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Control the Pressure: Gas Safety

By Eric Wolfe “At our local, we’ve had 14 fatalities in the last seven years. Why are we hurting ourselves, why are we hurting each other?” Jerry DeBaca, a PG&E Gas Crew Lead Welder, posed that question during a trial run of Local 1245’s new peer-to-peer gas safety program at Weakley Hall in Vacaville on… [Read More]

Pipe Ruptures in Hydro Test

The following story by Jaxon Van Derbeken, Demian Bulwa and Henry K. Lee was published Nov. 7, 2011 by the San Francisco Chronicle. WOODSIDE — A Pacific Gas and Electric Co. natural gas pipeline ruptured Sunday afternoon during a high-pressure water test that ripped a hole in a Peninsula hillside, sending a deluge of mud… [Read More]

PG&E Pledges Action on Aldyl-A

PG&E TO REPLACE MORE THAN 1,200 MILES OF FAULTY GAS PIPING ACROSS CALIFORNIA  This story by Paul Rogers was published Oct. 14, 2011 by the Bay Area News Group. Facing pressure after a leaky plastic gas pipe sparked a fire at a Cupertino condominium complex, PG&E has decided to replace all 1,231 miles of the… [Read More]

Stavropoulos Comes to Weakley Hall

PG&E has a problem. Could Nick Stavropoulos be the solution? The problem is the company’s beleaguered gas delivery system. Stavropoulos is the guy who has shouldered the responsibility for getting it fixed. “I have been brought in here to head the change we need to make in the gas business,” said Stavropoulos, a plain-talking 30-year… [Read More]

Physical Bargaining Update

The Physical Bargaining Committee met the week of Oct. 3 with PG&E and discussed proposals for Working Hours, Residence for Service employee, Overtime issues, Rest Periods, Standby, and inequity considerations for several classifications. We are about half-way through both parties’ proposals with no agreements. There were several subcommittees developed for October 12 to meet with… [Read More]

PG&E Presents Medical Proposals

For the last week of September many issues were discussed in PG&E negotiations.  There was a lot of discussion on meals, including in lieu and dollar limits. The company presented their medical proposal on Sept. 27 and presented there justification for it.  On Sept. 29  we had a very long and vigorous discussion on positive… [Read More]

PG&E Campaign for the Community

The 2012 Campaign for the Community, PG&E’s annual employee and retiree charitable giving drive, is currently under way and runs through Friday, October 28. Whether it’s your child’s school or an environmental organization, your donation can go a long way in helping your community. The money raised through the 2012 Campaign will provide support to… [Read More]

Rancho Cordova Fine Rejected As Low

An administrative law judge on Sept. 29 rejected as too lenient a $26 million fine against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that the utility agreed to with state regulators for a 2008 natural gas pipeline explosion near Sacramento that killed a homeowner. Instead, the judge recommended that PG&E be fined $38 million for breaking state… [Read More]

Distribution Pipe Data Kept Secret

The following story by Jaxon Van Derbeken was published Sept. 26, 2011 by the San Francisco Chronicle. The type of plastic pipe that caused a natural gas explosion and fire in a Cupertino condominium last month has long been considered a potential threat to the public, but federal pipeline regulators have allowed companies to keep… [Read More]

Feds Question Transmission Safety

The following story by Jaxon Van Derbeken was published Sept. 26, 2011 on sfgate.com. Much of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s natural-gas transmission system could be at risk of catastrophic failure, but the company’s record-keeping system is so flawed that the true danger is impossible to determine, federal investigators said Sept. 26 in their final… [Read More]