Police Investigating Vandalism at Lincoln Substation by NHEC | May 16, 2018 | UncategorizedLINCOLN, NH – A power outage on May 15 that affected 2,900 members of New Hampshire Electric Co-op (NHEC) was caused by an act of vandalism that heavily damaged equipment at NHEC’s substation in Lincoln. Responding to reports of voltage fluctuations in Lincoln, NHEC personnel discovered that copper ground wires had been cut and stolen from beneath the substation that provides electric service to members in Lincoln. In order to restore power safely to members, NHEC brought the substation offline at 7 p.m. and performed switching operations that restored power in stages to all affected members by 8:11 p.m. NHEC officials estimate the vandalism caused tens of thousands of dollars of damage to substation equipment. Lincoln Police have been notified and are investigating. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact Lincoln Police. Elsewhere around NHEC service territory, other outages were restored in a timely manner on May 15 by contract line crews. The largest outage occurred in the Raymond area, where approximately 740 members lost power due to a tree that broke a utility pole in an off-road location at 5:07 p.m. Contract crews replaced the broken pole and restored power to NHEC members by 10:32 p.m. NHEC is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving 84,000 homes and businesses in 115 New Hampshire communities.
BOD Election Ballots Mailing to Co-op Members by NHEC | May 15, 2018 | UncategorizedPLYMOUTH, NH – Members of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) are receiving ballots by mail and email as voting opens today for four seats on the company’s Board of Directors. Members have until Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. to return their completed ballots to NHEC headquarters in Plymouth. A postage-paid return envelope is included in the ballot mailing. Every member will have secure access to cast their ballot online, if they choose. Members are also receiving email invitations to vote online if they have an email address on file with NHEC. Winners of the Board election will be announced at the 79th Annual Meeting of Members, to be held June 19, 2018 at Merrill Place Conference Center on the campus of Plymouth State University. Six candidates are seeking election this year to four seats on the Co-op’s 11-member Board of Directors. Five candidates were nominated by the NHEC Nominating Committee, which reviews the qualifications of each candidate and recommends those it feels would best contribute to the successful operation of the Cooperative. A sixth candidate is running by petition. All candidates are required to be members of the Cooperative. This year’s candidates selected by the Nominating Committee include incumbent Board member Kenneth Colburn of Moultonborough, Edward French of Raymond, Neil Irvine of New Hampton, Jeffrey Morrill of Thornton and Daniel Senie of Charlestown. A sixth candidate, Brenda Boisvert of Campton, filed her candidacy via petition signed by at least 100 current Co-op members as specified by the NHEC Bylaws. NHEC members are receiving statements from the candidates in support of their candidacies along with a ballot. Ballot counting will take place Thursday, June 14, 2018 at Co-op headquarters in Plymouth. Newly-elected Board members will be seated immediately following the Annual Meeting on June 19 and will serve three-year terms. NHEC is a democratically controlled, not-for-profit electric distribution company serving 84,000 homes and businesses in 115 New Hampshire communities.
NHEC Union Employees Remain on Strike by NHEC | May 14, 2018 | UncategorizedPLYMOUTH, NH – Eighty-three of New Hampshire Electric Cooperative’s (NHEC) 200 employees remain on strike. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union #1837 went on strike on May 7 after nearly 20 negotiating sessions with NHEC management failed to result in a new contract. The contract expired on April 30th. Prior to the strike, NHEC assured the union committee that management would not lock out union employees when the contract expired. A lockout occurs when management refuses to allow union employees to work. It is different than a strike because during a strike, striking employees choose not to work, even though they have the option to continue working without a contract while negotiations continue. NHEC’s union employees chose not to continue working. Although a federal mediator has been engaged and continues to meet with both sides, an agreement has not been reached and union workers remain out on strike. Contract line crews have been brought in to help maintain operations for NHEC and its members. At issue is pension and 401k benefits for union employees. The union requested that the company offer union employees the same 401k and pension benefits as non-union employees. The company responded to the union’s request by proposing pension and 401k benefits at the same level as non-union employees, including senior management. The proposal represents a dramatic increase in pension and 401k benefits for union employees. Despite the generous proposal, the union objects to language in the company’s proposal that it be able to make the same changes to the pension plan at the same time changes are made to the pension plan for non-union employees. The intent of the company’s proposal is to maintain the same level of pension and 401k benefits for union and non-union employees. NHEC provides a comprehensive benefits package to all employees. A 1st Class Line Worker for NHEC makes an annual base salary of $81,057; plus an average of $6,547 for on-call pay for a total of approximately $87,604 annually. Line workers also frequently earn overtime. On average, in 2017, an NHEC Line Worker earned $30,000 in overtime. In addition to their wages, NHEC Line Workers receive a comprehensive benefits package, which on average costs NHEC $54,676 to provide. For a Line Worker at NHEC the Total Compensation and Benefit Package is approximately $172,280. NHEC’s union benefit package includes: Personal Time – 5 paid personal days Holiday Pay – 8 paid holidays Vacation – 12-26 paid vacation days based on years of service Sick leave – 12 paid sick days Health coverage (including dental and vision) – 85% paid by NHEC; 15% paid by the employee Defined Benefit Pension Plan – fully paid by NHEC; based on a multiplying factor, annual salary and number of years of service. 401k Retirement Plan – Percentage match by NHEC Accidental, Death and Dismemberment Insurance – paid by NHEC Life insurance – NHEC pays for coverage equal to two (2) times annual salary NHEC has posted a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on its website to inform members and the public about the union strike. Any new developments in the contract negotiations will also be posted online at www.nhec.com. NHEC is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving 84,000 homes and businesses in New Hampshire.
