IBEW 1837 News
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March 4, 2016 - Members of IBEW Local #1837 have elected delegates to represent them at the 39th IBEW International Convention in St. Louis. The delegates (in alphabetical order) are Pat Cote, Renee Gilman, Jeff Huckins, and Pamela Paquette.
Business Manager Dick Rogers and President Bill Tarallo will also represent the Local by virtue of their elected office in the Union.
Complete election results are available in the Members Only section by Clicking Here.
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Aaron, Elaina, Renee and Madi Gilman
enjoying one of their family road trips.February 29, 2016 - After nearly 20 years as an IBEW union member employed by Bangor Hydro and its successor company Emera Maine, Renee Gilman is now working for Local #1837 as a Business Representative. The newly-created Business Representative position is part of a staff restructuring plan proposed by Business Manager Dick Rogers and approved by the IBEW 1837 Executive Board following the recent retirement of Assistant Business Manager Bill Dunn.
Sister Gilman started working as a Customer Service Representative for Bangor Hydro in 1997. She enjoyed interacting with the utility’s customers (“most of them, anyway”) and built close relationships with her co-workers at the Call Center. She wasn’t there long before she took an active role in her union.
“I came from a Union family, so it’s something that’s always been important to me. I became a steward a couple of years after I started with the company,” Renee said. “I’ve known about Unions for as long as I can remember. My Dad worked in a mill the whole time I was growing up. He was a steward and then a Chief Steward there, so it’s something we talked about a lot. He never backed down from the company, even when it would have been a lot easier for him. I think he enjoyed the challenge.”
In her new job as an IBEW 1837 Business Representative, Sister Gilman is currently working with and for our members at Emera Maine, which is made up of the former Bangor Hydro and Maine Public Service companies. She keeps busy communicating with members on a daily basis via phone, text and email, and working through their questions, the majority of which are contract related. Renee also works closely with Dick Rogers handling grievances and a wide variety of member issues while working with company representatives to try to resolve those issues in a way that benefits our members.
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IBEW 1837 E-Board members shared a
laugh with Emily Cain (right) during a
recent meeting.January 26, 2016 - The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union #1837 Executive Board has voted to endorse Emily Cain for Congress in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
“Emily has always worked to improve access to education and training, to create and sustain good jobs and to fight for fair wages,” said Dick Rogers, IBEW Local 1837’s Business Manager. “We always know where Emily stands because it is always right beside Maine’s working people. We need Emily’s leadership in Congress and our rank and file members on the Union’s Executive Board were proud to endorse her campaign.”
IBEW 1837’s Executive Board took note of Cain’s opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal during their deliberations. They also recognized her longstanding opposition to so-called “Right-to-Work” bills and her 100% Working Families rating from the Maine AFL-CIO.
“The members of IBEW Local 1837 play a crucial role in Maine's economy and I am honored to earn their endorsement,” said Emily Cain. “They deserve a U.S. Representative who works as hard as they do, and one who will fight to create jobs, strengthen the middle class and ensure the American Dream is accessible for everyone.”
The IBEW Local #1837 endorsement does not include any financial support. No IBEW Local #1837 union dues money is ever donated to political candidates and it is prohibited by federal law.
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The IBEW Founders' Scholarship honors the dedicated wiremen and linemen who, on November 28, 1891, organized the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Each year the officers of the IBEW are pleased to offer its working members scholarships on a competitive basis. It is hoped that the awards will not only contribute to the personal development of our members but also steward the electrical industry that our founders envisioned.
The award is for $200 per semester credit hour at any accredited college or university toward an associate's, bachelor's or postgraduate degree in an approved field. The maximum distribution is $24,000 per person over a period not to exceed eight years.
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IBEW 1837 Business Manager Dick Rogers thanked
outgoing President Ray Colello (center) for his
many years of dedicated service to IBEW 1837 as
incoming President Bill Tarallo looked on.January 6, 2016 - Throughout the years, first as a Union Steward and Chief Steward in the 70’s and then as a Union Executive Board Representative throughout the 80’s, leading to his role as President of IBEW Local #1837 beginning in 1991, Ray Colello has always been a devout and dedicated trade unionist. His decision last month to pass the baton to Vice President Bill Tarallo to finish out his term was one he made because he thought it would be best for the Union.
Brother Colello started his full-time career as a General Helper for Central Maine Power in 1972 working at Wyman Station on Cousins Island, Maine. Later, with deregulation of electric utilities and after the sale to Florida Power and Light (now known as NextEra), Ray would work as a Senior Production Tech A as a shift worker for the last ten years. His father had worked at Wyman beginning in 1964 after several years at the South Portland Cape Steam Station beginning in the mid-to-late 50’s.
