Hold the Pull: Peer consultant John Kent and committee chairman Casey Kelley travel to Alaska in support of IBEW Local 1547 and the “Stay out of the Bite” peer program. The trip involved talking to work groups and giving “Hold the Pull” style talks to linemen in Anchorage, Chugach, Homer, Kenai and Fairbanks. The message was well received as the meetings were focused on gathering safety stewards at each respective property. According to Local 1547 business representative Julius Matthews, there are still many more cities to visit which would involve two more support trips.
Control the Pressure: The CTP committee completed their latest safety stewards training summit on August 12, with 32 people in attendance. The committee prepared the training and conducted the roles as coordinators in the breakout sessions and steward training. Over the course of the year, more safety stewards have been recruited and a new safety steward training, which includes the other two peer initiatives, will be held sometime in the Fall (date to be determined). The committee and safety stewards still continue to do presentations at the PG&E Utility Worker Academy in Tracy.
Keep the Clearance: Davey Tree Service has requested that KTC become involved in a presentation schedule on safety topics throughout the Davey Tree service area. The purpose of the talks is to increase awareness of rising number of injuries occurring at the tree companies. The KTC committee will meet on September 9 to discuss how to set up a schedule to meet with Davey yards in a variety of locations.
On August 25, Local 1245 business representatives and PG&E vegetation management tree supervisors from various companies contracted to PG&E met at the Local 1245 hall to discuss matters pertaining to safety in the tree industry. Discussion surrounded the Electrical Hazards and Accident Prevention program and the grant application through local 1245 to train tree trimmers. Local 1245 applied for grants amounting to $2000 per class in 2014 and 2015. There was talk about the relationship between unit pricing and safety risk for crews doing reliability work for the utility. Another quarterly meeting will held prior to the end of the year.