From the trenches...

           Reports from your Business Reps

Unit 1 –OH/UG/Trbl/Tree Surgeon
    Lineman's Rodeo

Unit 2 – Electrical Station Operators
By Bill Lewis

• Finally, the Executive Employee Relations Committee has met and approved the new per diem amount and formula. The full council still needs to vote on it, but this is just a formality at this point. After approval by the council, the Department will implement the new rate and start working on the retroactive checks.

• There have been four errors so far this year. A common cause has been the power-flow check. Fortunately, there have been no injuries. Don’t forget to do a thorough power flow check; this is especially important if you are distracted in the middle of your switching. Stay focused and stay safe.

Unit 3 – Electrical Testers
By Leslie Abbott

A Training Committee has been formed to develop proposals for both an apprenticeship curriculum and ongoing professional development for this highly specialized series. The committee will pursue the refinement and implementation of these training proposals with support from the new Joint Training Institute (JTI), which is co-administered by Local 18 President Frank Miramontes and DWP management representative Susana Reyes.

Unit 4 – General Construction
By Hank O’Neil

• The first unit meeting since the formation of Unit 4 will take place on Monday, June 9, beginning at 5:00 p.m., in Building 17, 1630 North Main Street. This meeting is for general construction employees who are covered by the OM&S Blue Collar Memorandum of Understanding.

• Supervisors are encouraged to attend their Unit 12 meetings.

Unit 6 – Warehouse/Stores
By Leslie Abbott

• Following a hiatus of several months, the Materials Management and Logistics Joint Labor-Management Committee (JLMC) is being re-instituted with new management co-chair Arnie Netka, the Department’s Manager of Material Management and Logistics. We are hopeful that the JMLC will return to its former productivity, and help resolve a number of issues that impact Unit 6 members.

• Please note that Unit 6 meetings have been changed to the second Thursday of the month, at 5:00 p.m. The meeting location varies from month to month, so be sure to refer to the monthly notices that inform you where the meetings will be held. Please plan to attend your unit meeting!

Unit 8 – Clerical
By Shawn McCloud & Geralyn Washington-Tatum

Please mark your calendar: the next Clerical Unit meeting is scheduled for Saturday, July 26, from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m., at the Local 18 office. Please make every effort to attend your meeting.

Unit 8/18 – Clerical Supervisory
By Geralyn Washington-Tatum

• The Clerical and Super Clerical and Administrative Bid Plan Committees are working hard to revise the current bid plans. Please take this opportunity to offer your input into this process. Let your voice be heard! You may forward any comments, suggestions or concerns to any of the Bid Plan Committee members. You may also contact the Union office (213/387-8274).

• If you are interested in conducting a Clerical Worker Safety Tour, this is your last opportunity for this year to attend the necessary preparatory classes. Please contact Shawn at ext. 111, or me at ext. 105 at the Union office in order to put your name on the list. A progress report on the current clerical tours will appear in next month’s Surge.

Unit 9 – Generating Stations
By Gus Corona

The Steam Plant Assistant “Safety and Basic Skills Workshop” was scheduled to begin on May 12. The training curriculum will run for a total of six weeks. A new class of 30 Steam Plant Assistants is set to begin on Monday, June 2.

Unit 12 – Senior/Principal Security Officers
By Leslie Abbott

After a year of discussion and effort, a Bid Plan for Senior Security Officers has been provisionally adopted by the Senior/Principal Joint Labor Management Committee. The bid plan now goes to the Joint Resolution Board for final approval from Local 18’s Business Manager and DWP’s General Manager. Thanks go to JLMC labor members Randy Baker, Gayle Green, Richard Singletary, Percy Starks, and to bid plan subcommittee member Joe Rodriguez for their dedication and hard work in getting this bid plan into effect!

Unit 13 – Automotive
By Bill Lewis

I have received many questions about the Boom Shop move. Four mechanics and one helper are being moved from the Ducco day shift to fill these positions. Volunteers will be sought. Whoever goes will retain their bid at Ducco, and in the next bid cycle, the positions at Valley will be put out for bid. If the people who were moved do not get the bid, they will be returned to their previous bid at Ducco.

Unit 14 – Transportation
By Bill Lewis

• Last month’s Surge article created quite a stir among the mechanics. Remember: your Class Specification and DDRs allow you to do “minor” repairs and adjustments. Don’t forget your fellow members and do their work. If you need a mechanic, call for one!

• The On-The-Job Training Program is being reviewed by the Joint Resolution Board. We should have a final disposition soon.

Unit 15/20 – Pasadena
By Barry Poole

• The negotiation committees continue to meet. Currently, a package of proposals is being put together to present to the City.

• The City of Pasadena has begun to consider budget reductions since the massive state budget deficit has come to the forefront of attention. A number of budget-reduction proposals have been made by the City. The main area of contention under Local 18’s jurisdiction is the Street Light and Traffic Signal sections. The City has proposed not filling one of the Street Light and Traffic Signal Repairer positions. We are continuing to negotiate over this issue.

Unit 17 – Customer Service Field Groups
By Nancy Romero

• Welcome to newly appointed Shop Stewards Loretta Galvan, Senior Meter Reader in the Metro Reading Unit, and Javier Cordova, Commercial Field Representative in the Metro Field Collections Unit. Both Loretta and Javier have a wealth of experience and will be assisting Local 18 members in their units with all of their concerns and issues. We want to encourage all members in these units to work with both Stewards and assist them in their new roles and responsibilities. Again, we welcome our new Shop Stewards Loretta and Javier. We know you will do a great job!

