Our Chapter takes pride in its long record of productive, responsible and progressive labor relations as practiced by our labor partners in Greater Boston, Maine and New Hampshire. 

 

This summer, the NECA Boston Contractors and IBEW Local 103 have reached a new contract. We believe this contract will keep us moving forward for many years to come. It speaks to the progressive and forward-thinking partnership NECA Boston and our IBEW Local 103 partners have always had, with an eye on the competitiveness of our NECA Contractors and continuing to keep our skilled IBEW workforce with strong wages, benefits and working conditions.

 

Our new five year agreement incorporates new language to allow for greater flexibility, underscores our industry commitment to DEI and acknowledges the expanding network and integration market.

 

For starters, it is no secret -- Americans are embracing flexible work—and they want more of it. The in-person nature of construction work makes it difficult to adjust but there are ways that can create some flexibility and maintain our productivity with adjusted work schedules. As such, we have included language to allow employers to institute a four ten hour day workweek to adjust for market and job conditions for all or a portion of their crew.

 

Next, we know that reports and projections indicate that the network and integration market will expand exponentially over the next decade. And we need to position our NECA Contractors and IBEW workforce to take advantage of these opportunities.

 

And we have with our new network technician language in the agreement. The new Network technician classification defines any person who possesses the necessary skills to enable them to install, diagnose, restore, repair, and replace operating systems with the necessary education requirements. We look forward to the work opportunities for our NECA contractors and IBEW in this market.

 

In addition, the IBEW Local 103 and NECA Boston aim to advance opportunities for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the region’s economic development community and construction industry. Collectively, we are committed to ensuring Local 103 is representative of the communities in which we live and work and are continuing to promote civil rights within our industry, state and country.

 

As such, the Construction Wireman Program, Section XIII of the MOU, has set forth aspirational goals in the recruitment, hiring and employment practices of each Local 103/NECA signatory contractor.

 

Signatory contractors employing Construction Wiremen, in a prefabrication shop or on market recovery jobsites, shall aim to achieve at least fifty-one percent of qualified people of color, women, or bona fide Boston residents in their Construction Wiremen Program. 

 

In an effort to achieve these goals, the Parties hereto agree to meaningful engagement with the following pre-apprentice, workforce recruitment initiatives, including Building Pathways, Policy Group of Tradeswomen’s Issues, Community Mentorship Program, coordination with IBEW/NECA’s EILMCT Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator, outreach to vocational technical schools, and coordination with joint apprenticeship training committee.

 

Lastly, our new agreement expands some of our referral guidelines for IBEW local 103 members.

 

We believe this new 5-year agreement sets us up for success, productivity and a prosperous future for NECA and IBEW.

 

And we look forward to continuing to work together.

 

Kristen Gowin, Executive Manager