Central Maine Power Company (CMP)

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.

CMP (Energy East) has again discovered a raft of apparent errors in their payroll system. Although the problems are apparently company wide for Energy East and include both union and non-union workers, 131 IBEW 1837 members have received letters either asking for refund of alleged overpayments or with checks for alleged underpayments. Many but not all of the errors are related to 401(k) withholdings. Others are apparently miscalculated callouts and other miscellaneous errors.

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.”

February 10, 2014 - Customer Service Representatives at the Central Maine Power Call Center in Augusta have ratified their first union contract with the Company. An overwhelming majority of the 46 CSR’s voted late last week to accept the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between IBEW Local 1837 and CMP. The workers had voted to organize a union this past June.

Company moves workers - declares new location NON-UNION!

Apparently slithering through one legal loophole after another, CMP has announced its decision to merge the non-union Lewiston Phone Center with the Union Fairfield Credit Center to a new location in Augusta and to declare the resulting department non-union.

The move is currently scheduled to take effect November 13. Union members and officials are continuing to work against the loopholes and allow the Fairfield workers to maintain their union status. In the meantime, please read the following

Rainy weather and short notice wasn't enough to stop twenty-plus IBEW members from turning out to picket the CMP annual meeting on May 21. Although the circumstances could have caused these workers to blame each other for their situation, they decided to band together and point their fingers at the company who is pulling the strings.

According to Bob Ward of Local 104, "We wanted to bring our situation to the attention of the stockholders – to have our side heard."