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Service Crew Oversight Committee: FAQs

Definitions and Clarifications

 

General Definitions

  1. Where can I get additional information on Service Crews?

This document answers many of the questions the Overview Committee has already received.    Letter Agreement 16-44 provides additional information as well.   Information is also available from your local IBEW Business Representative, local Labor Relations Specialists. 

Additional questions can be sent into the Overview Committee at the following email Address: ServiceCrewQuestions@pge.com

 

  1. Are clerks (i.e., IBEW Clerical Operating Clerks, GC Field Clerks and/or IBEW Physical Foreman’s Clerks) entitled to the “Special Overtime Provisions” described in the letter of agreement?

No.   This agreement applies only to IBEW Physical employees in GC Line or Electric T&D Lines of Progression.

 

  1. Are Compliance Inspectors and Street Light Maintenance men entitled to the “Special Overtime Provisions” described in Letter Agreement 16-44? What about the Tower and Paint Department?

Yes, these classifications are part of the Electric T&D Line of Progression and GC Line LOP.

 

  1. If a crew works an extension of the workday as a result of weather related event, and qualifies for the double time provisions of LA 16-44, how will the time be coded?  “7” (POT @ 2.0 times rate), or “E7” (EOT @ 2.0 times rate).  This will make a difference in the accrual of overtime hours.  (Note:  Pre-2017 extensions of the workday were coded “E1” – EOT @ 1.5 times rate.)

Any unanticipated Extension of the Workday is recorded as Emergency Overtime in accordance with Section 212.8 of the IBEW Physical Agreement.    

 

  1. If a service crew ends up having to do work normally performed by a Troubleman, does anyone get upgraded and if so how do those upgrades work?

There would be no upgrade in this case.   An Electric Crew Foreman can perform any work below his position.   The Lineman would not receive any upgrade if performing work under the direction of an Electric Crew Foreman.    

 

  1. Does Vacation and or Sick time taken count as ‘time in step’ with respect to 16-44 Service Crew Classifications?

Yes, but the employee must be on the active payroll and not on Leave of Absence or on Worker’s Compensation.  

 

  1. Do any hours I work in the Service Crew count toward the 18 months of time towards my pension?   Do I have to be on a tag (PCR)

An employee must be upgraded to a Lineman, Service or ECF, Service to receive credit toward the 18 months pension.  This can be achieved by either timecard upgrade or through a PCR.

 

  1. If a GC Lineman with restricted bid rights under LA 05-17 or LA 16-17 accepts a Service Crew position, how will his bid rights be affected during the remainder of his lock period?

The GC Lineman may bid to other Service Crew positions, or return to GC Lineman position in his previous Promotion/Demotion Area.  

 

Rate of Pay

  1. A storm arrives during a crew’s regular work hours.  No one was scheduled to work an extension of the workday.  Nevertheless, the crew works an extension of the workday to address weather related damage.  What rate of pay will the crew be paid for the extension of the workday?

The crew will be paid at the 1 ½ times rate as this was not prearranged or extended in anticipation of an event or under the provisions of Letter Agreement 16-44. 

 

  1. Other employees in the HQ are called out on EOT to work on the same storm above.  Does that change the answer for the employees in the question above?  

No, the employee addressed in the previous question would remain on 1 ½ times pay until they have worked 12 hours.  

 

  1. A crew or Troubleman is directed to work an extension of the workday on a job that is not weather related.  While working on the prearranged job, a storm arrives and the Troubleman or crew is then moved to work on weather related damage.  Will the rate of pay change?

The employee is paid at the 1 ½ times rate until they work 12 hours. The assignment does not fall under the criteria of Section 12a or 12b of Letter Agreement 16-44. 

