Welcome to New England Gas

November 18th Dan Hurley and I met with a large contingent of members from New England Gas of Fall River. It was a pleasure to welcome these gas workers with a long history of successes to our 369 family. New England Gas under the leadership of their President Pat Walsh, voted by a wide margin to join Local 369. Dan, and I presented a brief presentation on the steps Local 369 undertakes to prepare for contract bargaining. New England Gas collective bargaining agreement expires on May 1st 2010. We will work toward and we all look forward to a successful successor contract in May 2010.

National Grid Transitions

Dan Leary, Ed Lynch and I met with our newest members at National Grid’s Customer Order Fulfillment (COF) group housed at Gird’s Waltham facility. The COF group selected new stewards Cheryl Flis, and Juliann Miranda. And few days later we were meeting with Grid officials to discuss temporary additions to the COF group while new hires attend six to eight weeks of training. Although no agreement has been signed we are hopeful we can again come to the aid of National Grid as it transitions to a new operating model.

NSTAR Cutting Cost!

A disturbing trend is manifesting at Nstar on the Cape, as damaged poles are allowed to go unrepaired for many hours. In the recent weeks the Local has been informed of two such events. Poles are left overnight in precarious positions. Cape Supervisors, over the objection of Troublemen is differing repair until the next day. This latest cost cutting measure appears to be placing the public at a heightened risk of injury. If you come across additional examples of this type of unacceptable work deferral please take a photo and fill out a Local 369 Maintenance Sheet.. Send them to the Union Hall. “Safety First” includes our customers!

NLRB To Seek Injunction Against Covanta Energy

The Local was informed November 20th by NLRB Region 1 that the Board’s General Counsel in Washington, D.C. has authorized the Region to pursue an injunction against Covanta in U.S. District Court in Boston. The NLRB invokes the rare procedure only in cases considered egregious enough to warrant federal court intervention.

As you are all aware Covanta’s illegal conduct is the subject of a trial already underway before an administrative law judge, which is set to resume on November 30 in Plymouth. The power of the NLRB to seek injunctive relief comes from section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act, which authorizes the agency to pursue injunctions in cases where unfair labor practices have been committed, and where real harm will arise for workers before an administrative trial and appeals can be concluded.

The NLRB’s decision to seek a federal court injunction is exceedingly rare. For example, during 2008, out of thousands of cases, the Board authorized only eighteen Section 10(j) injunction requests. Specifically, according to NLRB data, this represented only 0.22% of the 8,036 cases in which the Board found merit in charges filed with the agency and either issued an administrative complaint or negotiated a settlement.

I want to congratulate the Covanta Bargaining Committee Gerry Fabich, Phil Canedy, and Ed Pierce, and Plant Stewards Hugh Cameron, Dennis Gallant, Michael Keogh, and Bill Lopes, as well as all our Union Brothers and Sisters at SEMASS for continuing to demand a fair wage for a fair days work. Your diligent chase for justice is inspirational.

Solidarity Pays Off

In closing, I would like to wish all 3,300 Local 369 members Happy Holidays and thank you for supporting your SEMASS brothers & sisters.