Rep. Mike Michaud and Cynthia Phinney.

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.

Especially noteworthy for members of IBEW Local 1837 was the presentation of a Solidarity Award to our own Sister Cynthia Phinney in recognition of her 16 years of service to our union and to the labor movement as a whole. Cynthia was selected to win the award by the Eastern Maine Labor Council, a local labor federation representing more than 6,000 individual workers.

“The award represents my gratitude for all the hard work and Cynthia’s efforts on behalf of Eastern Maine,” said Rep. Mike Michaud, who had the privilege of presenting the award to Cynthia. Brother Michaud, a former mill worker, is one of the few card-carrying union members serving in the United States Congress.

IBEW Lineworker at PSNH.

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.

The original March 20th decision by the NLRB’s Regional Director determined that the Working Foremen are supervisors, not employees, and have no right to organize or to be represented by a union. The Working Foremen work shoulder-to-shoulder with our represented Lineworkers and perform nearly identical work for the Line Department at Public Service Company of New Hampshire.

The Working Foremen in Hooksett, Milford and Derry had petitioned to join IBEW last December, but those petitions were challenged by PSNH based on what the Company claimed to be their supervisory status. (Recent NLRB decisions have made it easier for employers to make that claim.)

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.

IBEW 1837 member Bob Toole makes a point as Jane Allen listens at Labor 2008 training.

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.

“I’m concerned by John McCain’s plan to tax our health insurance benefits as income,” said Bob Toole, an IBEW 1837 Worksite Coordinator at Bangor Hydro Electric. “I’m anxious to help get the word out to other IBEW members about this and other election year issues that are important to working people.”

Brother Toole is not alone. He’s been joined by dozens of other IBEW 1837 members at our represented companies in an effort to distribute literature and share information about the policy positions of the presidential nominees as well as candidates for state and local office in the run up to November. In that way, our Worksite Coordinators can help our members to make an informed decision when they cast their ballots on Election Day.