IBEW 1837 News

IBEW Local 1837 Welcomes Kaitlyn Hegarty as New Business Rep.

IBEW Local 1837 has appointed Kaitlyn Hegarty as its new Business Representative. Hegarty brings extensive experience in the media industry, having been a union member since 2011 when she joined WGME CBS 13 in Portland, Maine and served as a shop steward at the station.

With over a decade of experience in the broadcasting business, Hegarty worked as an award-winning Chief News Producer, contributing to thousands of live newscasts, breaking news events, and investigative stories. Her leadership in the newsroom made her a go-to person for co-workers' concerns.

Summer Suspension of Unit Meetings with Exceptions for Units 10 and 11

Following a vote by the members, several unit meetings in IBEW Local 1837 are temporarily suspended for the 2023 summer season.  However, please note Units 10 and 11 will continue to hold a combined meeting on the third Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. over Zoom.

To see the Summer 2023 Schedule: click here

NH AFL-CIO Offers Linda Horan Scholarship Program to Support Education

The New Hampshire AFL-CIO has announced it will offer the Linda Horan Scholarship Program for the 2023-2024 academic year. This program aims to address the rising costs of higher education while honoring the memory of Sister Linda Horan, a dedicated member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and former Chair of the Scholarship Committee. Sister Linda, who battled cancer and passed away in 2016, had a profound commitment to supporting the next generation and creating opportunities for their educational pursuits.

Local 1837 Elects Candidates for Leadership Roles

In accordance with the laws of the United States, the Constitution of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Bylaws of Local 1837, the nomination process has concluded. Since only one member was nominated for each office, there were no contested positions that required a balloted election. 

Union Sportsmen's Alliance to host inaugural dinner in New Hampshire

The Union Sportsmen's Alliance, a rapidly growing non-profit conservation organization dedicated to uniting the union community in preserving North America's outdoor heritage, is hosting its inaugural New Hampshire BCTC Conservation Dinner this June. This event provides individuals and organizations with an opportunity to actively protect natural resources, build sustainable environments, and showcase the positive contributions of labor unions. 

IBEW Local 1837 Relocates NH Office to Manchester

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1837, which represents over 1,600 members throughout Maine and New Hampshire, relocated its New Hampshire office from Dover to Manchester in February 2023. The local will continue to maintain its primary office in Central Maine near Augusta.

IBEW Local 1837's new office in Manchester, NH

IBEW 1837 Electing Union & Unit Officers This Spring & Summer

2023 is an election year for IBEW Local #1837. This spring and summer we will be electing union officers and representatives including the following: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Business Manager/Financial Secretary, and Executive Board Representatives for each of the eleven units as well as Chair, Vice Chair, and Recording Secretary for each of the eleven units.

Nominations will take place at the April Unit meetings. Check our website calendar at www.ibew1837.org, download a meeting schedule flier, or call the union office at 207-623-1030 for meeting times and locations. Voting will be by mail ballot for all positions except Unit Officers, who are elected at the June unit meetings. Ballots will be mailed to all active members on June 1st.

Derek Willette has agreed to be the Election Judge and anyone with questions may contact him by email at IBEW1837Election@gmail.com or call 207-613-4038. An IBEW Election guide is available for anyone who requests one from either the union office or the Election Judge.

Now is a good time to be sure the union office has your valid mailing address so you receive voting information and ballots. Email the union office at union@ibew1837.org or call 207-623-1030.

Members Approve New 4-Year Contract at Brookfield

February 22, 2023 - IBEW 1837 members at Brookfield have ratified a new 4-year contract agreement with annual pay increases for every member and additional vacation time for most employees. Voting took place on February 1 at multiple locations. The new agreement runs through February 28, 2027.

Members will receive an $8,000 ratification bonus and annual pay increases of 3%, 3.25%, 3.25% and 3.25%. The minimum straight-time call-out was increased to five hours and the contract establishes a two-hour straight-time call-out for solving issues over the phone after hours. Production Clerks and Production Assistants received a wage adjustment and progression pay was increased to $1 every six months, up from 50 cents every six months.

Employees with more than 30 years’ experience make up nearly half of the membership and they will receive an additional week of vacation. Employees will get three weeks of vacation after three years. New employees will no longer be required to wait three months to start accruing vacation or take paid holidays. Sick days are increased from six to eight per year and may be used in 4-hour increments for medical appointments.

