Over 70 working crews expected by mid-year
Outside Construction Report
By Ron Cochran
Outside Line Construction work remains steady with all aspects of our work being performed at some level. There are currently 52 crews on board and that number was expected to increase to over 70 by midyear for wood distribution. PG&E has added Asplundh as a contractor for 3rd and 4th quarter pole replacement work at which time there are over 1,000 poles scheduled.
Asplundh was awarded some infrared patrol work and should be starting by mid-June. This work will employ at least one Journeyman Lineman to operate the equipment and one groundman or apprentice to drive the vehicle.
Number of hours of transmission overhead work has decreased as some work was returned to PG&E General Construction. Substation work, including the civil portion, has remained steady.
The current solar projects should be about 99% complete in the next couple of weeks. We know that Cupertino Electric was awarded another 20 MW solar project and had a first meeting with a union contractor from So. California named Belco who feels they are close to being awarded at least one of the remaining two projects. During these discussions it was noted that if awarded the projects it may not be until October before they will start.
Hours for large project work of 2,000 hours per month are not broken down on this month’s report although they are included in the total hours. Company explained the term “blitz” work which includes such tasks as pole maintenance, cross-arm repairs, and tags.
Ralph Kenyon, who has been on staff working as a temporary representative to the Outside Line Construction group, has recently taken a position as a lineman with PG&E and was scheduled to start there on June 4. Ralph has done an outstanding job while on staff and we wish him well with PG&E.
Bargaining information
| Contractor | Ratified | Wage Increase |
|---|---|---|
| Substation Dismantling | ||
| ALCO IRON & METAL CO. | Yes | |
| TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGIES | CANCELLED | |
| TOWING | ||
| EPPLER & EPPLER | Yes | 2.75/2.75/2.75 |
| Inspection | ||
| Calinc (CSI) | Yes | |
| CANUS | Yes | 2.50/2.75/3.00 |
| HAMPTON TEDDER | Yes | |
| KVA Electric | Yes | |
| MCDANIEL TECHNICAL SERVICES | CANCELLED | |
| TULSA INSPECTION RESOURCES (TIR) | Yes | |
| Outside Line Construction | 2.25/2.75/3.00 | |
| ABASCUS CONSTRUCTION, INC. | Yes | |
| AJ EXCAVATION, INC. | Yes | |
| AMERICAN POWER DELIVERY | YES | |
| ASPLUNDH CONST CORP | YES | |
| AVTECH CONSTRUCTION | Yes | |
| AZTRACK CONSTRUCTION | Yes | |
| B&B CONSTRUCTION | Yes | |
| BYINGTON WELDING | Yes | |
| CURTIS & SONS | CANCELLED | |
| DAVE CHRISTIAN CONSTRUCTION CO | CANCELLED | |
| E.C. SMITH, INC. | Yes | |
| GREG SCHANDEL CONSTRUCTION | YES | |
| HENKELS & MCCOY | YES | |
| HUTCHINS PAVING | Yes | |
| J.JACKSON CONSTRUCTION | CANCELLED | |
| KINDNESS GENERAL CONST | YES | |
| LUCCHETTI EXCAVATING | Yes | |
| MGE ENERGY, Inc | YES | |
| MILLENDER WHITE CONSTRUCTION CO., | CANCELLED | |
| MJ AVILA COMPANY, INC | Yes | |
| PARMETER GENERAL ENGINEERING & SERVICES | Yes | |
| PORTER & SONS EXCAVATING | CANCELLED | |
| SJL CONSTRUCTION | Yes | |
| SOURCE POWER OF CA LP | YES | |
| TERRA FIRMA | CANCELLED | |
| TESLA J. CONSTRUCTION GROUP | CANCELLED | |
| UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION | Yes | |
| VALLEY TRENCHING, INC. | CANCELLED | |
| WESTERN LINE NECA | Yes | |
| WHITE CONSTRUCTIOON | Yes | |
| Support Agreements | ||
| CHAIN LINK FENCE | Yes | |
| DANIELSON CONSTRUCTION | Yes | |
| FORT BRAGG | CANCELLED | |
| PAULSON EXCAVATING | Yes | |
| TRI-CITY FENCE | Yes | |
| WIPF | CANCELLED | |
| Trees | ||
| ASPLUNDH TREE | No | |
| DAVEY TREE | Yes | 2% |
| Trees, Inc | No | |
| Utility Tree | Yes | 3% |
| Windy Tree | Yes | 3.00/3.00 |
| Wright Tree Service | No |
Grievances
We have three grievances against TTR Substations and one against Contra Costa Electric. All are scheduled for Labor-Management on June 14, along with one grievance filed against us by TTR Substations. Two of the scheduled grievances pertain to using the wrong classifications to perform work and the other deals with using a non-signatory contractor to perform covered IBEW work. The one filed against us is over an interpretation of the use of classification for Book 4 Lineman. This has been an on-going issue we hope to resolve during this labor-management process.
