New Owner, New Contract for IBEW Members at Granite Ridge

March 25, 2016 - An 18-month collective bargaining agreement for 20 members of IBEW 1837 working at Granite Ridge has been ratified and will go into effect on Sunday, March 27, 2016. It’s the first contract for the union local with Calpine Corporation, a Houston-based generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources with more than 80 power plants.

Calpine purchased the Londonderry, New Hampshire, gas-fired plant that had been operated by NAES and has renamed it Granite Ridge Operating LLC. IBEW Local #1837 immediately reached out to the new Company and sought to reach a new agreement that would benefit our members. The previous agreement with North American Energy Systems (NAES) did not include contract successor language, so Business Manager Dick Rogers and Assistant Business Manager Tom Ryan knew it was vital to build an amicable and mutually constructive relationship with the new owners as quickly as possible.

“We’re pleased that we were able to reach an agreement quickly with Calpine and that they recognized the skills that our members bring to their new asset,” Brother Ryan said. “We look forward to working with them to ensure that Granite Ridge remains profitable and our members continue to enjoy the good jobs that they have there.”

Members will begin the new contract with the 3 3/8% increase that had previously been negotiated with NAES and will receive a 2 ½% wage adjustment on the contract’s first anniversary of March 27, 2017. The contract will run through September 27, 2017, with an agreement that any future wage adjustment would not take effect until at least March 27, 2018.

Other substantive changes include members being covered by the Calpine Corporation health plan and the important inclusion of successor clause language.

All 20 maintenance and operations employees represented by IBEW Local #1837 will continue working at Granite Ridge under the new ownership. Some non-union staff and management did not retain their jobs.