioners believe that the system will produce benefits for customers that will outweigh the costs.

March 9, 2010 - After 2 delays due to storm restoration, IBEW Local 1837 members working at Central Maine Power Co. voted on a new contract today. After a full year of negotiations, nearly 10 months of working without a contract, the membership voted to accept the company's final offer. The final tally of votes was 68%-32%.

March 31, 2010 - Workers at WGME-TV have begun public demonstrations, re-launched a website that was first started four years ago, and have collected "fans" for a new Facebook page as they struggle to get a fair contract offer from the Portland television station. At the same time, IBEW Local 1837 has filed unfair labor practice charges against the Company with the National Labor Relations Board.

April 7, 2009 - Central Maine Power Company has notified the union representing some 700 workers at the state’s largest utility that they plan to lay off over 100 workers in order to boost their profit margin from 9% up to 11%. This comes less than a month after most of the union members ratified a contract set to run for another four years, and right on the heels of approval to use stimulus funds to replace 141 meter employees with automated meter infrastructure.

April 22, 2010 - All of the Democratic candidates in June’s gubernatorial primary have decided not to purchase political campaign advertising on WGME, channel 13 in Portland, to demonstrate their support for workers at the television station.

May 25, 2010 - Iberdrola USA has announced its intent to sell three natural gas companies in Southern New England. The sale will help pay the $1.4 billion price tag of the Maine Power Reliability Project, a major upgrade of the state’s electricity grid that was approved this month by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Central Maine Power Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iberdrola USA.

May 28, 2010  (UPDATED) - After 19 bargaining sessions, negotiatiors for IBEW Local #1837 and Public Service Company of New Hampshire reached a tentative agreement early Thursday morning on a contract. The current collective bargaining agreement was set to run out at the end of this month.

June 14, 2010 - IBEW members at Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) have ratified a three-year Generation Contract and a Utility Contract after five days of voting that included polling places in Randolph, Keene, Laconia, Hooksett and Dover. Final approval of the deal on June 14 followed an unprecedented 20 bargaining sessions that began in early March, in what the head of the Union Negotiating Team termed “a difficult negotiation.”

July 1, 2010 - Stewards from eight of our represented companies enjoyed a daylong advanced training from Charley Richardson, an award-winning labor educator and former teacher for the UMass Lowell Labor Extension Program. Gathering at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall in Augusta on June 14, IBEW 1837 stewards talked about some of the challenges and concerns facing our Union, and they developed strategies we can all use to help deal with them.

July 10, 2010 UPDATE - IBEW 1837 members at Bangor Hydro have voted to pass the tentative agreement and accept the new contract.

July 1, 2010 – IBEW Local 1837’s negotiating team has reached tentative agreement with Bangor Hydro on a new five-year contract with wage increases each year. Union members in the bargaining unit will vote on whether to ratify the package at a meeting on Saturday, July 10, 11:00 a.m. at the Ramada Inn in Bangor.

August 19, 2010 - As a great summer in New Hampshire and Maine draws to a close, most of the Units in our Local Union are gearing up to resume regular monthly meetings in September. The only exception is Unit 6, Portland, which will resume monthly meetings in October.

Meetings for members of Unit 3, Laconia, are moving to a new date and location. The Opeechee Park Clubhouse is no longer available. Meetings for Unit 3 will now be held at the Laconia Elks Lodge at 17 Sugarbush Lane in Gilford on the third Thursday each month at 5:15 p.m..

October 14, 2010 - Workers at Granite Ridge Energy in Londonderry, New Hampshire are preparing to negotiate the successor agreement to their first union contract. The power plant workers voted to join IBEW Local #1837 on August 4, 2006, though it took until March of 2008 to complete negotiations on the first contract. The represented workers include all 20 maintenance and operating personnel at the plant. Their first contract runs through March 26, 2011.