California
Here at the end of 2024 Outside Line has finished very strong. We had steady manpower requests all the way up to the holiday break. As a final push, PG&E requested 25 to 30 crews to start in December to help finish up new business projects. Outside Line was a large component to PG&E being able to meet its construction goals of 2024 with a completion of 258.4 miles of underground, and 107.8 miles of overhead hardening projects.
Currently in the Sierra Division, work is steady and looking to pick up in the next few months. H&M already has 12,000 tags and a fire hardening project starting in the Garden Valley and Cool area.
Alvah is wrapping up its underground project in the Foresthill area with about a month and a half worth of wreck-out left. Intren is staying busy with tag work and a small hardening project in the Placerville area and is awaiting PG&E to drop more work for them. Dars-Cox is working on 18 miles of underground in the Placerville area. They are also putting in a bids for an additional 40 miles of undergrounding.
Wilson will be continuing work on the Bell circuit fire hardening project and have also picked up work in Placerville, which includes both overhead and underground work. Wilson is staffing 4 crews, 3 in Willits and 1 in Eureka. EDP is staffing 2 crews in Willits. The bulk of the work in Humboldt is tag work and storm response. H&M is still staffed with 3 transmission crews in Eureka.
Edison Power will be starting facility inspections back up in Feb. It looks like initially they will bring on 35 transmission inspectors, and later with Substation Inspectors.
Outscource will be ramping up there Selma yard in 2025 and will be looking for a permanent yard in the San Jose area
Michels will have 8 transmission crews working in the south doing tag work, 3-4 crews on the Birds Landing job until May. Theres some talk about Michels bringing on some distribution crews.
As we approach a busy new year for Outside Line work, safety is a top priority for members and contractors. One recurring issue has been motor-vehicle incidents enroute to, and while on, the job site. Accidents have resulted in serious injury to members, property loss to the public, reduction of safety ratings for our contractors, and an increase in video surveillance and monitoring for all. Let’s collectively focus upon preventive measures, such as not driving while distracted, completing thorough vehicle walk-arounds, and increasing situational awareness.2024 started off slow but finished strong and we hope to carry that momentum over to 2025.
The Fresno bi-monthly informational meetings continue to take place on the second Tuesday of every other month from 6pm to 8pm at Round Table Pizza at 5702 N. First St. The remaining meetings for this year will take place on Jan 14th, March 11th, May 13th, July 8th, Sept 9th and Nov 11. A mass text reminder will be sent out the Monday before each meeting. Please make time to attend the meeting if you’re in the area.
Nevada
T&D Power at the Walker River project outside of Yerington NV is moving forward with pads, foundations and the dog houses on the 120 KV sub. The steel for the switchgear will be installed when the crews return from the holiday break. There are approximately 60 members on site at this point. R2 has been subcontracted to do some civil work on the project.
Wilson Construction has been awarded SWIP north project still no word on start date for this project.
Wasatch continues to support NVE and Liberty Utilities on numerous projects as well as supporting the utilities with supplemental dock work.
Sturgeon has completed the fuse tamer project that spanned across NVE property in the northern part of the state in this quarter.
Summit is still supporting the USA parkway project and the Switch Data Center project with Sub-Techs and Journeyman Lineman.
Mountain Engineering is working on NVE property in Virginia City in the process of doing a line rebuild and have been doing numerous helicopter sets.
Accidents / Focus Items
As we wrap up the year, I hope all our members will take a moment to reflect. From personal achievements to career milestones, IBEW members were able to meet the moment head on. For every challenge and misstep along the way, you met the moment. Year after year, Local 1245 members raise the bar. And 2024 was no different.
We still have many challenges yet to overcome, driving being the most obvious. Taking a breath during the sometimes-crazy holiday traffic, could help prevent an incident rooted in emotion. And the simplest thing of staying off the phone while driving becomes so much harder as the holidays surround us. But we, and our families, depend on us taking these precautions.
Conflict throughout the world. Political changes at the local, state and national levels. Uncertainty surrounds us at every moment. But if anything has been made clear, it is the fact that IBEW members will meet this uncertainty for generations to come.
Safety First
The Fourth Quarter Red Book Meeting was held on December 3, 2024, at the Woodland JATC facility. Topics varied but centered around driving and PPE use.
Re-focusing our efforts on the basic tasks will help to keep us engaged on the job. Challenging our brothers and sisters on the job site will help with that as well. No crew member, regardless of classification or experience, should remain quiet when they are uncertain of a task or move.
Traffic Control
Wrapping up 2024, our Traffic Control group has increased workload in October and November, from the same time in 2023, with December hours not being reported until after publishing of newspaper. This is a positive direction for this workgroup.
Coming into 2025, we should know more about who the preferred contractors will be, and in what areas they will be. Much anticipation surrounds IBEW contractors and their drive to grow their footprint. We will have a much better outlook in the next printing for 2025.
Dispatch
IBEW 1245 dispatch office hours are 7am to 4pm and the last application will go out at 3:30pm. The dispatchers have returned to the dispatch office now that the remodel project is near completion. The improved dispatch lobby will aid in faster signing and processing of paperwork. A few additional items will be completed over the next couple of months. We will be adding monitors to show open calls and a kiosk to fill out applications. When arriving at the union hall to sign or re-sign the books, members will be prompted to fill out a half-sheet of paper that includes name, email address and phone number. Please write clearly, as that is the only way to get your application to you. Information that is incorrect or illegible will delay the process. When uploading documents, please make sure you are sending us the most current and valid information. Please do not re-enter Dispatch until you receive an email to do so. If you have any questions, please call our main office number 707-452-2700
4th Quarter Total Dispatch Numbers:
- 1747 Groundman calls
- 720 Line EQ Man calls
- 2168 Journeyman Lineman calls
Total year-to-date calls for 2024 = 5984
CPR & First Aid
CPR and First Aid classes are scheduled for the second Friday of every month at the Woodland and Riverside facilities. If you are interested and want to sign up for this class, visit www.calnevjatc.org. Click on the Web Services tab, then Class Schedule. If you do not already have a web account with the JATC, you will need to create one. Class availability is based on first-come, first-served basis. www.calnevjatc.org.
Injured Workers Fund
The balance of the Injured Workers Fund as of Nov 30, 2024 was $783,060.55. Since October 1,2024, the fund has paid out $240,200 in disability and parental leave claims.
The Summary Plan Description (SPD) and Application can be found on the union’s website at https://ibew1245.com/outside-line-injured-workers-fund/