From the trenches...

           Reports from your Business Reps

Unit 1 – Distribution
By Barry Poole

At our October 14 Unit meeting, we nominated and elected officers. Omar Diaz was elected Unit Chair, Armando Estrella was elected Unit Vice-Chair, and Dan Carnahan was elected Unit Recorder. Congratulations to the newly elected officers!

Unit 2 – ESOs
By Bill Lewis

• At the last Joint Labor-Management Committee meeting, we continued to discuss the System Wide Operator. The report your committee representatives brought back was almost unanimous: much to management’s dismay, there are many concerns and little interest in developing a system wide operator.

• On another disconcerting point, it looks like we will not have a new training class until early spring next year. The bulletin is moving through the Civil Service process at the normal “rapid” pace—that of molasses!

Unit 3 – Testers
By Bill Lewis

• The Training Committee is making great progress in developing the outline for the curriculum. Thanks to all the hard work from the sub-committees. We have set an aggressive goal of trying to hire the first trainees by next summer. We still have a lot of work to complete by then.

• Congratulations to the new Unit officers! Steven Andersen was elected Unit Chair in a close race, Chris Martinez was elected Vice-Chair, and Hoi Lee was elected Unit Recorder. The officers will serve for three years. With their leadership, we should be able to reach some important goals that have eluded the unit for many years.

Unit 6 – Stores
By Hank O’Neil

• More Unit 6 members are attending our meetings, which is good, but we still have a way to go. Beginning this month, unit meetings will be held at Temple Street on odd months, and at Van Nuys on even months. We hope, with this change, to draw more members to our meetings.

• At our October Unit meeting, we elected officers. They are: Mark Miller, Unit Chair; Val Fernandez, Vice-Chair, and Ben Jimenez, Unit Recorder. Thanks to every member who attended and participated in our elections!

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

• Attention! Beginning January, 2005, the Clerical Unit will resume meeting monthly rather than quarterly. The regularly scheduled meeting day is the first Tuesday of the month, but at the request of our members, the annual kickoff meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m., Saturday, January 8, at the Union Hall. You will receive a reminder notice. Child care will be provided.

• On the go....site visits for this period include Lincoln Heights Service Center and Metro Service Center. If you would like a site visit, please contact Shawn at ext. 111, or Geralyn at ext. 105.

• Great news! Half-time Civil Service is now a reality at DWP. This means half the benefits of a full-time employee (i.e., personal business time, A-time, sick and disability time) for selected classifications. Please check next month’s Surge for details.

• Please do not forget that the IBEW Local 18 Parent Body meeting is on the fourth Thursday of every month. All Local 18 members are invited; come and hear what is going on in your Union!

Unit 8/18 – Supervisory Clerical and Administrative
By Geralyn Washington-Tatum & Shawn McCloud

• We are looking for members who are interested in conducting Worker Safety Tours (which include completing a series of training classes needed for properly conducting a tour), maintaining the Safety Bulletin Board in your work location, or becoming an information representative. For more information, please contact Geralyn at ext. 105, or Shawn at ext. 111.

• There was not enough interest to schedule a Unit 18 meeting. We will try again next year. For your information, there is a list of Unit 18 classifications in the section following Appendix A-1 of the Supervisory Clerical and Administrative MOU.

Unit 9 – Generation
By Gus Corona

• Unit officer elections were held at the October meeting. Jon Pokorski was re-elected as Unit Chair, Tom Holmes was elected as Unit Vice-Chair, and Gary Duffin was re-elected as Unit Recorder.

• We all extend a special thank you to out-going Unit Vice-Chair Mike Powers for his tireless efforts in supporting the members of Unit 9, and for his continued dedication to Local 18!

UNIT 13 - Automotive
By Ken Delgado

• At our last meeting, we held elections for unit officers. I am pleased to announce the new officers: Garrett Lund, Unit Chair; Dan Bovee, Unit Vice-Chair, and Ruben Lopez, Unit Recorder! Congratulations!

• I would like to see more participation at our next unit meeting. There is a lot of information being shared, and I would like to see more involvement and input from all unit members. At our last meeting, we discussed the fact that many of you would like to see a rotation of the Fleet Joint Labor-Management Committee members.

