General bargaining between IBEW Local 1245 and Pacific Gas & Electric concluded on Nov. 30 with the union receiving the company’s ”last, best and final” offer for both the Physical Agreement and the Benefits Agreement.
The Local 1245 Bargaining Committee is remaining neutral on both the Physical and Benefits offers, allowing members to decide for themselves if the offers merit ratification.
Physical Offer
There were many tentative agreements mutually agreed to within the Physical offer, but other aspects of the Physical offer were not agreed to by the union.
The Physical offer includes:
- Elimination of Letter Agreement 10-36 (the safety/discipline letter agreement).
- A provision on staffing levels.
- New language on meals.
- New language on commercial drivers licenses (CDL).
The offer also includes Physical general wage increases of 2.75% in the first year, 2.75% in the second year, and 2.75% in the third year. The offer includes an additional .5% (half-percent) in the third year if the offer is ratified on the first ballot.
Benefits Offer
The benefits offer includes a complete reworking of the medical plan, with the employee share of the monthly premium remaining the same (7.5%).
It also includes a cash balance pension plan for all new hires.
More Information Coming
The union will provide much more detailed information about the company’s Physical and Benefits offers in the near future.
Members of the bargaining committee and/or union staff will be in attendance at every unit meeting for the next two months (December and January) to explain the agreement in detail and answer questions.
The IBEW Local 1245 website (www.ibew1245.com) will be posting additional written material about the agreement, as well as information about the balloting process. The tentative plan is to mail the ballots to members in early January, and to have the ballots returned and counted approximately one month later.
In addition, the entire offer will be posted on the Local 1245 website as soon as it becomes available in a publishable format.