Labor News

Series of Anti-Union TV Ads Aired in Maine & New Hampshire

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.

 

IBEW 1837 Members from Maine and New Hampshire Invited to Hear Rich 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.

IBEW 1837 Members Help Bring "Labor 2008" Into Their Workplaces

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.

IBEW 1837 and Bangor Hydro Reach Accord on Tobacco Policy

 

IBEW Local 1837 members at Bangor Hydro will no longer face the possibility of being fired for failing to follow the Company’s new “tobacco-free workplace” policy prohibiting use of tobacco products while at work or on company property. This after BHE agreed to remove termination of employment from the final step of disciplinary procedures for failure to comply with the new rules. The original policy went beyond a prohibition on smoking and also included the use of smokeless tobacco products.

Intimidation of Union Steward

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a Complaint and Notice of Hearing to WGME for engaging in unfair labor practices as a result of a charge by IBEW Local 1837. The charge by the Union was filed on March 19, 2007, after Union Steward Jack Amrock was threatened, intimidated and coerced by WGME management while fulfilling his responsibilities as steward by investigating a possible contract violation. WGME is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. of Hunt Valley, Maryland.

IBEW 1837 Wins NLRB Decision on Bargaining Unit for PSNH "Writers"

The Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board has determined that a system-wide unit would be appropriate for Field Technicians and Field Technician Specialists (also known as “Writers”) at Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH), the state’s largest electrical utility. IBEW Local 1837 had petitioned for such a unit, only to have it challenged by an attorney for PSNH who sought to have the 33 employees divided into 13 or 14 separate bargaining units

Final Rallies for Employee Free Choice Act Held as U.S. Senate Vote Looms

Monday and Tuesday, June 18 & 19, local workers and labor and community leaders across Maine and New Hampshire gathered outside the offices of our U.S. Senators to call on them to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act -- legislation that would make it more difficult for employers to thwart workers’ efforts to form unions to bargain for better wages and benefits.

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