Union Strike – Frequently Asked Questions by NHEC | May 11, 2018 | UncategorizedNHEC Union Strike Frequently Asked Questions (updated May 11, 2018) BACKGROUND NHEC has approximately 200 employees, of which 83 are union employees who are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #1837. A long-term contract between the union and NHEC – called a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) – was set to expire on April 30, 2018. Nearly 20 negotiation sessions were held prior to the expiration of the CBA in order to establish a new contract. On May 3, 2018, the IBEW Local #1837 voted to reject the company’s final proposals. Further talks did not produce an agreement, and on May 7, 2018, union employees went on strike. In general, strikes and picketing are protected activities under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Q: What is the issue? During negotiations, the union negotiating committee expressed its desire to bring union and non-union employee benefits in line with each other. NHEC took this request seriously and offered union members the same pension and 401k benefits as are offered to non-union employees, including management employees at NHEC. Unfortunately, that offer was rejected by the union on May 3rd. At issue is the union’s objections to the company’s proposal that it be able to make changes to the pension plan at the same time changes are made to the pension plan for non-union employees. Any changes would be made with the intent of maintaining the same pension and 401k benefits for all NHEC employees. Q: What is collective bargaining? Collective bargaining is the process through which a group of employees represented by a union negotiate with their employer about the terms and conditions of their employment. The NLRA gives workers the right to organize, to join unions, and to collectively bargain. Both a union and an employer have an obligation to bargain in “good faith.” Q: Can workers be fired for going on strike? Typically, workers cannot be fired for going on strike. The NLRA protects the right of workers to strike and prohibits employers from terminating employees for exercising this right. Q: How long will a strike last? The duration of a strike is difficult to predict. Q: How will the strike be resolved? NHEC will continue to negotiate in good faith with the union until the parties reach a new contract. The parties engaged a federal mediator in an effort to resolve the dispute. Q: When will the two sides get back to the bargaining table? Both parties are working with the mediator and continued discussions on Friday, May 11th Q: How does the strike impact operations? NHEC activated a contingency plan that provides coverage for power outages and protects public safety. Certified line crews were engaged and are being accompanied on any outage calls by non-union NHEC employees who are familiar with the service territory. NHEC’s Control Center is still staffed 24 hours a day, and members should still report outages to the NHEC outage line at 1-800-343-6432. Much of NHEC’s day-to-day business is not impacted by the strike. Services like billing and payment processing are not impacted. The Member Solutions call center is fully staffed and open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1-800-698-2007. NHEC’s energy efficiency rebate programs are also unaffected. Depending on the duration of the strike, there may be some delay in the performance of service work. If you have questions about an open service order, you can call NHEC Member Solutions at 1-800-698-2007. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience as we respond to this unusual situation.
NHEC Union Employees Announce Strike, Company Responds by NHEC | May 7, 2018 | UncategorizedPLYMOUTH, NH – The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union #1837 representing 83 employees of New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) has announced its intent to strike today after further negotiations failed to produce a successor agreement to a contract that expired on April 30, 2018. The company has activated a contingency plan that will provide for adequate coverage of power outages and protect public safety. Certified line crews have been engaged and will be accompanied on any outage calls by non-union NHEC employees who are familiar with the service territory. NHEC’s Control Center will still be staffed 24 hours a day and members should still report outages to the NHEC Outage line at 1-800-343-6432, or online at www.nhec.com. Representatives of NHEC and the union have met 18 times in the past several months to arrive at a contract agreement. The company has offered union members the same pension and 401k benefits that are currently offered to non-union employees, but the union rejected that offer last week because the company wanted to reserve the right to change the benefit in the future if it became necessary to change it for non-union employees. The company remains committed to working with the union and has requested the involvement of a federal mediator to restart the contract talks. At this time there are no new negotiating sessions scheduled. NHEC is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving 84,000 homes and businesses in 115 New Hampshire communities.
Contract Talks to Continue Following Vote By Union Employees by NHEC | May 4, 2018 | UncategorizedPLYMOUTH, NH – Representatives of New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union #1837 will continue negotiations after the union voted May 3 to reject the company’s contract offer. The vote authorized the IBEW Negotiating Team to call for a strike by union employees, however there is no indication that a work stoppage is imminent. The union represents 83 NHEC employees, including lineworkers and other employees. NHEC has prepared a contingency plan to provide for adequate coverage of power outages and protect public safety in the event that union employees engage in a work stoppage. Certified line crews have been engaged and will be accompanied on any outage calls by non-union NHEC employees who are familiar with the service territory. NHEC members will still be able to report outages 24 hours a day to the NHEC Outage line at 1-800-343-6432.