Inside IBEW 1837

Left to right: IBEW negotiators Joe Gilmore, Scott Kirby and Tom Ryan

March 26, 2014 - IBEW 1837 members at Granite Ridge Energy in Londonderry, New Hampshire have approved a new 3-year contract that maintains their current benefits package and increases their wages by more than 8½% over the term of the agreement.

March 28, 2014 - Union and Company representatives have prepared a modified 3-year contract extension that will be presented next week to IBEW members in the large production bargaining unit at CMP.

IBEW members at CMP are receiving a summary of the agreement terms and relevant documents to consider prior to a ratification vote.

April 7, 2014 - Negotiators for IBEW Local Union #1837 and Central Maine Power are prepared to begin negotiations next week on a successor contract agreement for the large production bargaining unit. The current agreement runs through the end of this month.

Union members rejected the Company’s offer of a modified 3-year contract extension last week.

 The Union Negotiating Team and Company representatives will begin contract talks on Tuesday, April 15. Five sessions between the two sides had previously been scheduled.

April 12, 2014 - Two members of IBEW Local Union #104 have died in a boon crane collapse while working in Bourne, Massachusetts. The worksite was off the Scenic Highway near Cape Cod. One of the accident victims was identified in news reports as 34-year-old John Loughran.

Additional details may be found in a news story published  by Boston television station WCVB-TV 5. Please keep our union brothers and their families in your thoughts and prayers

May 6, 2014 - Members of  IBEW 1837 in Central Maine Power Company's largest bargaining unit have ratified a new 3-year, 10-month contract agreement. Union members cast their ballots at various CMP service centers on Tuesday, May 6. A meeting of the membership was held in Gardiner on Sunday, May 4 to discuss the proposal and the Union Negotiating Team’s positive recommendation for ratification. While the Local’s policy is not to share the percentages of the results of the vote, the Negotiating Team was pleased that 92% of the membership turned out to cast their ballots.

June 20, 2014 - Dick Rogers 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 today with Election Judge Cynthia Phinney helping to supervise the tally at our Union Local office in Manchester, Maine. She was aided in the count by Election Teller Bob McNeff.

July 17, 2014 - IBEW 1837 members at Sea-3 have ratified a new, 2-year contract with an immediate 4 ½% wage increase. Sea-3 is a propane terminal facility in Newington, New Hampshire.

Union members agreed that Operators would assume extra duties that were previously performed by managerial staff and some represented members.  Those employees no longer work at Sea-3 and were not replaced by the Company. That portion of the agreement will terminate at the end of the contract term or if new employees are hired to fill those jobs.

October 22, 2014 - Re-election campaigns for the Governors of New Hampshire and Maine have been getting plenty of attention from members of IBEW Local #1837 and other pro-worker groups. New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan has been a consistent union ally while Maine Governor Paul LePage has supported union-busting “Right to Work” legislation. Both are seeking their second terms on Tuesday, November 4.

November 1, 2014 - Although IBEW Local #1837 does not represent these workers, we are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in their struggle for a fair contract.

December 12, 2014 — A lineup of some of Portland’s most prominent musicians is holding a “Holiday FunkFest for FairPoint Strikers” on Monday, December 22, at Empire music hall. The evening will be headlined by the eight-piece band Model Airplane. Adam Waxman and Joe Farrell and special guest Kenya Hall will also perform.

The announcement of the benefit concert at Empire marks the latest surge in public support for the FairPoint strikers. Since the strike began on October 17, the workers’ relief fund has received nearly $150,000 in donations.

December 18, 2014 - Laurie Kelley has become the new full-time Office Manager of IBEW Local Union #1837, working out of the Maine office in Manchester, Maine. Laurie succeeds longtime Office Manager Debbie Owen, who recently retired after nearly 35 years at the Local.

For many of our members, the Union Office Manager is the friendly and professional voice on the other end of the telephone. The Office Manager answers multiple lines in our Manchester, Maine office, frequently fielding urgent inquiries from members looking for help with a problem at work.

February 19, 2015 - BREAKING NEWS/UNION NEWS RELEASE: FairPoint Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: FRP); System Council T-9 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (AFL-CIO) Locals 2320, 2326, and 2327; and the Communications Workers of America (AFL-CIO) Local 1400 are pleased to announce that today they have reached tentative agreements on the terms for new collective bargaining agreements.

AUGUSTA, ME (FEBRUARY 22, 2015 UNION NEWS RELEASE)—After three days of voting, IBEW and CWA members in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have ratified tentative agreements with FairPoint Communications. The new agreements protect good jobs and ensure quality telecommunications service for New England communities.

March 25, 2015 - Members of IBEW Local Union #1837 at NextEra have ratified a new 44-month contract.  The collective bargaining agreement includes wage adjustments for some classifications, yearly wage increases for all union members, and a change to benefits. While the negotiating team struggled with the company’s offer, they felt it was the best they were going to be able to achieve.