The Field Technicians and Field Technician Specialists at Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) have voted to join IBEW Local 1837. 100% of the 35 eligible employees (who are also known as "Writers") participated by mail ballot in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election. Representatives of the Union and the Company were on hand as the votes were tallied at the NLRB office in Boston on the morning of July 20, 2007.

Demonstrator CMP Portland Members of "The 47" at CMP still working to achieve their first contract took to the streets again today, this time in three locations. Allies from the other IBEW bargaining unit at CMP turned out to show their support, as did members of several other unions including the Machinists from Bath Iron Works, IBEW Local 567, IBEW 2327 workers from Verizon, the Maine AFL-CIO, the Newspaper Guild, and the Maine AFL-CIO. Spirited demonstrators walked the line between 6 and 7 before heading to work in Augusta, Portland, and Lewiston.

The Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board has determined that a system-wide unit would be appropriate for Field Technicians and Field Technician Specialists (also known as “Writers”) at Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH), the state’s largest electrical utility. IBEW Local 1837 had petitioned for such a unit, only to have it challenged by an attorney for PSNH who sought to have the 33 employees divided into 13 or 14 separate bargaining units

Monday and Tuesday, June 18 & 19, local workers and labor and community leaders across Maine and New Hampshire gathered outside the offices of our U.S. Senators to call on them to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act -- legislation that would make it more difficult for employers to thwart workers’ efforts to form unions to bargain for better wages and benefits.

Union members at CMP wore red last Tuesday in support of the "CMP 47", the bargaining unit that was certified in January of 2006 and is still working to negotiate their first contract. Approximately 600 employees of CMP already belong to the union and have worked under a collective bargaining agreement with the Company for decades. In 2005 a group of fourteen Dispatchers joined the union and negotiated a supplement to the existing agreement.