“I learned most of what I knew about unions from my dad and joined the union as soon as I could,” Colello said. “Union members have somebody to speak for them when they are mistreated. They also have the right to a safe workplace. If the working people are put in a bad situation, it’s not just you that the company is affecting but your family and your family’s future.”
In more than 24 years as President of the Local, Ray Colello has faced many difficult challenges but feels especially proud that the union’s leaders and members stepped up to make changes to the dues structure that were necessary to be effective representing our members.
“We often had a financial inability to represent people when we needed to (before the dues change). The change to the by-laws that included a percentage of pay (2 hours) gave us the financial structure we have now,” he said.
A change of this magnitude required President Colello and other E-Board members to travel throughout Maine and New Hampshire for three months to meet with members and explain the need for the change. The Local was having difficulty meeting operating expenses and the decision to arbitrate some member grievances had to be weighed against the significant costs of the process.
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Sanders spoke at the NH AFL-CIO
Convention earlier this year.December 22, 2015 - The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union #1837 Executive Board has voted to endorse Bernie Sanders for President in the New Hampshire Democratic Primary and the Maine Democratic Caucus.
“Bernie Sanders has a 35-year record standing shoulder-to-shoulder with workers and supporting the labor movement,” said IBEW Local #1837 President Bill Tarallo. “How our members vote is their personal decision but our E-Board wanted to recognize the tremendous work that Senator Sanders has done supporting the right of unions to organize, fighting against unfair trade deals and in support of higher wages for working people. He has the best labor record of any presidential candidate in more than a generation.”
The Union’s E-Board is made up of rank and file workers elected by the members to represent them. They also applauded Bernie Sanders’ support of IBEW and CWA union members during the recent successful strike at FairPoint in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, where he joined striking workers on the picket line and demanded the company agree to a fair contract.
“Beyond his stellar labor record, Bernie Sanders has defended Social Security and stood up to Wall Street,” Tarallo continued. “His support of public education and our nation’s veterans also deserves our recognition.”
The IBEW Local #1837 endorsement does not include any financial support. No IBEW Local #1837 union dues money is ever donated to political candidates and it is prohibited by federal law.
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The Guiffrida Family during happier
times at this summer's OpSail event.December 21, 2015 - The young daughter of an IBEW 1837 member will be spending this Christmas in the hospital suffering from a rare form of leukemia. Jazzlyn Giuffrida just celebrated her first birthday this month and is a patient at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland.
Central Maine Power Customer Service Representative and IBEW 1837 Union Steward Joe Giuffrida and his wife Jamie Lynn are being hit with unexpected expenses during this very difficult and challenging time. They have also lost much of Jamie Lynn’s income since she is unable to work while caring for her daughter and travelling between Augusta and Portland.
CMP, the First United Pentecostal Church and members of IBEW Local #1837 are working together to support the Giuffrida family during their time of need. Over $1,000 in donations were collected last week at CMP’s General Office, much of it given and collected by Joe’s fellow Customer Service Representatives.
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Cynthia Phinney would be the
first woman elected to be
Maine AFL-CIO President.UPDATE: October 23, 2015 - Cynthia Phinney won election to a 4-year term as President of the Maine AFL-CIO at their state convention in Bangor.
October 15, 2015 - Cynthia Phinney's dedication to making things better for working people is a big part of who she is and what she has done since first joining the Union in 1992 as an employee of Central Maine Power Company. The first person hired strictly as an Organizer for IBEW Local #1837, she held that job for several years before serving two terms as the Union's Business Manager and Financial Secretary. Her decision to run for President of the Maine AFL-CIO seemed to be a natural progression to those who know her, and to Cynthia herself.
"Certainly, some of my experience being an active participant in our Local has helped both to shape my vision and give me the skills for this position," Sister Phinney said.
Delegates to the Maine AFL-CIO State Convention in Bangor from October 22 - 23 will elect a successor to President Don Berry, who will be retiring at the end of his current term. John Portella, a Machinist from Local S6 is also a candidate for the post.
Since leaving the staff of IBEW Local #1837 and returning to Central Maine Power as a Meter Reader, Cynthia has remained active in the Labor Movement, attending many IBEW meetings, serving on the Maine AFL-CIO Executive Board and as Secretary of the Western Maine Labor Council. Phinney has also stepped up to become President of the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, serving the coalition seeking to educate the public and political leaders about the failed NAFTA-style trade model that threatens the jobs of Maine workers.
