Schiller Station Closing Is The End of An Era
July 14, 2020 - The long-term and likely permanent closure of Schiller Station in Portsmouth last month not only marked the end of 70 years generating electricity for the Granite State, but it was the end of the bargaining unit that played a pivotal role in the history of IBEW Local #1837.         
Local 1837 was first established at Schiller in 1953 as the framed charter hanging in the Union’s Dover office helps to memorialize. Richard Pray is credited with organizing the union at the power plant and his name is one of 24 on that historic charter document. Brother... Read More
New Granite Shore Power Contract Set for Ratification Vote
May 29, 2020 - IBEW Local 1837 and Granite Shore Power have reached tentative agreement on a whole new contract. The Union and the Company have agreed to an extension of the previous agreement through June 1, 2020, in order to allow union members to conduct a ratification vote on the new contract.
IBEW Local 1837 represents a total of 80 members at Schiller, Newington and Merrimack Generating Stations in New Hampshire. These fossil fuel power stations were acquired by Granite Shore Power from Eversource NH as part of the legislatively-mandated divestiture agreement.
While it is a completely... Read More
Obituary: Jacqueline “Jackie” Marie Rogers, Beloved Wife of IBEW 1837 Business Manager Dick Rogers
May 2, 2020, WEST GARDINER, ME – In the early morning of Wednesday, April 29, 2020, Jacqueline “Jackie” Marie Rogers lost a bravely fought battle with ovarian cancer. She spent her final weeks at home surrounded by loved ones, who, together, formed her care team. By her side, as he’d been since they were teens, was her high school sweetheart and devoted husband of nearly 40 years, Kenneth “Dick” Rogers, Jr.
On March 26, 1962 Jackie was born in Gardiner to William and Christine MacDonald just moments ahead of her identical twin sister Janet, the last of their eight children. She worshiped at... Read More
IBEW 1837 Member Christopher Buzzard Dies
April 6, 2020 - Central Maine Power President and CEO Doug Herlilng announced the passing of a company employee today who was also a member of IBEW Local #1837. Christopher Buzzard, a Line Clerk for CMP in Rockland, Maine, has died. Brother Buzzard, 51, worked for Maine’s largest electric utility for more than 13 years.
Herling sent the following message to CMP employees:
“While details of his passing have not been determined, and we have not been informed that this was related to COVID-19, the cause is under investigation. However, in an abundance of caution, the Health & Safety team is... Read More
April Meetings Cancelled and Nominations Postponed Due to COVID-19
March 24, 2020 - IBEW 1837 Business Manager Dick Rogers has announced that all April Unit meetings of our Union have been cancelled. The decision about holding meetings in May will be made at a later time.
Additionally, IBEW 1837 President Michelle Crocker proposed postponing nominations for IBEW 1837 President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Business Manager, and Executive Board until Unit meetings scheduled for this August. (Those nominations were originally slated to take place at the April meetings.) This postponement is consistent with the guidelines provided by the IBEW... Read More
Kittery Water District Employees Form Union with IBEW 1837
March 17, 2020 - Workers at the Kittery Water District have formed a union with IBEW Local #1837. The 15 workers include office staff, filtration plant workers, laborers, meter readers, service technicians and others.
“We’re proud that the workers at Kittery Water District asked us to help them form a Union and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement,” said IBEW 1837 Organizer and Business Representative Matt Beck. “Even though they like where they work, they understand that having a union contract gives them to ability to protect what they already have and negotiate to make... Read More
IBEW 1837 Member Poised to Serve in Maine Legislature
January 23, 2020 - Kevin O’Connell, a longtime member of IBEW Local #1837, First Class Lineworker at EmeraMaine and former Brewer mayor, has been nominated as the Democratic candidate for the House District 128 special election. The vacancy in that seat is a result of the passing of the late State Representative Arthur C. "Archie" Verow.
“I’m proud to carry on the legacy of service that was so important to Archie,” said O’Connell. “In him, we had a representative that represented the values of this city. I am committed to doing my best to be that person for Brewer.”
O’Connell, 59, who was... Read More
Operating Technicians at WABI-TV Ratify 2-Year Contract
November 19, 2019 - Operating Technicians at WABI-TV in Bangor, Maine, ratified a new 2-year contract this week with raises of 2.5% each year and a $250 signing bonus. The starting pay rate for Operating Technicians was also increased.
As part of the new agreement, the Union and WABI-TV's owner Gray Television agreed that non-bargaining unit employees may perform covered work on an intermittent basis so long as bargaining unit members are not displaced as a result and the number of bargaining unit positions are not reduced. In addition, any time a Technician is not... Read More
IBEW 1837 Members at Emera Maine Approve Contract Extension if ENMAX Sale is Approved
October 16, 2019 - IBEW 1837 members at Emera Maine have ratified a 2-year contract extension that is contingent on the successful sale of the company to ENMAX of Calgary, Alberta. That proposed sale is currently being considered by the Maine Public Utilities Commission and may close over the next few months.
The extension includes a 3% annual wage increase in each of the two years of the agreement in all classifications with no other changes in the terms and conditions of the contract. The health insurance plan will also remain in place with no increase in cost for the... Read More
Lawmakers, Union Reps and Customers Express Concerns About Proposed Emera Maine Sale to ENMAX
August 7, 2019 - Senate President Troy Jackson, Rep. Seth Berry, IBEW Local 1837 and Emera ratepayers held a press conference in Orono to share their concerns about the proposed sale of Emera Maine to ENMAX of Calgary, Alberta.
Mainers are worried about the proposed sale of Emera Maine to ENMAX and the impact it could have on Emera Maine’s workers as well as the ratepayers of Maine’s second largest electric utility.
Specifically, they are concerned that ENMAX is paying too much ($1.3 Billion, all financed by debt) and is too small a company to provide the service Emera Maine’s ratepayers need... Read More