• Brother Dan Bovee reported that the tool-allowance inequity has been approved by the Joint Resolution Board, and has been sent to the DWP Board of Commissioners for final approval.

• There seem to be some inconsistencies concerning how the overtimes on your assigned days off is being distributed. I will look into that situation.

• If you want to be more up-to-date on what is going on in your unit, then please come to our meetings. It is very important that we stand together on the issues that matter to us. That is how we get things done! I look forward to seeing you at our next unit meeting.

Unit 15/20 – Pasadena
By Barry Poole

At our October 7 Unit meeting, we nominated and elected officers. Mohamed Youines was re-elected as Unit Chair and Jeff Barsi was elected Unit Vice-Chair. The new Executive Committee members are: Booker Jones; Mike Coil; Larry Husted; Mario Mora; Percy Matthews, and Victor Jaime. Congratulations to all the elected officers and committee members!

Cindy Coffin, newly elected Chair of Unit 17, addresses Dinner Meeting attendees on October 7, 2004.

Unit 17 – Field Groups
By Nancy Romero

• We want to thank every member who attended our Unit 17 Annual Dinner Meeting on September 4. Congratulations to the unit’s newly elected leaders! Cindy Coffin was elected Unit Chair, and Laura Kellgreen was elected Vice-Chair. We look forward to working together with the new leadership to address issues of importance to our members. We encourage you to join us at our monthly meetings, at 6:30 p.m., the first Thursday of the month, at the Union Hall.

• We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to Brother Tony Marufo (outgoing Chair of Unit 17) for his time, effort and dedication to the members of Unit 17!

Unit 19 – Station Maintenance
By Gus Corona

• The October bids have been posted and will be awarded as soon as the bid period closes—as per the new Electrical Mechanic Bid Plan. Because of some confusion concerning positions in station construction that can be bid on, the Bid Plan Committee decided to open those bids in November. They will be held open for the same three-week period.

• Unit officer elections were held at the October meeting. Steve Leyva was re-elected as Unit Chair, Martin Marufo was elected Unit Vice-Chair, and Marciano “ Rocky” Navar was elected Unit Recorder.

• We all extend our thanks and appreciation to out-going Vice-Chair Fernando Hernandez for his time and effort in representing the members of unit 19!

Unit 22 – ESRs
By Bill Lewis

As many of you know, your Unit Chair, Jeff Firestone, was promoted to a supervisory position. Congratulations, Jeff, and thank you for all your hard work over the years! Last month, Bill Punches and Rick Meza were elected Unit Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively. Congratulations to both brothers!

Currently, I am looking for members who are interested in being a part of the Worker Safety Tour (WST). At this time, there is no labor representation from the Water Utility Operators. It is very important for the people conducting the safety tours to hear your ideas, suggestions and concerns so that they can be addressed. Please reach me through the IBEW web site, or call me at 213/387-8274, ext. 139., if you are interested in joining a very important part of the safety program known as the Joint Safety Institute. I look forward to seeing you at the next unit meeting.

Unit 26 – Custodians
By Nancy Romero

• Following up from an article in the last Surge, we have a commitment from Department management to fill two permanent Custodial Supervisor positions for the outlying areas. The approval process has not been completed as of this time, but we hope that the end result will be two more permanent promotional opportunities for our members. Good luck to all those on thepromotional lists! Anyone who wants a mock interview should contact his or her supervisor. Supervisors also have study material.

• The Department has secured a training contractor to discuss hazardous communications, personal protective equipment, respiratory protection, back safety, ladder safety, cardio- pulmonary resuscitation, and first aid training. These subjects will be covered during three days of training. These classes were identified and developed through a Joint Labor- Management (JLM) process to conduct a Training Needs Analysis for the Department’s CSAs. We reviewed the custodial duties and the potential hazards that our members face during the commission of their assignments. We then determined which training classes would be most helpful, and what the timeline would be. This JLM effort developed a CSA Training Matrix that all permanent CSAs are expected to complete.