Last month it was reported that we had started three grievances at power plants. Two of these grievances pertain to work jurisdiction issues and one pertains to a contractor for failure to report hours. Since then we resolved all three, with the contractors and general contractor paying full restitution for the work jurisdiction issues.
This month, however, we had another work jurisdiction issue that has been resolved by the contractor paying full restitution for 50.5 hours of work that was subcontracted out to a non-IBEW signatory contractor.
Recently both Ron Cochran and Ralph Armstrong have been appointed chairman to committees within the California State Association of Electrical Workers. Ron has been appointed chairman to the apprenticeship committee and Ralph to the Safety Committee.
Substation Technician Certification
Local 1245, 47 and 396 just recently started a new certification program that is being implemented by the California Nevada JATC. This 3-year certification program has just taken its first group of candidates into the program, which required them to take a knowledge test to see what year they would fit into the program. There will be more on this as soon as this group has completed the program so it will give us time to evaluate its success.
2012 Training Schedule
Crane Training: Any member interested must submit an application through the Cal-Nevada JATC in Riverside. The local will no longer keep a list. Classes will be limited to 30 members and priority will be given to members of Local 396, 1245 & 47.
OHSA ETD Classes: We are trying to offer this class at least once a month over the next couple of months or until attendance drops. If interested, check with our dispatch office for class schedules and to add your name to the list of those wishing to attend.
First Aid & CPR is the 2nd Saturday of every month at our Riverside and Sacramento facility.
Special Events
- Sporting Clay Shoot: June 16, Dunnigan, California
- Sixteenth Annual Ninth District Softball Tournament: August 11-12, Big League Dreams Park in Manteca, CA. To sign up, contact Ron Cochran at 707-718-3349, Mike Saner at 510-415-5500, or John Mendoza at 209-329-3449
- International Lineman’s Rodeo : October 10-14, Overland Park, KS
Injured Workers Fund
The balance as of May 3, 2012 was $440,347.20. We paid out no claims in the month of May.
Dispatch
| BOOK # | |||||
| L-1 | 34 | CS-1 | 5 | F-1 | 1 |
| L-2 | 71 | CS-2 | 6 | F-2 | 39 |
| L-3 | 1 | CS-3 | 2 | ||
| L-4 | 100 | ||||
| GM-1 | 15 | ||||
| ES-1 | 4 | GM-2 | 22 | ||
| ES-2 | 0 | GM-3 | 305 | ||
| ES-3 | 15 | GM-4 | 317 |
| May 2012 | Year to Date | |
| Lineman | 116 | 507 |
| Apprentice Lineman | 24 | 104 |
| Equipment Man | 16 | 67 |
| Groundman | 50 | 268 |
| Fabricator Tech | 21 | 100 |
| Cable Splicer | 10 | 20 |
| Total | 254 | 1083 |
Apprentices
We currently have 297 outside line apprentices registered in our JATC program.
- 1 traveling apprentices working in our jurisdiction
- 72 apprentices are working out of local 1245
- 145 are working out of 47
- 18 – working out of 396
- 62 are off of work (2 are on disability – 4 are on leave of absence)
- 20 apprentices have graduated this year to journeyman lineman.
- 14 outside line apprentices were indentured this year.
We have 3 traffic signal maintenance apprentices registered.
- 1 is working for Republic Electric in 1245’s jurisdiction.
- 2 are working for Republic Electric in 47’s jurisdiction.
- 17 traffic signal apprentices have graduated this year
Ron Cochran is Senior Assistant Business Manager, IBEW Local 1245