Eversource Energy has promised annual wage increases and to add 20 additional positions under a new four-year labor agreement with natural gas employees, the utility provider said.
The agreement, announced Tuesday afternoon, was struck between the Hartford-based utility and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Locals 420 and 457. The labor contract covers 280 Eversource employees, a utility spokesman said.
Eversource says the new deal offers a “comprehensive” wage and benefits package, creating 20 new union positions in the next two years.
The four-year labor pact also increases employee safety training allowances, increases wages by 3.25 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the remaining three years.
The deal also establishes afternoon and evening shifts to support 24-hour coverage in Eversource’s meter services division, among other benefits.
The deal, said Joseph Malcarne, business manager of IBEW Local 420, which covers the labor union’s Waterbury chapter, shows the employees are “valued and needed” by Eversource.
The IBEW divisions represent over 1,500 employees including gas technicians, electric line workers, technicians and mechanics working throughout Eversource’s service area in Connecticut.
Eversource said it transmits and delivers electricity to 1.2 million customers in 149 municipalities and provides natural gas to 232,000 customers in 73 communities. It also supplies about 197,000 customers in 51 communities across Connecticut.
The utility currently has over 8,300 employees in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
