Emeryville, CA – Growing up in Monterey, with a parent stationed at Fort Ord, Geraldine Bradley never had dreams of college. She was hoping to get on with the Forest Service, but as a backup she enrolled in a local welding class that was designed to help veterans find a job when their service time was up.
PG&E Lineman Geraldine Bradley checks out equipment before it is put in service.
One day, she spotted a flyer on a bulletin board that talked about an opportunity at PG&E. There was a new program to change regulators at gas meters, and the chance to start an actual career outweighed the uncertainty of what welding would bring. Geraldine got a letter of recommendation from her instructor and applied to PG&E.
A few months later, the call came. The position was with GC Gas replacing K regs. It was a foot in the door to what would become a long career with PG&E. She appreciated the chance to have a union to represent her, having been subjected to incidents with past employers where sexual harassment and favoritism had become problematic.
While working with GC Gas in Monterey, a nineteen-year-old Geraldine migrated towards a work group that at the time she called “the cool kids.” That was the electric line crews, and she asked questions about getting into that trade. Soon thereafter she got a bid as a groundman in Monterey.
It was sometime in the mid-90s where our paths first crossed at basic climbing class in Kettleman, CA (yes kids, there was a training school for PG&E apprentice linemen before Livermore.). Our paths have crossed a lot since then, and we’ve remained friends over the years.
Geraldine left PG&E as a 5th step apprentice in 1989, moving up to Helms Power Plant where her then husband worked and lived as a PG&E comm tech. She missed her apprentice job, and got hired back by Fresno GC as a 3rd step. When the IBEW 1245 rep heard about this, he fought to get Geraldine reinstated as a 5th step apprentice, being that she was gone less than 12 months. She topped out as a journeyman in 1991.
One point Geraldine made over and over in our conversation was, “I’m a lineman—don’t you dare call me a line worker. I worked my tail off my whole career to be just that, a lineman. Not a female lineman, I’m a lineman who happens to be a female.”
Journeyman Lineman Geraldine Bradley & Senior Assistant Business Manager Bob Gerstle at the PG&E Transmission Shop in Emeryville, CA. Bradley is retiring in six months.
We don’t have the time to list every yard Geraldine has worked in since topping out. She was absolutely the first female Troubleman at PG&E (sorry Geraldine). If you’ve been around, you’ve likely at least seen Geraldine during a storm, if not headquartered in the yard you work in. First as a Troubleman (no Troubleshooter for her), then over recent years as a Distribution Line Technician (DLT), this woman has been all over the PG&E system.
Geraldine is currently in East Bay as a DLT, working toward the 24-month requirement to make her Bay Area premium pensionable. She helps out as an instructor with new DLTs and the ever-changing technologies that are introduced to the grid.
As we wrapped up our lively discussion, she looked back on the Covid years. She was appreciative that IBEW1245 fought for member’s rights to decide on whether they wanted to get a vaccine shot. “If my ability to make my own decision had been taken away, I was prepared to leave the company.” It would have been a loss if she had been forced to make that decision.
Geraldine will retire later in 2025. She’s purchased a home in Florida, and is looking forward to taking up golf and playing more pickleball. I sense it won’t be an easy transition for a person who’s been a dedicated employee and 1245 member for over 35 years. We wish you the best Friend, you’ve earned this ride.
– By Bob Gerstle, Sr. Assistant Business Manager. Photos by John Storey.