IBEW 1837 News

February 28, 2018 - IBEW Local #1837 members at Brookfield Renewable’s hydroelectric assets in Maine have ratified a new, 5-year contract. Members will see a 12.75% increase in wages over the term of the agreement while maintaining their level of benefits.

“This is a good contract,” said IBEW 1837 Business Manager Dick Rogers. “The members will receive a wage increase similar to or even a little better than workers at other Brookfield hydro assets.”

In addition, minimum call-outs for members were increased to 4 hours for regular call-outs to 6 hours on holidays.

Stipendable skillsets were changed which will qualified more than half of the members to receive more money beginning in 2019.

New employees will now get holidays immediately after being hired instead of having to wait for six months.

“There were no losses and most of the (members) seemed to be happy,” said IBEW 1837 Chief Steward Ed Goodale. “The negotiations themselves went well. The company proposed some changes including adding a stand-by policy and changing the management rights clause but we were successful in getting them to drop those.”

October 12, 2017 - After waiting for more than three years to find out who will take ownership of the electric generation assets of Eversource NH (formerly PSNH), IBEW 1837 members and New Hampshire ratepayers finally have their answer. The winning bidders of an auction were announced on October 12 in an Eversource filing with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC).

Eversource said their nine hydroelectric plants are being purchased for $83 million by Hull Street Energy, LLC and its affiliates. Hull Street is a private equity firm based in Bethesda, Maryland, that is focused on the power generation industry.

The three fossil fuel plants (Newington, Merrimack and Schiller Stations) are being purchased for $175 million by a partnership of Granite Shore Power LLC, a 50-50 joint venture of Atlas Holdings of Greenwich, Connecticut, and Castleton Commodities International of Stamford, Connecticut. 

The NHPPUC is expected to approve both of these transactions within a few months.

In 2014, Eversource entered into settlement talks related to the divestiture of their generating assets as the PUC responded to a new law giving them the authority to force the Company to sell them if it was in the “economic interest” of ratepayers. PSNH had been under pressure to sell in large part because costs associated with a state-mandated "scrubber" to reduce mercury emissions at Merrimack Station had led to substantial upward pressure on residential electric rates.

In 2015, IBEW 1837 members overwhelmingly ratified an agreement that extended their contract while providing additional employee protections if the fossil or hydro facilities were sold or closed. All prospective buyers agreed to abide by the terms of the Union contract and to continue to run the facilities for at least 18 months after the deal was finalized.

January 4, 2018 - Local Unit Meetings continue for members of IBEW Local #1837 throughout New Hampshire and Maine. Locations for the Keene, NH, and Portland, ME, area meetings have recently changed. (Please see below.) The monthly meetings are an opportunity for our members to discuss issues affecting their jobs and their Union. In most cases, Union Business Managers, staff or elected officers will participate in the meetings. Members are welcome to attend any unit meeting although they can only vote in their home area units.

Meetings may be postponed or cancelled in the summer months, during storms or on holidays. Unit meetings in Randolph may not be held every month. (Call 603-470-4239 to confirm.) Please check with the Union Office, your Shop Steward or our website calendar before driving to a meeting.

Some meeting times and locations may have changed in recent years. Please check the list below or use the link to download and print a copy to post on your Union bulletin board.