Due to a scheduling conflict, the East's unit meetings (Sydney, Port Hawkesbury, New Glasgow, and Truro) are moving ahead by one week so that the Business Manager can attend. The new dates are in the IBEW calendar on the website (same day of the week, just one week earlier).

The Local 1928 negotiating team for Emera Utility Services (EUS) has reached a tentative agreement with the employer on a five-year agreement that would see wages increase by 2.5% in each year of the agreement. Other highlights include a new provision for compensation for company-requested travel in a line truck and compensation for helicopter work at 1.5 times the regular rate. Members from EUS will receive a summary of the agreement by mail and voting will take place in early September (details of voiting logistics to be included with the mailed summary). Recognizing that many EUS members are traveling, shop stewards and staff will be available by phone to answer questions, and we can email material to you digitally as well.

Over the last year-and-a-half, the memberships of Local 1928 (Nova Scotia, utility and outside line construction) and Local 1432 (PEI, utility and outside line construction) have voted to merge the two locals. For some time, this merger has been following the legal process required by the Labour Boards in both provinces to unite the two locals under the 1928 banner. The union office was notified in July that the "terminal date" for this merger was set for July 30, 2013. This may mean that the Locals are merged! But before we uncork the champagne, we are waiting for confirmation from the PEI Labour Board. Stay tuned for more updates.

With sadness we pass on the news of the death of First District (Canada) Vice President Phillip Flemming on May 25 at the age of 68.

Brother Flemming was appointed First District International Vice President in 2003. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Flemming was initiated into Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Local 1432 in 1967. He worked as an inside wireman for eight years before being elected business manager/financial secretary in 1975. Brother Flemming was also active in island’s labor movement, serving as president of the P.E.I. Federation of Labour.

“He was a great guy to work with,” says retired First District International Representative Jerry Wilson. “He was so honest, that if he said it, everyone knew then that was the way it was going to be.”

Succeeding Donald Lounds as VP in 2003, Flemming help lead the First District though some of Canada’s biggest economic and political changes in decades. He presided over an aggressive membership development effort, which grew the IBEW’s First District membership even through the worst of the 2008 recession. The First District also beefed up its political action program, building a grassroots network across Canada. One of his greatest accomplishments, says Wilson, was helping to start the First District’s NextGen initiative to reach out to younger members. “It was an uphill battle, but now has taken legs,” he says. He also worked closely with contractors and others to boost skilled construction training to meet the demands of Canada’s energy boom and anticipated manpower shortage, helping to found the National Electrical Trade Council.

Brother Flemming is survived by his wife Loretta, two sons, two stepdaughters, and two grandchildren. Local 1928 extends its most heartfelt sympathies to Brother Flemming’s family and friends.

The IBEW and Local 1928 have reached a tentative collective agreement with NSP Maritime Link (an Emera subsidiary) regarding the outside line construction work related to the Maritime Link project. The Maritime Link will build the infrastructure to bring hydroelectric power from Muskrat Falls, Labrador, to Cape Breton. The Nova Scotia contract is modeled after the Lower Churchill Falls Project contract. This agreement will have to be ratified by our outside line construction members who will receive a summary of the agreement and notice by mail of the details. The vote will take place the first week of September.