The foreign utility roster was used in early September to provide support to West Penn Power/FE, near Pittsburgh. The call came in around 1030 am after our own 4+ day storm where our crews were working 16-hour shifts and the majority were on rest. The Chiefs did a fantastic job of putting their rosters in place and having most ready to go by 1530. We did receive some feedback, negative and positive. This was the first time we ran the roster since the membership voted in MA 25-0160. Some folks felt that if you were on the payroll at all on 4 days you should rotate. Some felt that if you didn’t work 16 hours each of four days you should not rotate. The MA and examples that were provided to the T&D department referenced this situation and supports if you worked an 8-hour day it counts as a full day. Not 7.5 hours and not needing 16 hours. If we tweaked it in either direction, we would have been violating what the membership voted on. We also had feedback on the short notice to provide rosters and report for departure. When the call comes in, the company needs to say yes or no to provide the support at the recommended time. If we push back on time and give folks hours to respond, the hosting utility could move on to their next call to another utility to get the responses they need. We don’t feel it is wise to gamble and pass on the opportunity to provide support to other utilities when they need it, and cost our crews the opportunity and experience.
The July T&D Helper class made it to their service centers on September 28th. A solid number of this class made it to their first union meeting before leaving Walbert. We are happy to see their interest in learning about their local. The next class will be posted on or near September 25th.
Two T&D bargaining unit trainer positions at Walbert have been filled. 10 candidates per MA 03-0120 were interviewed and all had a lot to offer the training department. I was happy to see interest from all regions. Management chose Nick Krecker and Todd Schlegel to join the Walbert Team. John Frederick also accepted the part-time trainer position to help support the LTN department. Thanks to all for stepping up. MA 26-0160 was also created to promote Electrical Test Technicians to field trainers when needed.
The contractors have migrated into being the company’s 2nd choice for regional callouts and/or overtime. This is a violation of the CBA, OOA, and CNF’s. Grievances are filed, and unfortunately not resulting in settlements. Prior grievances, ORC, and even arbitrations have been settled supporting our argument. It is unfortunate they are now being disregarded. We will continue to exhaust the grievance process to provide resolution.
Day 1 of 25NE-008 arbitration was held on September 8th . Day two is scheduled for October 6th. 25SUS-004 arbitration is scheduled for October 9th.
A proposed MA is complete that provides a Troubleman demotion path under Article 5, Section 2K when vacancies are not available. The progression line will need to have a majority vote (more yes than no) for this to become effective. Regional Chief Stewards, or their designee, will be visiting roster locations to provide the MA, answer questions, and collect ballots. In addition to an accept or reject box, there will be an abstention box for those that don’t feel strongly either way.
Caucus meetings for Ephrata negotiations have started. I’m excited to join their team and look forward to helping them secure the contract they deserve.
I attended the 41st IBEW International Convention September 21-25. There were 2032 delegates from 597 local unions that attended. I got to see some familiar faces and friends from IBEW Local 210, 10,1319, 614, 777, and 320. I met some new folks from 2100 and 1347. Gene and I also had the opportunity to personally say hello to International President Cooper and Treasurer Noble at a reception. It was nice to see the two at the top take the time to chat with our local. Both gentlemen were down to earth and gave us the reminder that we are all in this together. There were many speakers that included Union Labor Representatives from Sweden, Ireland, Italy, and even Australia, and a 60 year IBEW member from the 9th district in Alaska. One of the most interesting speeches was from Duke Austin, CEO of Quanta Services. His speech stood out due to his climb from a 4th generation lineman to the CEO. He prided his company in growing from 9,000 workers to 40,000 workers under his tenure. He credited the success to the relationship he has with the IBEW and by promoting from the field up to take the company to new heights.
Local 29 near Pittsburgh voted 592 to 14 to authorize a strike and exercised their right on October 1st. If you remember from my June newsletter, Local 614 put up a similar solid authorization number (it was 94%). It seems like we are surrounded by the same problems, and it’s taking the same result to achieve what utility workers deserve. We will be at the table in the very near future. The negotiating team will need your support to get what is deserved. The path forward is through UNITY, NOT DIVISION! Our current contract expires on May 10th 2027.
Nominations for unit positions and office positions have passed. We have some new faces running for leadership roles. I challenge all members to contact all candidates prior to voting. Question their contract knowledge, union activity, loyalty and history, and ability to lead the local in unity. Keep in mind we are currently in negotiations with Ephrata Borough, and PPL negotiations are around the corner. We hope to see you at your October local unit meeting!
