Local 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell, left, welcomes PG&E Chairman and CEO Anthony Earley to union headquarters in Vacaville.
Anthony Earley showed up at IBEW Local 1245 headquarters in Vacaville on Sept. 15, two days after starting his new job as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board at Pacific Gas & Electric.
As far as anyone could remember, it was the first time that a PG&E chairman has visited union headquarters. Members of the Local 1245 bargaining committee, who’ve been in Vacaville regularly this month for contract negotiations with PG&E, were encouraged by what Earley had to say.
“I like the fact that he came here and was talking to us directly,” said Ken Amaral, a member of the union’s bargaining committee. Amaral said he told Earley that “I’m not wearing my PG&E garb proudly like I used to,” and that it “had become impossible to defend management decisions” to the public.
According to those present, Earley said he believed PG&E needed to get “back to basics.” This was welcome news to the union members, who in past years have watched the company pursue expensive reorganization efforts while failing to address problems of aging infrastructure and a shrinking workforce.
“That’s what we’ve been screaming about the past 10 years,” said Amaral, a Senior Hydro Clerk. “I told him over the last 10 years I’ve personally gone from being proud of being a PG&E employee to hiding it.”
Donna Ambeau, a Senior Service Rep II and member of the Local 1245 benefits bargaining committee, was pleased that Earley had come to the union hall just two days after starting the job.
“He said you have to find out from the people doing the work what needs to be changed,” Ambeau said. “He said the right things.”
“He came across as fairly personable, didn’t seem like a stuffed shirt,” said Casey Barker, a GC Lineman and bargaining committee member.
“If any questions arose, he was happy to answer them,” Barker said. “I just hope the walk is as good as the talk.”
“Our group was really receptive to what he had to say,” said Local 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell. “Our members at PG&E are hungry for top leadership with operational experience – someone whose priority is to restore customer confidence by working for operational excellence. It’s a big challenge, but listening to Tony Earley gives me hope that PG&E may be ready to turn that corner.
Earley was an executive at the Detroit-based utility DTE from 1994 to 2010, serving as its CEO since 1998.
“He said he didn’t want to make big drastic changes. He felt that doing things from the ground up was the way to go” in his new job at PG&E, said Amaral.
“He firmly believes you don’t shoot the messenger. He realizes he’s going to have to get information from his directors all the way down to the GC helper, and it’s not all going to be good. And he’s going to have to fix it.”
In an earlier press release Earley said it would be “a great privilege to help an iconic company recover from its recent challenges and reclaim its standing as the utility others admire and aspire to follow.”