IBEW / NECA Safety Committee Meeting In September the 3rd quarter IBEW / NECA Safety meeting was held in Vacaville with several NECA contractors as well as representatives of Local 1245, Local 47 and the CALNEVJATC. Each group gave reports pertaining to incidents and accident within their organizations. The meeting started on a somber note… [Read More]

Arc Flash Accident / Injury Journey Lineman was attempting to install a glass meter cover on a 480V meter base that was energized. As he was trying to install the metal ring, the cover slipped and the ring went into the hub making contact with the energized meter lugs causing a flash which resulted in… [Read More]

By Ralph Armstrong Work continues with both the PG&E Barehand Oversight and Barehand Committees. Some of the big issues that have become priorities that both the union and the company are working together to resolve are: Barehand/Helicopter use: There has been an issue obtaining a current approval letter for the use of helicopters as part… [Read More]

IBEW 1245 Health and Safety Committee members Dan Boschee, Art Torres and Business Representative Rich Lane attended the National Safety Council labor caucus in Chicago. The four-day conference features national safety experts, reports on new changes in federal statutes and labor caucuses being conducted by labor unions in the electrical, gas, transportation, communication and broadcast… [Read More]

By Rich Lane Control the Pressure Safety Initiative The Control the Pressure peer committee recently secured dates to go back on the road to PG&E yards with an update on committee activities and to recruit safety stewards. Director of Northern Region M&C Gas Lorene Harden was contacted to aid in setting up a schedule with… [Read More]

An IBEW 1245 First Responder training session was conducted on Oct. 17 at the Alameda County Water District. Much of the questions and information surrounded digging in the vicinity of underground power lines. The 21 attendees learned a lot about step and touch potential, emergency procedures and the underground service alert system (USA). The water… [Read More]

The safety of our members is a top priority for IBEW Local 1245. We work in an unforgiving industry, where a single lapse in judgment can bring serious injury or death. In the early days of the electric industry, the death rate for linemen in some areas was one out of every two hired. Working… [Read More]

By Rich Lane Planning for the 2013 steward safety summit will begin when all three peer committees meet in January. The safety summit in 2012 was held the week of July 10, but this year it will be in the spring. Our hope is that attendance will be high; last year 65 stewards attended the… [Read More]