 

  1. A crew is prearranged to work a holiday weekend – Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  The original reason for the POT is that it is a holiday weekend, and there are not enough employees signed on the weekly 212 list for adequate coverage.  The Company weather model does not forecast any storms for the weekend as of close of business on Friday.  However, a storm arrives early Saturday and lasts through Monday.   Approximately 50% of the work performed by the POT crew is weather related.  What is the appropriate rate of pay for the POT crew?

As the POT was not scheduled using the provisions of Section 12a from Letter Agreement 16-44, this specific crew would be paid at the 1 ½ times rate.

 

  1. Additionally, the EOT list is run all three days to perform weather related work while the above crew is working POT.  What is the appropriate rate of pay for the POT crew?

The rate of pay does not change.   As the POT was not scheduled using the provisions of Section 12a from Letter Agreement 16-44, this specific crew would be paid at the 1 ½ times rate.

 

  1. Compliance Inspectors are pre-arranged to perform patrols and inspections on a Saturday. After performing this planned work for about 2 hours they are transferred over to work with a crew on emergency outage tags related to a storm.  Does their rate of pay change based upon their reassignment?

No, it remains at the 1 ½ times rate.   The assignment was not made under the provisions of Section 12a. 

 

  1. Troubleman is working during his regular work hours on a regular workday.  At 1 p.m., the Company decides to hold the employee over for extension of workday due to the number of active tags on screen.  What will be this employee’s rate of pay for the extension of the workday?

The assignment was not made under the provisions of Section 12a.      It would be paid at the 1 ½ times rate until the employee works 12 hours or more. 

 

  1. An employee with a regular work day beginning at 7:00 a.m., was prearranged to begin work at 5:00 a.m. in preparation for weather related event and then works until the end of his/her day at 3:30 p.m..  What will the employee’s rate of pay be?

As the POT was scheduled under the provisions of Section 12a, the rate from the beginning of the POT assignment until the beginning of the workday will be paid at the double time rate.   The double time provisions in Letter Agreement 16-44, Section 12, do not cover regular work hours on regular workdays. 

 

  1. An employee or crew is directed to work an extension of a regular workday as a result of a forecasted storm anticipated to have an impact to reliability or cause customer outages.  What rate will the crew be paid upon the conclusion of their regular work hours?

The crew will be paid double time for the extension of workday.  This work is to support an anticipated event under the criteria of Section 12a of Letter Agreement 16-44. 

 

  1. A crew or employee is directed to work an extension of the regular workday as a result of a forecasted storm anticipated to have an impact to reliability or cause customer outages, but the storm actually arrives during the crew’s regular work hours.  As a result, the crew begins working on storm related repairs before the end of their regular work hours.  How will the extension of the workday be paid?

The crew would be paid at the double time rate since the assignment was made under the provisions of Section 12a of Letter Agreement 16-44 in anticipation of the event. 

 

  1. A crew is prearranged to work overtime on a Sunday as a result of a storm forecasted to arrive on Saturday night.  When the crew arrives for their POT assignment on Sunday, there are already weather related tags waiting for them.  Does this change the rate of pay since they are not being “staged” or “standing by” in anticipation of the storm?

The double time rate of pay does not change.    They were prearranged in anticipation of the event in accordance with Section 12a of Letter Agreement 16-44. 

 

  1. An employee or crew works all night on a storm, and earns a rest period.  They/he are directed to return to work after 8 hours of rest, at 2:00 p.m. (during regular work hours on a regular workday), because the storm is anticipated to continue through the following day.  The crew or employee returns to work at 2:00 p.m., and ends up working a weather related extension of the workday.  What rate of pay will the crew be paid for the extension of the workday?

The Committee continues discussion on this topic.  However, the rate of pay would be dependent on whether or not Section 12a or 12b would apply in this case.  For instance, if an EOC was activated then as provided in Section 12b, the rate of pay would be at the double time rate.  

 

  1. Some Compliance Inspectors are prearranged to perform compliance work on a weekend.  However, they are also instructed to “pack a bag” and bring it with them as they are also standing by to be deployed out of the area for weather related work.  What is the appropriate rate of pay for the POT assignment?  Will the rate change if the Compliance Inspectors are deployed out of the area while on their POT assignment?

