By Ron Cochran
As discussed in last month’s report, beginning Feb. 1, 2014, no one is being dispatched unless they complete the safety orientation given at the local union. Orientation is offered Monday through Friday, between 7:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. As of Feb. 24, 2014, 456 orientations have been given to members and travelers who are registered on our out of work books. It is important to everyone wanting to take a job through the referral process that they make the effort to receive this orientation as we are making every effort to make it available. When the dispatchers are making calls they are telling all current applicants they speak to about this requirement and making it perfectly clear no referrals will be issued until they receive it. To date the feedback has been extremely positive once they understand what’s at stake.
From the report posted on Feb. 5:
One of the biggest issues threatening the 100% union position we enjoy in our jurisdiction, not to mention the health and safety of our members, is not following the required safety rules and taking short cuts. In some cases this has resulted in uncalled for work procedure errors and circuit interruptions.
Ron Cochran
Mid-year 2013 Local 1245 added language to the referral of everyone who is dispatched from our hiring hall. It basically states that if you are terminated as a result of a safety violation you will be suspended from taking a call out of this hall until the incident has been investigated by local union. If found that it is a violation, action may be taken that could lead to additional training and or penalties by the union depending on the magnitude and frequency of violations.
Beginning mid-January we started interviewing every traveler/local member in person before they’re dispatched, either one-on-one or in small groups to go over their credentials and to explain Local 1245’s value on safety.
Grievances
- A violation of the referral process grievance was initiated on Feb. 21 and is in the early discovery stage (first step).
- Grievance filed and resolved over contractor reporting hours incorrectly. This has caused a member to not qualify for health benefits. The contractor amended the reports to reflect the correct hours worked that month.
- The wrongful termination case with Osmose may be heading towards arbitration.
- As been reported over the last several months contractors continue to pay penalty pay due to their inability to provide paychecks in a timely manner.
Benefits Statements
Contractors’ reporting requirements are one of the most misunderstood items our members and travelers have. When a member receives and reviews their quarterly retirement statement as they should, all too often they will notice that the hours or the contractor they worked for in a particular quarter don’t show up on those reports and call us to cry foul. This is in most part due to the fact the member doesn’t understand the reporting requirements in the contract.
How it Works:
A contractor has until the 15th of the following month to report hours and fringe benefits worked by the member for the prior month. The contractor reports these hours and fringe benefits through a third-party administrator. For example if someone worked for a contractor in December, those hours and fringes are not reported to the third party administrator until January 15th. Then the third party administrator, by the first of the following month, disburses the money to the appropriate funds (NEBP, NEAP, Lineco, etc), in this example February.
When a member receives their quarterly statement in January for the period of October through December they notice nothing reported by the contractors for the hours they worked in December, they assume the contractor is cheating and not reporting. The hours and fringes worked typically are about 2 months behind for reporting purposes and this is why it is important for everyone to keep track of their hours worked for 6-month periods or two consecutive quarterly statements for accurate reporting verification.
Injured Workers Fund Reporting
The balance of the fund as of Jan. 31 was $665,772.09. In February the fund paid out one disability claim.
Organizing
We signed Titan Electric, Inc. to the California Outside Line agreement. Pro Cut, Inc. also signed a one-time project labor agreement.
2014 Training Schedule and Special Events
- First Aid & CPR is the 2nd Saturday of every month at our Riverside and Sacramento facilities.
- IBEW NorCal Clay Shoot — April 5 in two locations, Dunnigan and Hilmar.
- IBEW Soccer Tournaments: April 12 in Merced and April 26 in Fairfield.
- 2nd annual Howard Stiefer Motorcycle Rally and Poker Run: May 17 in Vacaville. Flyers and raffle tickets are now available. There is an option for on-line registration.
Ron Cochran is Senior Assistant Business Manager