• A brief reminder to all members: whenever a manager wants to discuss a disciplinary issue with you, please request that a Union representative or Shop Steward be present. We have had several members attend meetings on their own with supervisors, to their regret and detriment. I urge everyone to utilize your Shop Stewards or Union reps; do not attend or sit through a disciplinary meeting by yourself!

• Currently, there are four Joint Labor-Management Committees that have been diligently working to resolve the many issues brought up by the different field groups. We always encourage our members to use this very important and operative process when trying to resolve their work-related issues. The committee members welcome any Local 18 brother or sister to bring up any issue of concern for their consideration. By joining together with management in the spirit of reaching consensus, we have already successfully resolved a great number of concerns. The JLMC and their union representatives are:

Meter Reading: Loretta Galvan (Metro); Donley Minor (West Los Angeles), and David Suarez (Valley).

Commercial Field Representative: Javier Cordova (Metro); Darlene Goodrum (San Pedro);
Tony Marufo (Valley); Daniel Montelongo (West Los Angeles), and Skip Westbrook (Metro).

Senior Commercial Field Representative: Cindy Coffin (West Los Angeles); Laura Kellgreen (Valley); Frank Valdez (Metro), and Mike Wickham (Metro).

Customer Service Business Unit: Laura Kellgreen (Valley); Tony Marufo (Valley), and Donley Minor (West Los Angeles).

Unit 19 – Station Maintenance
By Gus Corona

We will be scheduling a meeting with management in order to discuss the proposed changes we have made to the System Wide Bid Plan. We are hoping that these changes will address the concerns that have been raised by our members. Once these issues are dealt with, the complete revised plan will go out for a vote by the participating members of the Bid Plan.

Unit 26 – Custodial
By Nancy Romero

• All members are invited to attend the Unit 26 monthly meetings which will now begin at 3:30 p.m. This most recent change will accommodate those members with a 4:45 p.m. start time. The meetings will continue to be held at the Local 18 office on the third Thursday of the month. Please make every effort to attend these very informative meetings.

• As a follow up to last month’s Surge article, the air testing that was performed in the Crenshaw Branch Office did come back positive for mold. We gratefully thank Charles Davis for assisting us during the Worker Safety Tour, and pointing out this potentially unsafe situation.

• Please note that as of this writing, the five permanent Custodial Services Attendant (CSA) positions that are to be filled in the next fiscal year have been put back into the ISS budget. These positions had been completely eliminated during the first week of May. We are eagerly awaiting the prompt filling of these positions by permanent CSAs in order to alleviate the rapidly increasing workload. All limited Custodians should know that we have been spearheading the effort to get these permanent full-time positions. We welcome you into the membership of IBEW Local 18 once you get hired permanently.

• Congratulations to all of the CSAs who took the Senior Custodial Services Attendant test and Custodian Supervisor test on April 19! Now that the tests have been administered, it will take approximately 10 weeks for notifications to be sent out to the successful candidates for their interview dates. The interviews will begin about six weeks later and only then will be list be compiled and the rankings completed. We anticipate that it will take six months before we see an official list of certified candidates. Please see your supervisors in order to request practice interviews, and for any other information they may be able to provide you in preparation for your meetings.

Unt 50 – Burbank
By Barry Poole

• The final draft of the Burbank Employees Retiree Medical Trust has been sent to Local 18’s attorneys for review. We will inform you as soon as there is more information with regard to progress on this matter.

• Work continues on the administrative issues of the trust, such as: setting up accounts; interviewing investment advisors, and refining the rules of the plan.

• Wage negotiations have begun for the current year. John Washington, Tom Wilke, Jeff Hancock, Barry Heller and Jim Anderson are representing Unit 50 in these negotiations.

Unit 53 – Water Quality & Distribution
By Hank O’Neil

The Water Distribution Joint Labor-Management Committee has approved and forwarded a procedure for dealing with broken gas lines to the Joint Resolution Board for approval. Also, the committee is in the process of finalizing a shock hazard policy when changing out meters. There are several projects that have been re-scheduled so that annual-rated employees can perform the work instead of contracting it out.

Unit 55 – Communications
By Nancy Romero

• All members are invited to attend the Unit 55 Dinner meeting on Wednesday, June 18. Call the Local 18 office to make reservations. We look forward to a successful meeting. As always, the regular Unit 55 meetings will continue to be held at the Boylston Yard on the third Wednesday of the month. We encourage all Unit 55 members to attend your meetings.

• A reminder: the Telecomm Joint Labor-Management Committee meets on the first Thursday of the month. Any issues that you wish the committee to consider should be submitted to any of the JLMC members, who are: Cameron Ogan; David Ray; Carlos Saldana; Gary Schmerbeck, and myself. Please use the appropriate forms for submitting your requests. The forms can be found on the ITS website.

Unit 60 – Waterworks Mechanics
By Gus Corona

At the April Unit meeting, it was decided that future meetings would take place at the Temple Street Yard on the fourth Wednesday of the Month. We encourage all members to attend in order to stay informed of the significant issues that are affecting your unit.

Unit 63 – Underground Construction
By Barry Poole

The inequity for Underground Distribution Construction Mechanics, Senior Underground Distribution Construction Mechanics, and Underground Distribution Mechanic Supervisors was approved by the Joint Resolution Board on April 25. The agreement was sent to the Los Angeles City Council for consideration.

Unit 64 – Azusa
By Bill Lewis

The certification issues for the water department are progressing. Thank to all the members who have helped put together a comprehensive plan. We will be discussing this plan with management soon.