The contract for about 175 union workers at utility Emera Maine is set to expire at midnight Tuesday as bargaining continued Monday between the parties.
Susan Faloon, a spokeswoman for the company, wrote Monday that contract talks are on schedule to conclude this week but declined to disclose any of the major issues that so far have held up a successor agreement between the company and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1837.
“We are working directly and productively with the IBEW as we approach contract expiration, and believe that this direct focus is the right approach to reaching a fair contract this week,” Faloon wrote in an email. “We have a long history of working together to find solutions to even the toughest issues, and the teams are working hard to reach a fair agreement.”
Dick Rogers, business manager for the union, said after meetings Monday that some “major issues” still remained on the table but there were signs of progress.
“It’s been slow, but there has been some movement,” Rogers said.
He said he was hopeful he would have a package to take to his members in meetings tentatively set for Wednesday and Thursday in Bangor and Presque Isle.
This is the first contract negotiated by the union since Bangor Hydro Electric Co. and Maine Public Service became Emera Maine.
According to the current contract, the work pact will be extended automatically for one year unless either party provides written notification on June 30, 2015, or any following June 30, of the intention to terminate the contract, at least 60 days before the termination date.
The contract also can be terminated on order by a state or federal authority or if IBEW Local 1837 consolidates with another union.
The union represents about 1,600 members in Maine and New Hampshire, including at Central Maine Power Co., Public Service of New Hampshire and WGME-TV 13.
Emera Maine, which includes the former Bangor Hydro and Maine Public Service territories, delivers electricity to 154,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across 9,350 square miles in five counties in eastern and northern Maine.