Negotiations

Strong Contract Gains, Job Security Secured for Versant Members

IBEW Local 1837 members at Versant ratified a 3-year collective bargaining agreement in early July after federal mediation was brought in to help the Union and the Company bridge remaining gaps during negotiations. The contract includes significant improvements to wages, benefits, working conditions, and a key victory in protecting job security.

All classifications will see general wage increases of 4% in 2025, 3% in 2026, and 3% in 2027. In addition, several positions will see market adjustments.

Lewis Tree Workers Win First Contract

Twelve skilled workers at Lewis Tree in New Hampshire voted to accept their first contract in late-September 2023.

These employees won their union with IBEW Local 1837 back in January 2023 after expressing their dissatisfaction with the lack of benefits and fair pay being offered, especially when compared to other unionized units within the company.

The newly ratified contract includes an immediate 2.5% pay raise, followed by 3% raises in both 2024 and 2025.

Black Bear Hydro Members Approve 5-Year Contract

IBEW Local 1837 members at Black Bear Hydro have unanimously ratified a 5-year contract, which includes a $5,000 signing bonus, increased wages, and other enhanced benefits.

In addition to the signing bonus, the contract features progressive pay increases over the next five years as follows:

- A 6% increase in 2023

- A 5% increase in 2024

- A 3.5% increase in 2025

- A 3.5% increase in 2026

- A 5% increase in 2027

Members Approve New 4-Year Contract at Brookfield

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

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.”

Union Members at PSNH Ratify New 4-Year Contract Agreement

June 10, 2013 – Members of IBEW Local #1837 in both Utility and Generation at Public Service Company of New Hampshire have approved a new 4-year contract agreement with the Company. The contract calls for an 11¼% (3, 2.75, 2.5 & 3%) wage increase over the term of the agreement with cash bonuses for the workers in each of the first two years.

“While it certainly wasn’t everything we wanted, the Committee worked hard to get the best deal possible,” said IBEW 1837 Business Manager Dick Rogers.

Eversource Workers in MA Reach Tentative Agreement

June 2, 2015 - Negotiators for the Utility Workers Union of America Local 369 and Eversource have reached a tentative contract agreement for workers at the former NStar in Massachusetts. A strike threat had been looming for weeks, potentially affecting workers in New Hampshire employed by the Company.

According to the UWUA Local 369 website, a ratification vote has been scheduled for June 11. Challenging issues during weeks of negotiations included job security, working conditions and health care.

Sea-3 Members of IBEW 1837 Ratify 2-Year Contract

June 21, 2016 - Union members working at the Sea-3 propane terminal facility in Newington, New Hampshire have voted to ratify a 2-Year contract. Voting concluded Monday afternoon on the agreement which will run through June 30, 2018.

All terms and conditions in the previous contract will continue without change. The 10 members of the IBEW 1837 bargaining unit will receive wage increases of 2 ½% each year.

IBEW 1837 Members at Granite Ridge Ratify New 3-Year Deal

September 29, 2017 - IBEW members working at Granite Ridge Energy in Londonderry, New Hampshire have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement to take them through the next three years. It’s the second contract for the union local with Calpine Corporation, a Houston-based generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources with more than 80 power plants.

Union Workers On Strike at New Hampshire Electric Co-op

Last week, union members in the largest bargaining unit at the New Hampshire Electric Co-op voted 79 – 1 to reject the company’s contract offer and authorize the IBEW Negotiating Team to call for a strike at the utility. Members in the smaller Warehouse bargaining unit also voted unanimously to reject the contract and authorize a strike. Union and Company negotiators met this morning but NHEC representatives refused to back off their demand that that they have the unilateral right to modify or eliminate 401(k) or pension plans without first negotiating with the Union.

IBEW 1837 Collecting Gift Cards for Striking NHEC Members

IBEW Local 1837 is on strike at the New Hampshire Electric Co-op (NHEC). The Company is attacking our retirement plans and the right to bargain over possible changes to them.

We have begun collecting gift cards for our members for Hannaford Supermarkets and Mobil or Irving Gas (the most common stations in NHEC territory). Gift cards can be mailed to: IBEW Local #1837 (NHEC Strike Support), 680 Central Avenue, Suite 202, Dover, NH 03820.

IBEW Members at WGME-TV Ratify New 3-Year Contract

September 20, 2018 - IBEW 1837 members working for Sinclair Broadcasting Group’s Portland, Maine, television station ratified a new 3-year agreement this week after rejecting a previous offer from the company by a 37 – 5 margin and authorizing a strike. The overwhelming strike vote was the first at WGME-TV in 30 years and helped to persuade the Company to improve their wage offer beyond what they’ve been offering their other employees.

3-Year Contract Extension for IBEW Members at Wyman Station

September 22, 2018 - IBEW 1837 members working for NextEra Energy at Maine’s Wyman Station ratified a 3-year contract extension earlier this week.

The idea of an extension to the collective bargaining agreement was initially proposed by Union Stewards at the oil-fired power plant. IBEW 1837 Business Manager Dick Rogers brought the idea to the Company, who initially offered a 1.5% wage increase each year for three years with no other changes to the contract.

Kittery Water District Workers Ratify "First Contract" with IBEW

December 30, 2020 - At least one good thing has come out of a very bad year: Workers at the Kittery Water District have overwhelmingly ratified their first contract with IBEW Local #1837. The 15 workers at the water utility include office staff, filtration plant workers, laborers, meter readers, service technicians and others.

CMP Fiber Microwave Techs Ratify Their First Union Contract

February 24, 2014 - Fiber Microwave Technicians at Central Maine Power have ratified their first union contract. These six workers are now part of the largest existing bargaining unit at CMP along with hundreds of other IBEW members. The Fiber Microwave Technicians voted to have union representation in a National Labor Relations Board election last May.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re better off,” said Phil Fessenden, one of the Fiber Microwave Techs. “It was an avenue to better our position at CMP and ensure a more productive future for our department.”