If the POT was made in anticipation of a weather related event under the provisions of Section 12a, then the rate of pay would be at the double time rate.    This would be without regard to if the employee had left the area or not. 

 

  1. An emergency job requiring three people occurs during the Service Crew’s regular work hours on a weekend.  The EOT list is called to get three people, and two Service Crew members are utilized to supplement the crew, making it a five-person crew.  The duration of the emergency job extends beyond the end of the Service Crew’s regular work hours.  If the supervisor decides to send two people home at the end of the Service Crew’s regular work hours, who will be sent home?

The employees who were called in will stay on the assignment. 

 

  1. Troubleman or crew is prearranged for a Saturday (non-workday) at 5 p.m. in accordance with the weather model due to forecasted weather anticipated to have an impact to reliability or cause customer outages. There is no planned switching or planned work scheduled for that timeframe.  What will be this employee’s rate of pay for the prearranged overtime?

The rate of pay in this case is double time as it was scheduled in anticipation of an event in accordance with Section 12a of Letter Agreement 16-44.   

 

  1. A crew or Troubleman is scheduled for POT on a Sunday under the provisions of Section 12a in preparation for a weather related event anticipated to have an impact to reliability or cause customer outages.    The employees report on Sunday but there is no work related to any storm, only routine work for the scheduled time.   What is the rate of pay?

As the employees were scheduled to work in anticipation of a weather related event under Section 12a, they will receive the double time rate.

 

  1. A headquarters is not affected by an emergency that warranted the activation of an EOC, but does send crews to work.   The remaining crews work overtime on work unrelated to the storm.  What rate of pay will those who remain receive should they work any overtime?

The rate of pay these employees receive is unchanged by LA 16-44.    They are not working under the provisions of Section 12b. 

 

  1. Why isn’t all Prearranged Overtime on a 3 day Holiday weekend paid at double time?

Letter Agreement 16-44, Section 12 does not address overtime worked during a three day weekend. 

 

  1. A crew works a POT assignment on a Saturday.   At the end of the assignment the supervisor tells the crew that they will be held beyond the end of the assignment due to weather and the anticipated customer interruptions that may occur.  What will the crew’s rate of pay be?

The time that is the extension of the POT is scheduled under 12a in anticipation of a weather related event.

 

  1. The Special Overtime Provisions apply “for the duration of the assignment”.  What is the definition of “duration of the assignment”?  Until the end of the storm?  Or until the employee is released from work?

The Company and IBEW 1245 have agreed that under Section 12b, Duration of Assignment is in reference to when an EOC is open.   The parties agreed that should a work assignment (or tag) be issued while the EOC is open, and that assignment involves restoration of power, that specific assignment will be covered by the overtime provisions of LA 16-44 until it is complete whether or not the EOC is still open.   As a note, the double time provision is only applied to hours worked outside of regular work hours. 

The parties continue to have discussions on the interpretation of Duration of Assignment under provision 12a.

 

  1. A tag comes in while the EOC is activated.  A crew responds to the tag and it can be worked hot.  No one will be out of power.  Does the fact that the customers never lose power and there is no “restoration” involved change the crew’s rate of pay?

The overtime rate of pay will be at the double time rate if the work was performed during the EOC activation as provided for in Section 12b. 

 

  1. If the customer owned facilities are responsible for the outage and it is after the EOC closure?  Would this work fall under duration of assignment? What would the rate of pay be? (Ex. Customer panel damaged during event, and we cannot restore service until sometime later).

The Company would complete the work and schedule the restoration with a T-man or crew during regular work hours and as it would not be outside of regular work hours, would not fall under Section 12b.

 

Working through Lunch

  1. If already working under the provisions of 12b (as the EOC was activated) and receiving double-time before the start of the workday, what rate of pay would a day crew receive for working through lunch?

