Meet the Unitil Workers with Utility Workers Union of America Local B341

If you purchase natural gas for your home from Unitil, you might not be aware that the men and women who ensure its delivery are proud members of the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local B341. Currently, Unitil serves customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, from Kittery to Lewiston. In addition to serving residential homes it also supplies natural gas to large industrial facilities like Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Poland Springs.

Unitil is in the process of acquiring Maine Natural Gas, which is owned by Central Maine Power’s parent company Avangrid. The pending $86 million sale will make Unitil one of just two natural gas companies that transport natural gas into the state. The other major gas company is the non-union Summit Natural Gas, which services Cumberland, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Augusta, Gardiner and other communities in the Kennebec Valley.

In July, Local B341 organized eight new members who work for Maine Natural Gas at its Augusta and Brunswick locations, bringing the total membership in the union to 50. Unitil workers operate an underground natural gas transmission line that runs from Haverhill, Massachusetts through New Hampshire to Portland. They also provide metering services to customers.

Founded in 1940, the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) has about 50,000 members nationwide working in the electric, gas, steam, water and nuclear industries. Originally part of the Brotherhood of Utility Workers of New England, Local B341 was chartered in 1953 and represented workers with the Portland Gas Light Company and the Lewiston Gas Light Company, which were later incorporated into Northern Utilities before becoming part of Unitil in 1984. The union also once represented workers at the defunct Maine Yankee nuclear plant in Wiscasset and at Citizens Utilities Gas, later Maine Utility Gas, in Bangor until the company folded in 1978. Three years ago,  Chris Richardson was elected President of  Local B341 with the goal of strengthening the union and getting it back on track.
 

“I just wanted to have us operate more legitimately because I think in the past a lot of the members and people on the board took the benefit and pay of being union but they didn't utilize the brotherhood aspect of it to be a part of something bigger,” said Richardson.

Richardson originally worked as a union gas utility worker in Massachusetts and moved to Maine eleven years ago. After working for a few non-union contractors and doing carpentry for a few years, he took a job with Unitil five years ago.

"I think the biggest thing about being in a union is that we actually have a voice and we have a say in how we're treated and the work that we are required to do,” said Richardson. “It's nice to have a little more power because we have a bigger piece of the pie than they would give us if we were non-union.”

Last month, Local B341 members Bill Pearreault and Shawn Speed attended the Maine AFL-CIO’s Labor Summer Institute where they attended workshops and panel discussions about the role of union stewards. Local B341 also sent delegates to UWUA’s national convention this year. Richardson says he looks forward to getting more involved in the local labor movement. He is also planning to work on updating the union’s bylaws, which haven’t been changed since 1982.

“I'm trying to get the guys a little more into the bigger picture of things,” he said. “I think everything just kind of went by the wayside for so long.”

Richardson said while he’s developed a good relationship with the company, in the past the union unfortunately accepted some very harmful provisions in its contract. Local B341 is getting ready to begin bargaining for its next contract as the current one ends in March. Richardson is soliciting feedback from members for what they would like to get out of negotiations. Local B341 has also been active in lobbying the Legislature against legislation in 2024 that would halt the expansion of natural gas in the state.

“They were vilifying natural gas and taking the consumers’ right to directly consume natural gas away,” he said. “So they weren't allowing new customers to tie into the natural gas system. It would allow you to purchase electricity that was created with natural gas, but you wouldn't be able to burn it in your home.”

Former Maine Public Advocate William Harwood argued in support of the bill that its aim was to phase out reliance on fossil fuels. In 2023, Maine generated about 30 percent of its electricity from natural gas. The bill ultimately did not pass.