We have had discussions with several of our contractors who are expecting work real soon and are claiming to be bidding several projects from transmission, substation and solar projects. We have seen some calls for the last couple of weeks, but we expect a much larger increase in the next month or two when these projects are awarded.
Cupertino was awarded the solar work in the Fresno area and is expected to start mobilizing the week of March 1 with a very aggressive time frame for completion.
There are several contractors that have been assisting PG&E on storm work. In addition to the crews who were already in the jurisdiction we have had crews from Washington and Oregon as well a Southern California brought into the area to assist in this effort. We have also dispatched about a dozen calls for storm work.
Grievances
Currently we have one grievance in the second step for manipulation of the management rights’ portion of the contract. An employee was terminated for asking and receiving the day off to interview for a job with the power company. He was laid off but was told it was because he went on an interview.
We have one grievance filed against us by a contractor over the use of Book 4. Currently scheduled for Labor Management.
We have a grievance on a contractor who used the building trades to perform civil work in a substation in San Jose. Working on a resolution, currently in Step 2.
2011 Training Schedule
OSHA 10 ET&D will be held several times at the union hall from 6 pm – 10 pm on Fridays and 8am – 4:30pm on Saturdays:April 8/9; July 8/9 and October 7/8.
OSL Shop Steward Training: March 12 — Vacaville, This training will be limited to 40 members.
Organizing
We are currently in talks with over a half-dozen contractors.
Injured Worker Fund
As of Jan. 31, 2011 the balance of the fund is $184,511.49. One benefit payment was paid out. The fund was audited and we are awaiting the results.
We are currently working with Western Line to get notification out to several contractors who have not been deducting the $.05 an hour from the employee’s paychecks for this fund. It appears with some contractors the issue involves a signature from the employee to have the monies withheld from their pay. When a member takes a referral from 1245 it states on the referral slip that the employee signs that they are authorizing this deduction.
Hopefully we will have this issue resolved soon. We have already had two different situations where a member could have benefited from the fund, but the contractor was not withholding the funds as required by the trust document, making these employees ineligible.
Book Status
| Linemen I | 36 |
| Linemen—II | 128 |
| Linemen—III | 0 |
| Linemen -IV | 197 |
| Equipment Man—I | 6 |
| Equipment Man—II | 10 |
| Equipment Man-III | 15 |
| Cable Splicer-I | 5 |
| Cable Splicer-II | 6 |
| Cable Splicer-III | 3 |
| Groundman—I | 14 |
| Groundman—II | 18 |
| Groundman-III | 214 |
| Groundman—IV | 229 |
| Fabricator tech-I | 0 |
| Fabricator Tech-II | 47 |
Year to Date Referrals
| Lineman | 66 |
| Apprentice Lineman | 25 |
| Equipment Man | 13 |
| Groundman | 15 |
| Fabricator Tech | 7 |
| Cable Splicer | 0 |
Upcoming Events
- 1st Annual Soccer Tournament — May 21st, Livermore
- Annual Golf Tournament — June 18th, Vacaville
- 1st Annual Clay Shoots — November 12th — Dunnigan
Apprentice Report
Currently we have 249 apprentices registered in the California — Nevada Outside Line program and 15 utility employees from various area.
In 2010, we indentured 91 new apprentices. We have indentured 12 new apprentices so far this year. In addition, we graduated a total of 62 apprentices to Journeyman Lineman status in 2010. As of this report we have graduated a total of 5 apprentices for 2011. We had a total of 16 utility apprentices complete the curriculum in 2010/2011.
We have 21 apprentices registered in the Traffic Signal program with many expected to complete in the near future. Difficulties with the California State Electricians test have stalled the completion rate. The reason is the state requires 8,000 for a Journeyman Electricians and the Traffic program is a specialized 6,000 course.
The JATC is working to start a Substation Technician Certification program. The curriculum for the first and second year is complete and the committee is working on the third year. There will be a test developed for Journeymen Linemen and Wiremen to challenge if they wish to hold the Substation Technician Certification.
We held our annual Graduation Dinner in Ontario, California on Feb. 26. It was a good event and International Vice President, Mr. Mike Mowery was the guest speaker at this year’s dinner. See photo of participants below.
Information for this report was supplied by Ralph Armstrong, Liz McInnis, and Ron Cochran.