IBEW 1245’s Peer-to-Peer safety programs are created and run by members themselves. The goal is to increase the safety of our members at the workplace, to address safety problems on a member-to-member basis, and to achieve greater safety awareness through information and education rather than the disciplinary process.
Each program has an Advisory Committee and a pool of Safety Stewards who understand safe work practices, follow them and encourage others to do the same through large-scale presentations and one-to-one conversations on the job. These committees and stewards are supported by 1245 Business Rep Fred Aboud.
The Peer-to-Peer initiative exists outside of company safety programs and is dedicated to creating a safety culture that motivates union members to find other means to promote their own personal safety through mutual support and protection on the job.
To become a safety steward, email MFA1@ibew1245.com.
Spring 2024 Peer-to-Peer Program Updates
The “Hold the Pull” electric/line peer safety committee continues to grow the peer program and continues to make a difference. Local 1245 has HTP safety stewards at 16 properties in our jurisdiction. These safety stewards continue to be present at PG&E’s Livermore Training facility; every month, they are present to apprentice classes or new troubleman classes. They have also presented at PG&E’s Hayward division yard, and will be in Fremont division in May, and Livermore division in June. HTP will be presenting at Silicon Valley Power in May as well. This group did a pitch at City of Lodi for the first time, and the response was extremely good; three new safety stewards joined the program following that visit.
The “Control the Pressure” gas peer safety group has safety stewards that represent 7 different properties, and they have been extremely busy as well. The stewards at PG&E are involved with all safety summits for different work groups all over the system. They presented at eight different damage prevention rodeos, three different corrosion & leak survey safety summits, eight different locations for GC gas safety summits, and six different GPOM safety summits, along with numerous pitches at the Winters training facility for new utility workers and Mod 0 employees. Throughout all of these safety summits, CTP has shared its safety message with roughly 1,000 members, and as a result, we’ve seen a 20% increase in safety stewards with the CTP group. They are also attending the upcoming PG&E/IBEW Gas Rodeo.
The newly established “Regulate the Voltage” generation peer safety committee continues to thrive and move forward with building their program. They currently have seven properties represented with safety stewards. RTV has delivered safety pitches at five safety summits on PG&E property, reaching approximately 550 members jurisdiction wide. They are actively recruiting to get new members involved, and are continuing to grow.
The “Keep the Clearance” line clearance tree trimmer peer safety committee has been dormant since the most recent round of layoffs, but we are working to get this group back on its feet soon.
–Fred Aboud, IBEW 1245 Business Rep