The Titan Frozen Foods Processing Plant is located in Santa Maria, California- a factory which 1245 member Blair Zimmerman describes as in production, “pretty much 24/7, running year-round.”
“Strawberries come in from the field, go through a flash freeze process, get sliced and diced, and finally pureed and bagged, all in six minutes. They come on in one truck and they go out on another…(accounting for) around 60% of the nation’s strawberries,” declared Zimmerman, a PG&E Subforeman “A”.
In a processing plant of this size, uninterrupted power is critical. The plant relies on seven industrial generators for production.
“The overall picture is to establish service for their facility here. We’re setting five transformers ranging from 300 KVA (measure of power) to 2500 KVA,” said Zimmerman.
This required the two crews to work over a total of 900 combined hours.
Front row; l-r; Lineman Anthony Gomez, Miscellaneous Equipment Operator Garrett Rinehart, Utility Worker Josh Terrazas and Utility Worker Michael Phillips. Middle row; l-r; Supervisor Todd Steichen, Apprentice Lineman Austin Prendez, Lineman Gregory Barajas, Lineman Scott Williams, Lineman Brock Allen, Subforeman A Michael Moss, IBEW 1245 Business Rep Jerry Camacho and Subforeman A Blair Zimmerman. Back row; l-r; Apprentice Lineman Blain Danley, Apprentice Lineman Clayton Wanagitis, Apprentice Lineman Trent Wanagitis and Miscellaneous Equipment Operator Kyle Villa.
“It is something that we don’t normally do every day, and it’s good education for the younger guys to see this; to have crane sets and the transformers. And then to establish cutting in a bus duct.”
Zimmerman emphasized the union’s support for the Bakersfield line crews.
“(IBEW 1245) fights for our wages, worker’s rights, and job security. We have good benefits and good wages,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes things that they do in the state legislature that we don’t see. They make sure that our training is good, that our work environment is good.”
–Cole Gerstle, IBEW 1245 Communications Intern
Photos by John Storey