“Before negotiations started, we talked to members at each location and the overarching themes were that we had to attract new people, keep the people that we have, and reward those who have been here a long time,” said IBEW 1837 Assistant Business Manager Renee Gilman. “That’s what we were trying to do, and we think we were able to do that.”

File photo: Chief Steward Ed Goodale on dam in West Buxton in 2013.

IBEW 1837 Members Receive Lifesaving Awards

Versant Maine Members Use CPR and AED Skills to Help Save a Co-Worker:

Cameron Bragg, Scott Madore, Danny Morin and Steve Sager are Lineworkers from Versant Maine who performed lifesaving CPR measures on fellow IBEW 1837 member Kevin Young. Brother Young had suffered an apparent heart attack in Presque Isle on February 2, 2022 and was found crouched down in a snowbank on the side of the road. The actions of the four lineworkers have been recognized by the IBEW International Safety Department with Lifesaving Awards.

Brother Cameron Bragg told IBEW that it was an incredible coincidence that they had just received CPR training earlier that same morning, a training that they receive once every two years. Brother Young had gone ahead of the crew 10 minutes earlier and was shoveling snow around the base of a utility pole where the crew was set to work. When the crews arrived, they saw Young crouching down behind the snowbank.

“We hollered at Kevin and he didn’t move,” Bragg said. “I jumped out of the truck first and ran over and that’s when we noticed something was wrong.”

Brother Steve Sager told IBEW that while the crew began CPR assessments, he jumped on the two-way radio to ask dispatch to call 911 with their location. The approximately 15-minute wait for an ambulance seemed like an eternity.

“We continued CPR,” Sager said, “and as the ambulance crew arrived the paramedic asked, ‘What are you guys doing for compressions?’ and Cameron replied ‘30 to2.’ He said, ‘Great don't stop! You're doing great.’ We continued as the ambulance crew got setup and got a backboard for loading Kevin. The AED assessed and shocked Kevin six times. The paramedics loaded Kevin in the ambulance and they left shortly after that.”

After a few days, Brother Young was sending funny texts and photos to his co-workers from the hospital, and he was recuperating at home less than a week later. He soon returned to work on light duty to a warm welcome from everyone at Versant Maine.

“What they did out there was nothing short of amazing,” Danny Gahagan, a Presque Isle Firefighter and Paramedic said. “In almost 20 years of being in EMS, I have never arrived at a scene and was this impressed with the work being done.”

Central Maine Power Members Help Save Two People from Burning Building:

Adam Douin, Jeffrey Dyer, Carl Urquhart are CMP traveling Lineworkers out of Portland who literally rescued two people from a burning building in Richmond, Maine, on May 18, 2022. Their actions have been recognized by the IBEW International Safety Department with Lifesaving Awards.

 “They definitely deserve recognition,” Richmond Fire Chief John Bellino told the Portland Press Herald. “It was very dramatic. They certainly went above and beyond.”

Kevin Young (second from left) joined by IBEW Lifesaving Award recipients Dan Morin, Steve Sager and Scott Madore. Cameron Bragg (not pictured) also received an award.

IBEW 1837 Member Retires After 64 Years at CMP

January 9, 2023 - Vaughn Bridges has retired from Central Maine Power after an incredible 64 years working for Maine’s largest electric utility. The 86-year-old Service Worker 2/C had the longest tenure of any member of IBEW Local 1837 and apparently worked longer than anybody for any Avangrid affiliate.

“As far as I know, nobody from Spain, Japan or anywhere has worked as long,” Brother Bridges said. “When they were handing out service pins, that’s when they realized it.”

Starting out as a Meter Reader Apprentice in Bucksport in 1958, Bridges worked many jobs at CMP, moving to the Belfast Service Building around 1973 and up through the ranks, finishing his lengthy career in Belfast.

“I really loved my job and the people around me,” he said. “Everyone has been great. I have no complaints.”

Bridges is part of the CMP retirement wave at the end of November when higher interest rates were set to adversely impact the lump sum payouts on defined benefit pension plans. It just made good financial sense for him and dozens of other employees to retire at that point in time.

“It was time for me to go although I still would like to be working,” Bridges said. “It was a long time, but it went fast.”

Brother Vaughn Bridges admires his new "IBEW retiree" pin presented to him by a member of the Local 1837's staff late last year.

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