The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1837 held an informational picket outside Eversource headquarters on Wednesday, August 13. The demonstration drew attention to stalled negotiations for a first contract covering System Operators in the Electrical System Control Center and the System Operations Center.

The IBEW is sounding the alarm on President Trump’s recently signed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” warning that it poses a serious threat to working families across the country. In a letter to local unions, International President Kenneth W. Cooper called the legislation “irresponsible,” citing tax cuts for the wealthy, health care rollbacks, and the elimination of clean energy job incentives that have fueled significant IBEW job growth in recent years. Despite the bill’s name, Cooper made clear: “This new law will directly impact IBEW members and their families.”

A former member of IBEW 1837 was repeatedly denied job opportunities because of a mistake in the federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. Although he had resolved a past violation, the employer responsible for updating the record never submitted the correction. As a result, the Clearinghouse continued to show an unresolved infraction. Every time a prospective employer ran a background check, it appeared the issue was still active—and he wasn’t hired. Once the record was corrected, he was finally able to return to work.

In early March, Linemen Tom Eaton (Eversource), Donny Palmer (Unitil), Greg Middleton (Versant Power), and Mechanic Wade Jandreau (Versant Power) represented Local 1837 at the IBEW National Safety Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Attending conferences and safety classes equips our members with the latest best practices—knowledge they can share locally to keep everyone safer on the job.

Members of IBEW Local 1837 at WGME-TV ratified a new three-year contract with Sinclair Broadcast Group, ending a difficult and drawn-out bargaining process that included multiple contract extensions, public pickets outside the TV station in Portland, and strong backing from community leaders and fellow union members across the state.