PRESIDENT’S REPORT

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT CRAIG A. PINKHAM

BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

I hope this article finds you and your families safe and well. Although we cannot believe that we are nearing the two-year mark of this pandemic, I am not surprised at how successful our entire membership has been under such challenging times. We are full of hope as we see numbers improving across the state, mask mandates being lifted, and policy and CDC guidelines adjusting accordingly, indicating that a return to normalcy is in sight.

2021 was an exciting year for Local 369, as our union successfully negotiated eleven (11) new collective bargaining agreements. We are already on track to have an equally successful 2022, already ratifying five (5) new contracts at Exelon, National Grid, and SQUAN (page 6).

There’s also good news for workers at the national level. We are excited to share information about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal passed by Congress in the fall (page 15). As the largest infrastructure investment in our country’s history, the deal promises to support clean, reliable energy, to create quality union jobs through a new clean energy power infrastructure, and to help alleviate the burden of home energy costs on American families. Local 369 understands the need for green energy in this country and we are looking forward to the opportunities that will open to UWUA members in the future.

Our members continue to answer the call and do what it takes to serve our communities. Storms create outages and emergencies across our region (page 10) but each time, Local 369 members deliver both on the ground and in our call centers to restore power. Members even joined the recovery efforts in Louisiana following the devastation of Hurricane Ida. Together, we kept thousands of families safe and sound while helping communities recover. Thank you for your dedicated service to our customers and our communities.

This will be my last column as president of Local 369. I would like to echo the recent announcement regarding my election to the role of national vice president of the UWUA. I am deeply honored by my unanimous election, and I look forward to taking what we have built here together in Massachusetts and expanding on it for the benefit of our brothers and sisters across the country. Our union is in a good place! Our contracts are the best in the country. Our finances are the strongest in the history of the Local. Our membership is engaged, and our safety and training committee is a model across the industry that is more than qualified to take on the challenges that new technology will bring to the utility and energy industry.

Serving as the president of Local 369 has been the privilege of a lifetime. I would like to thank each of you for your support, for your loyalty, for your trust, and for your many contributions to our great union. I will always cherish my 22 years with Local 369, everything I have learned from this incredible team, and all you, my friends, who have become like family.

Finally, I look forward to continuing my work with Local 369 in this exciting new capacity and to advocating for all of UWUA’s hardworking members and our families. I have no doubt that great things lie ahead for this union, starting with Secretary-Treasurer Dan Leary serving as acting president and the upcoming election to officially elect a new president.

Thank you all again for your hard work and commitment to this union and for your friendship. Local 369 is proof that we are stronger together and I couldn’t be more proud.

Remember, it is never about the money… because it is ALWAYS about the money!

Sincerely,

Craig A. Pinkham

President UWUA Local 369