WORK OUTLOOK
Dispatches were slow during the first two months of 2016, with only 69 calls for the month of February, which is normal given the time of the year. As we move into spring, work is already beginning to pick up. As of the first week of March, there were a total of 74 crews working on various distribution and civil projects on PG&E properties alone. We have some crews working in Nevada and on SMUD property as well.
Work remained steady for our construction members through the winter months, which are generally considered non-construction months. The work picture for Outside Line overall remained strong through the final days of 2015 and we do not anticipate much drop-off in 2016. We know there has been a lot of storm restoration work going on, but with the current crews on property and the National Storm Agreement, it becomes a little more difficult to track real time and how many contract crews are being utilized for this work. This information will be available to us at a later date when reporting is completed.
Transmission work appeared to be where the bulk of the work towards the end of 2015 was, and there are indications that there will be several transmission and substation projects on the horizon. Substation work and transmission work on existing facilities tend to take place in the cooler months when it easier to obtain outages.
As reported last month, trailer park conversion work (where most of the civil work will be performed under the Joint Trench Agreement we put into place in the later part of 2014) has started off slow but should pick up in the coming months. It also appears that our 1245 signatory contractors may be picking up more of this allotted civil work, which was originally slated to go to a building trade contractor, but the contractor has been suspended from performing the work due to a couple of dig-ins. We will be working with our signatory contractors to figure out how to properly man this work. This is a PUC pilot program that is expected to run through 2017, but if all goes well, it could lead to more of this work for many years to come. Because this is joint trench work on the civil side, this can be awarded to a trade’s contractor and it is important for our contractors and members to shine on this project.
Local 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell has secured Project Labor Agreements for just about all of the work in our jurisdiction, either through the Utility or through the customers of these projects. He will continue to secure PLAs when needed, ensuring this work is performed using union labor.
Our two Outside Line Business Representatives traveled approximately 8,900 miles and performed 77 job site visits in the month of February, while continuing to perform safety orientations to anyone new who signs the books.
PG&E Inspection Contractor Change
PG&E has used Canus Corporation for years to perform gas inspection work, but the company will be phasing out the use of Canus over the next couple of weeks. This change will impact several 1245 members and retirees who have worked for Canus over the years. These workers will be moved over to one of the other contractors performing this work, and we expect a smooth transition. All the agreements are identical, so there should be no difference in pay packages for anyone.
GRIEVANCES
- One wrongful termination grievance went to Labor Management last month. The committee determined there was no violation to the agreement when making the decision to terminate the employee.
- Two wrongful termination grievances generated in February are in the early stages.
- Two grievances in the beginning steps were recently settled with two separate contractors resulting in the member receiving (1) 80 hours and (1) 40 hours of “waiting” pay because they did not receive their paychecks on time. The 80 hour amount the member received is not typical, however when the company was notified that he had not received his check, it took them an additional two weeks to get it to the affected member.
It is imperative for our members to understand the grievance process and applicable timelines for filing these types of complaints. Even if a member is not sure about a specific provision in an agreement, they should call one of the representatives or their shop steward and ask.
As a member, it is your obligation to report any potential violations in a timely manner. Waiting until a project is complete to report an issue makes it extremely difficult for the Local Union to pursue a resolution, especially if the member has already been laid off, which is why we always encourage members to notify the Union immediately when potential grievances arise. Please review the grievance requirements in your agreement. The Outside Line Construction agreement step 1 (see below) is very important for our ability to successful fix these issue.
EXHIBIT E: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
STEP ONE: A Grievance must be filed no later than five (5) days after the date of action complained of, or the date employee became aware of the incident which is the basis for the Grievance, whichever is later.
Failure to present a known violation in the time frame specified can (and in most cases does) result in a grievance being denied due to timeliness. It’s important to remember that grievances are based on a violation of a provision in the collective bargaining agreement and it works both ways. Failure of a member to follow a provision (such as the timeline requirement, notification of missing payroll, etc) can be seen as acceptance of the violation which creates a whole other problem.
CONTACT INFORMATION UPDATE
Reminder to all members: Please make sure all of your contact information is current and up to date with the Union. There is a lot of important information that is sent to addresses on file, and if those addresses are incorrect, it will lead to members not receiving this information. You can contact the Dispatch office or the Union’s front desk to make sure this information is in order. You can also use the “Update Your Info” function our the www.ibew1245.com website.
Each member should also check to verify that their beneficiary information updated. If you have had a change in life status, your old information may not represent your current status.
JATC
The California-Nevada JATC will be accepting applications online for 10 days from February 29, 2016 until March 11, 2016. Applications can ONLY be submitted online through the website www.calnevjatc.org. Last time applications were accepted in September of 2014, we received approximately 1,100 applications over the 10-day period.
We currently have 343 outside line apprentices registered in our JATC program.
- 1 traveling apprentice in our jurisdiction
- 53 apprentices are working out of Local 1245
- 247 are working out of Local 47
- 4 are working out of Local 396
- 22 are unemployed (40 are technically unemployed, but 18 can’t work)
- We have graduated 3 apprentices to journeyman lineman
- We have indentured 0 outside line apprentices
Apprentice Privileges
All the area JATCs across the country are taking a hard stand on individuals who violate safety rules or place apprentices in bad situations by revoking their ability to work with apprentices. This was first reported over a year ago, but it’s important to remind everyone who uses apprentices that they have an obligation to teach and train correctly. The JATCs are currently working closely with each other to share this information with not only each other but the Local Unions they support as well as the contractors. Individuals who have their apprentice privileges revoked may find it difficult to stick with an employer for very long (or at all) if the employer is limited on how they can utilize that individual.
To be removed from this list usually requires a trip to the trustees of the program to explain the incident that led to the revocation. These are situations no journeymen should find themselves in.
ORGANIZING
We signed the following three contractors to the Outside Line Construction Agreement:
- Live Action General Engineering, Inc
- Civil Substations, Inc
- Geo Pacific Services
BARGAINING
HotShot Infrared Inspections and Eppler & Eppler recently signed a one-year extension with a 3% wage increase of their respective support agreements.
We are also in the process of finalizing two more agreements that are tied to outage work at Diablo Canyon.
INJURED WORKERS FUND
The balance of the fund as of 1/31/2016 was 875,514.01. In the months of January and February 2016 the fund paid out 1 disability claim.
DISPATCH CALL COUNTS (YEAR TO DATE)
2016 TRAINING SCHEDULE & SPECIAL EVENTS
- OSL Shop steward training – March, 26, 2016, Vacaville
- IBEW-NorCal Clay Shoot – April 2, 2016, Dunnigan & Hilmar
- NSUJL Golf Tournament in Northern California — April 16, 2016
- Soccer Tournament – April 30, 2016, Ripon
- Soccer Tournament – May 14, 2016, Fairfield
- First Aid & CPR is the 2nd Saturday of every month at the JATC Riverside and Sacramento facilities.