Construction Issues
There have been issues with NV Energy not allowing two severed ex-NV Energy employees to work on dock crews for Par in Reno. The issue appears to be resolved with the customer (NV Energy) and they will allow these workers to work through Par.
Crane Certification Requirements: There were questions pertaining to what crane certifications will be allowed in California for dispatching purposes. There were members coming in and signing the books that had the CIC certification as opposed to the NCCCO certifications we are more familiar with. The CIC and NCCCO are both approved since they are approved through the NCAA, which is one of two accrediting agencies for crane certification and training, ANSI being the other. That issue has been resolved and both of these certifications can be used for dispatching purposes.
Fab Tech classification, which is the new classification agreed upon, has had several people wanting to sign it; however, all applications to sign require a work history and/or letters of recommendation from past employers stating you have performed the work required and are proficient in it. All recommendations are followed up on and any work granted a Fab Tech classification is done under a 1-year probationary period, which will require re-evaluation if an individual is terminated for cause based on work performance issues.
Wellington and rubber glove change out requirements: OSHA standards require that rubber gloves be changed out every six months. They have to be retested at least every 12 months. The OSL Safety Red Book requires gloves to change out every 90 days and a shelf life of six months. There are two problems here that we needed to get resolved. The first being the 90-day requirement versus the state requirement of six months. This is not an issue especially for the journeyman working under the OSL agreement because it is required to follow the Red Safety Book in the agreement. The second problem, which should be resolved soon, is tracking the issue date. In order to follow the timelines that are required, the issue date needs to be tracked. For the journeyman a pair of gloves can be issued within six months of the test date, but that issue date needs to be identified. They then need to be changed out after 90 days. If we can track both the test dates and issue dates this would solve the confusion in the field.
Dispatch
We continue to have open calls, especially on the Wilson project being performed under the special agreement. This has to do with the fact that work has been robust and no one wants to take one of these jobs when there have been plenty of opportunities to work on projects without the special agreement. Members who do not possess CDL licenses are also having some difficulty getting work since the majority of the calls have had that requirement attached.
Total calls for the month of September were 197. This exceed the month of August, which was 180.
We just closed the August working fee deposit which was the highest in history. We estimate we exceed hours worked in August 2009 by 38%.
Book Status
Journeyman Lineman:
L1- 15; L2 -37; L3 2; L4-89
Line Equipment Man:
LEM -1 — 6; LEM2 — 10; LEM3-8
Cable Splicers:
CS1-3; CS2-4; CS3-2
Groundman
G1 — 7; G2-10; G3-108; G4-137
Negotiations
We start GoodCents negotiations October 19, 2010.
The members voted to extend the Pole Test and Treat Agreements for the following contractors: Martinez Utility Pole, Davey Pole, Osmose, Republic ITS and Utility Pole Technologies. The agreement is for two-years at 2% a year, plus the first year of the Lineco insurance increase is picked up by the contractors; the second year by members–but we do not expect an increase in the second year.
The San Francisco Trolley agreement was re-negotiated for three years; with 0% in the first year and 1% in the 2nd and 3% in the third year; while maintaining all health and welfare benefits and increasing the pension (NEAP/401k) $2.00 per hour over the life of the contract.
Injured Workers Fund
The beginning balance as of Aug. 1 was $170,791.61. With fees for yearly audits and some disability payouts we ended August with a balance of $166,463.93.
The fund paid out a disability benefit to one member with a shoulder injury in the month of September.
Other News
Republic ITS was recently sold and acquired by Siemens Corporation. The current contract conditions will remain the same as well as the current management team.
Ralph Armstrong continues to work on the Peer-to-Peer program.
We spent a couple of days in Northern Nevada working on top-down organizing campaign with a contractor we are not disclosing at this time.
We also met with NV Energy regarding the apprentice rodeo. NV Energy contributed in three different ways to the rodeo and feels strongly about endorsing it.
We continue to have robust work and fielding many calls daily over various contractual issues. We are doing as many crew visits as possible.
Ralph Armstrong, Ron Cochran and Liz McInnis