If an employee is working under the provisions of Section 12b, he or she would be paid for working through lunch at the double time rate. 

 

  1. An employee starts work at his/her regular start time on a regular work day.  The EOC is activated, and there is work related to the major emergency.  As a result, the employee works through lunch.  How would that WTL be coded and paid?

In this case, the EOC is open and under the provisions of Section 12b, the time working through lunch will be paid at the double time rate. 

 

  1. An employee starts work at his/her regular start time on a regular work day.  The local OEC is open, and there is work related to a local weather event.  As a result, the employee works through lunch.  How would that WTL be coded and paid?  

In this case, this time is not worked under the provisions of Section 12 so it will be paid at the 1 ½ times rate. 

 

  1. A crew is prearranged before regular work hours under the provisions of Section 12a (in anticipation of a weather related event anticipated to have an impact to reliability or cause customer outages) and continues working through lunch as part of that assignment. What is the rate of pay for working through lunch?

The Crew will receive double time as the work is part of the assignment under the provisions of section 12a.

 

Overtime & Response Rules

  1. An emergency occurs that requires an extension of workday after 3:00 p.m., during normal work hours of the regular day crews.   The Company utilizes the weekly 212 list.  However, the Number 1 employee is on a rest period.   Is the Company obligated to call him first?

No, there is no obligation to call the employee on a rest period.   It would not be practical to contact the employee in this example. 

 

  1. Does the company have to offer POT to the Service Crews to meet our contracting obligations during the week?  Wouldn’t this still result in the crews working 7 days per week?

This would not be the case as this would not apply to contractors working straight time under Exhibit XVI of the Labor Agreement (and LA 09-41 Section 4). 

 

  1. Can a service crew continue to work on an emergency job while the 212 crew breaks for a meal?

Yes, the crews working together in this example would have differing meal times, but restoration efforts would not have to cease as a result.

 

  1. The Annual list is used to assemble a crew.  The Service crew assists but was part of the 212 list and would have received the call had they not been working.   The Job extends beyond the service crew regular hours.  Who gets sent home if supervisor reduces crew size?

Usually, despite being on the 212 list, the service crew gets sent home as they were not called from home.

 

  1. A yard had an open jumper situation and while three employees responded, the headquarters exhausted the Weekly 212 and Annual.     After this work is completed, an additional wire down situation occurs.   Is the Company obligated to call the Weekly and Annual list again?  Can that crew continue working?

No an additional call out is not needed and the employees can continue working.  The company met its commitment under LA 14-46 (ARCOS) and LA 16-44 (Service Crews) by exhausting the Annual List at that location. (Note:  The weekly list could change if an unavailable employee becomes available.)  

 

  1. The weekly 212 list is posted for sign-ups on Monday, and comes down on Tuesday.  Since the Service Crew employees are not scheduled to work on Mondays and Tuesdays, how do they indicate their interest in working overtime?

It is the employee’s responsibility to sign up on the weekly list.    The specific weekly list sign up process may be agreed to locally by the Company and IBEW Local 1245. 

 

  1. If a Service Crew works on a Sunday – Wednesday 12:00 – 22:00 schedule continues working into overtime on Monday night into Tuesday until at 06:00; do they earn a rest period?  What time do they return to work?

The crew earned an 8 hour rest period since they worked 8 hours at the overtime rate during the 16 hours preceding the beginning of their regular work hours on a workday.  As this 8 hour rest period overlaps into the first half of their workday, the employee returns to work for the second half of the work day which in this case is at 17:00 on Tuesday.

 

  1. If a Service Crew on a Sunday – Wednesday 12:00 – 22:00 schedule continues working into overtime on Monday into Tuesday until 10:00 AM, do they earn a rest period?  What time do they return to work?

