Every day, hundreds, maybe even thousands, of payments come in and out of PG&E — and the vast majority will, at some point, pass through the West Sacramento bill, print and mail processing center (aka West Sac).
The hard-working IBEW 1245 members at West Sac handle it all — from processing customer payments to delivering employee paychecks and more.
Five-year IBEW 1245 member Mark Velasquez works in payment processing as a utility machine operator, where his job involves receiving and processing commercial and residential bill payments that come through the mail.
“99% of it is checks, and then there are some customers who still send in cash through the mail,” he explained.
Utility Machine Operator Mark Velasquez
Payment processing at PG&E is incredibly complex, but there’s no task too challenging for the knowledgeable and skilled clerks in West Sac. They work diligently to ensure every payment is properly processed and accounted for, from a small residential check to an enormous electronic payment from a corporate customer.
When there’s a question related to the latter, 12-year IBEW 1245 member and Accounting Clerk Julia Ponce steps in to assist. Ponce works in customer inquiry assistance, also known as “CIA” department, and although she’s not a secret agent, her job does involve quite a bit of sleuthing.
Ponce describes her role as “payment locator detective.” She deals primarily with large, complex transactions, making sure every electronic payment is credited to the correct customer account.
Accounting Clerk Julia Ponce
In addition to processing incoming payments, West Sac is also where most of the company’s outgoing checks are printed and mailed.
“We print over 95% of the checks that PG&E prints… from payroll, or the accounts payable department, or the customer energy efficiency rebate department, customer refund, non-energy billing… They’re all done in our department,” explained IBEW 1245 member Jeff Johnson, who works as the sole account clerk in the bill printing & presentment department.
Checks aren’t the only thing that’s printed in West Sac. The facility is now home to PG&E’s Printing and Graphics Services or “PAGS” (formerly known as Reprographics) department, which relocated to West Sac and rebranded following the closure of the SF General Office. PAGS is a completely full-service print shop, producing everything from training manuals to building signage.
Reprographics Operator Sherri Perkins
“Within this particular department, we have three different areas,” explained Senior Reprographics Lead Shamir Seay, a ten-year member of IBEW 1245. “We have our printing, which is the reprographics part of it, we have large format, and we have our finishing department, which any kind of drilling, binding, folding, numbering, cutting, cooling, laminating, hole punching.”
Senior Reprographics Operator Shamir Seay
When the freshly printed parcels are ready for their final destination, they head down to the Pony Express Department.
“Pony Express delivers company mail mostly to the Northern California area and Fresno. We basically drive a lot of miles to get people their stuff, like a very small UPS,” explained 15-year IBEW 1245 member Adam Ciu, who works as a Pony Express Light Truck Driver. “We also do the payroll out of here, and we deliver calibrated tools. We do anywhere from 200 to 300 miles a day on the road, depending on what route we’re aon, delivering in the fog and the rain and sometimes even the snow.”
The Union Difference
Pony Express Department Light Truck Drivers Alysia Gonzalez, Adam Ciu, Curt Ledward, Adrian Americano and (sitting), Routine Field Clerk Greg Husakow.
Without the unsung heroes at West Sac, nearly every aspect of the company would come grinding to a halt. These dedicated workers appreciate that IBEW 1245 is looking out for them while they perform their essential work.
“This was my first union-represented job,” said Velasquez. “I really love the brotherhood of the whole union itself, knowing that someone has your back and your best interest, even when you’re not present. That sense of security is really huge for me personally, because a lot of the times there are little bits and pieces that the average person wouldn’t know, or wouldn’t pay attention to.”
“We love the union. They fight for us and give us what we think we deserve, and we can always turn to them if we have issues,” said Ponce. “I just became a shop steward because … I really want to fight for our coworkers to get the best wages, safety, health insurance, just to be able to help them.”
For Ciu and his fellow Pony Express drivers, the union difference is exceptionally clear.
“There was a point in time, six or seven years ago, where the company going to shut our department down… And the union really stepped up [to save our jobs],” said Ciu. “Now, we’re busier than we’ve ever been and doing more work than we’ve ever done.”
Seay also appreciates having an advocate in his corner, and negotiated a line of progression in his sights.
Utility Machine Operator Brooke Lilley
“If the company was not treating us correctly, you have that support to get something done,” he said. “And I would have to say I like that there’s the opportunity to grow. At PG&E, you have a career pathway that you can see, based on the union showing you that path.”
“They get you a good competitive wage, make sure you’re taken care of,” added Johnson. “I’ve been in union and I’ve been in non-union [jobs.] Where it’s non-union, if you don’t work, you don’t get paid, you don’t have paid vacation, you don’t have paid holidays… Whereas with the union, you’re able to take that time off and spend it with your family.”
–Rebecca Band, IBEW 1245 Communications Director
Photos by John Storey
Utility Machine Operator Tina Marez.
Reprographics Operator Dominique Kinos
Pony Express Department Light Truck Drivers Alysia Gonzalez, Adam Ciu, Curt Ledward, Adrian Americano and (sitting), Routine Field Clerk Greg Husakow.
PPC Department, from left: Front row- Utility Machine Operators Jaycee Cano, Eva Olazaba, Raymond Anderson. Middle row; Utility Machine Operators Martin Sedano, Kira McQuay, Ari Ponce, Elisa Clayton, and Rainier Diaz. Back row; Utility Machine Operators Zach Whaler, Mark Valasquez and Dakota Baker.
Utility Machine Operator Gail Maddalena
Reprographics Operator Shellsey Perry
Reprographics/PAGS Department, from left: Reprographics Operator Shellsey Perry, Reprographics Operator Sherri Perkins, Reprographics Operator Dominque Kinos, Job Coordinator TeAna Z. Cooper and Senior Reprographics Operator Shamir Seay.
Customer Fund Management Department: Front row from left: Utility Machine Operator Danielle Lopez, Accounting Clerk Rhonda Johnson, Accounting Clerk Anna Enriquez, Accounting Clerk David Le, Accounting Clerk Kelley Talbot. Back row-Accounting Clerk Julia Ponce, Accounting Clerk Sherri Sandbeck, Accounting Clerk Eshe Stephens, Accounting Clerk Eugene Patrick and Accounting Clerk Ed Flores.
Utility Machine Operator Gehrigg Garcia