The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #1837 and Central Maine Power Company (CMP) have agreed to an extension of their staffing agreement that coupled with a staffing plan submitted to the Maine Public Utility Commission, includes a substantial increase in the number of workers employed at Maine’s largest electric utility.
IBEW 1837 Business Manager Dick Rogers has been advocating for increased staffing for several years in discussions with CMP and the Public Advocate’s office as well as in testimony before the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology.
“I signed an extension of the staffing agreement that I believe, along with the staffing plan submitted by the company to the Maine Public Utility Commission and once fully implemented, will have the impact CMP’s customers and our members deserve including restoration efforts, new construction/customer service and safety,” Rogers said.
The “minimum” number of Union employees at CMP will increase from 546 to 606. That includes the addition of twelve (12) new line apprentices and four (4) new station apprentices. By 2024, the fully implemented minimum staffing number will be 665.
There was also the establishment of a minimum number of line workers effective immediately. Currently there are 219 line workers at CMP with no minimum. Under the new agreement the minimum for 2019 will be 231 and will increase annually until it reaches 270 (providing that the staffing portion of the PUC rate case is approved). The anticipated addition of 51 line workers is the equivalent of 25 new bucket trucks serving CMP ratepayers.