The crew has earned an 8 hour rest period since they worked 8 hours or more at the overtime rate during the 16 hours preceding the beginning of their regular work hours on a workday.  As the rest period overlaps into the second half of the workday, the employee returns to work at the start of their next regular workday, 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

 

  1. Will Service Crew members be included on the EOT and POT lists as their non-service crew co-workers?  Are they considered separate classifications for the purpose of EOT call out and POT equalization?

The intent of LA 16-44 was that the employees on the day shifts and service crews will be treated the same for the purposes of overtime.   They will be called or scheduled from combined lists.     As such, should any equalization issues occur, they will be evaluated as a group. 

 

  1. A supervisor has POT for Tuesday before the start of the day shift for 1 hour. Does the Service Crew have to be offered this POT assignment?

There is no obligation to offer this POT to any specific employee.  The only obligation is to equalize the POT at the end of the year in accordance with Section 208. 16. 

 

Staffing

  1. Are employees who fill behind an absent Service Crew employee, as an extension of the workday, entitled to an upgrade and increase in pay?

Should the Company fill the Service Crew roles, then yes he or she would receive the increase in pay.   However, the Company could utilize additional crew members to assist the Service Crew if appropriate as well. 

 

  1. If there is a need to upgrade to Electric Crew Foreman, Service even for a day or two, what is it procedure to upgrade someone?

When this occurs on a short notice situation, the headquarters may use an extension of workday and should use any local agreement on assignments and upgrades for overtime.  Should the Company be aware in advance and want to temporarily fill the position, the Company will first consider employees at the headquarters by utilization of the bid list.  (Reference IBEW Labor Agreement Section 205.3(a))

 

Shift Premium Pay

  1. Are employees regularly assigned to a Service Crew as defined by Letter Agreement 16-44-PGE entitled to a shift premium?

Service Crews will be scheduled to work 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., or 1:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m., Wednesday – Saturday or Sunday – Wednesday.  (Weekend shift start times may differ from weekday start times if mutually agreed upon.) 

Premium pay is based on the time that an employee is regularly scheduled to begin work.  All work periods that are regularly scheduled to begin at noon or later, but before 8:00 p.m. are designated as 2nd shifts and receive 2nd shift premium pay.  Therefore, based upon the schedules agreed upon in the letter of agreement, Service Crew employees would be entitled to the 2nd shift premium. 

 

  1. If the parties agree to an earlier start time on Saturdays or Sundays, would the Service Crew be entitled to a shift premium on those days?

If the parties agree to a start time before noon on Saturdays or Sundays, the Service Crew would not be entitled to a shift premium for time worked on those days.  Employees’ regular start time must be between noon and 8:00 p.m. in order to be entitled to the 2nd shift premium.

 

  1. Are Service Crew employees entitled to the Sunday premium?

Employees who are regularly scheduled to work on a Sunday (and who in fact work on a Sunday), are eligible for an hourly premium that is equal to the 3rd shift premium.  If the employee is working the 2nd shift on Sunday then would the employee also receive the 2nd shift premium?   

 

  1. If a Monday – Friday day employee accepts a 2nd shift overtime assignment, and the assignment is contiguous with his regular day shift assignment (i.e. it is an extension of the employee’s regular workday), is he entitled to a shift premium for any or all hours worked?

When overtime hours worked are contiguous with an employee’s regular work hours, then the employee is only entitled to any shift premium in effect for his regular work hours.  In this case, the employee would receive no shift premium since his regular work hours are on the DAY shift. 

Conversely, if the 2nd shift employee accepts a day (1st shift) assignment, and it is contiguous with is 2nd shift (i.e. prearranged overtime immediately before his regular work hours), he receives the 2nd shift premium for all hours worked. 

 

  1. If a Monday – Friday day employees accepts a Sunday prearranged overtime assignment, is the employee entitled to Sunday premium pay?

No.  The Sunday premium is unique in comparison to the other premiums.  An employee is due the Sunday premium when working a Sunday which is part of that employee’s regularly scheduled workweek. 

 

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