MANCHESTER, NH – Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1837 held an informational picket at Eversource’s Manchester headquarters on Wednesday morning.
The picket comes after months of stalled negotiations for a first contract covering Eversource System Operators in the Electrical System Control Center and the System Operations Center. These operators, who manage the transmission and distribution electric grids across Eversource’s New Hampshire service territory, voted to join IBEW in November and December 2023. Following lengthy hearings, the National Labor Relations Board confirmed their eligibility for union representation.
However, despite securing that right, progress toward a first collective bargaining agreement has stalled, contributing to a critical shortage of trained operators as employees leave due to burnout and challenging working conditions.
“Operators have been leaving both control centers, creating a critical shortage of trained operators,” said Tony Sapienza, Business Manager for IBEW Local 1837. “The shortage of trained operators is causing the remaining operators to have to work additional shifts. These employees are responsible for operating both the Transmission and Distribution electric grids for all of Eversource’s New Hampshire territory. These systems are incredibly important to our economy, safety, and way of life in the Granite State. Operators are highly skilled and make great sacrifices to monitor and operate these systems 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
IBEW Local 1837, which represents more than 1,700 workers in the utility and broadcast industries in Maine and New Hampshire, is calling on Eversource to return to the bargaining table in good faith and reach an agreement that will help recruit and retain the skilled workforce needed to keep New Hampshire’s power system safe and reliable.
Press release submitted by IBEW Local 1837.
William Hinkle of Eversource submitted the following response
Eversource’s dedicated employees, including the thousands of union members across our three-state service territory, are the backbone of our essential work to provide safe, reliable service to our customers that has resulted in our reliability metrics being ranked in the top quartile nationally in each of the last five years. We always negotiate with union labor in good faith and will continue to do so with the system operators in New Hampshire.