• Along with the Joint Safety Institute training, these important courses are designed to assist you in performing your duties safely and effectively. We strongly encourage everyone who is scheduled for these classes to take full advantage of the training opportunities!

• We want to thank all Unit 26 members who have called to share their concerns and issues. While we expect that some issues will take longer to resolve, we will continue to take quick action to resolve those that we can. We are proud of what we have accomplished together in several areas, including worker safety and the consolidation of the CSAs into one business unit. We encourage you to keep your calls coming, and also to attend the Unit 26 meetings at 3:30 p.m., on the third Thursday of the Month, at the Union Hall.

Unit 31 – Professionals
Unit 35 – Supervisory Technical & Business Administration
By Leslie Abbott

• Congratulations to Unit Chair Romeo Bravo, Vice-Chair Rex DeWeese and Unit Recorder Tom Snyder on being elected as the first officers of Local 18’s Professional Unit!

• Congratulations, too, to Unit Chair Ellen Schneider and Vice-Chair Robert Mendoza on being elected as the first officers of Local 18’s Supervisory Technical Unit!

• I am pleased to report that both October unit meetings had the highest levels of participation since our first meetings at the beginning of the year. Thanks to every candidate who was willing to step up to the plate, and to all of the members who participated in their union’s democratic process!

• DWP Labor Relations is in the process of getting the new MOUs printed, and putting the text in electronic format. As soon as Local 18 gets the electronic versions, we will put them on our website. In the meantime:
  
     ° Refer to the MOU summary on our website, at www.ibewlocal18.com
     ° Refer to the language in existing Local 18 MOUs.  Our philosophy of negotiations for the new MOUs was to have them be nearly identical to the terms and conditions in the existing Local 18 MOUs—not only substantively, but down to the article and paragraph numbers for consistency.  Professional, Technical and Administrative are most closely aligned with the Local 18 Operating, Maintenance & Service Unit.  Supervisory Professional and Supervisory Technical are most closely aligned with the Supervisory Blue Collar MOU.  The language won’t always be 100% identical, so if you have any specific questions, please contact me to verify accuracy.

• Please continue to stay involved and keep in touch! Local 18’s monthly meeting schedules and locations are always posted at www.ibewlocal18.com.

• I can always be reached at labbott@ibewlocal18.com or 213/387-8274, ext. 110.

Unit 32 – Technical
Unit 33 – Administrative
Unit 34 – Supervisory Professional
By Kerry McCorkle

• Now that your new MOUs are in effect, we will soon begin working on Bid Plans and Accumulated Overtime Log (AOTL) language. These two issues have a big impact on you. I need your participation and assistance in working on these important issues. Please come to your unit meetings and get involved in these very important negotiations.

• I am pleased to announce the results of the recent Unit officer elections in the Supervisory Professional Unit. The new Unit Chair is Brad Packer, Vice-Chair is John Miller, and the Unit Recorder is Jack Waizenegger. Congratulations to Brothers Packer, Miller, and Waizenegger for stepping up to accept these responsibilities! They are eager and committed to serve as Supervisory Professional Unit leaders. I look forward to working with them as your Officers.

• Regrettably, due to a lack of a quorum, we were unable to hold Unit officer elections in the Technical and Administrative Units. Your attendance at unit meetings is important; we bring up issues that need to be discussed, decide what matters are to be worked on, and elect unit officers. We will hold officer elections at the earliest meeting where there is a quorum.

• I am still seeking members interested in participating in Worker Safety Group Tours. You can find information about them at the Joint Safety Institute Intranet site, at “JSI”. Please contact me if you are interested in getting involved in these tours.

• Please let me know if you are interested in becoming a Shop Steward or a Joint Labor-Management Committee (JLMC) member for the Technical, Administrative or Supervisory Professional Units. We already have several Shop Stewards and members nominated to JLM Committees. These are among the opportunities for you to take an active role in your Union’s activities. Please come to your monthly unit meetings and get involved!

• Technical Unit meetings are scheduled on the second Wednesday of every month, at 5:30 p.m., at the Local 18 Union Hall.
  
• Administrative Unit meetings are scheduled on the third Wednesday of every month, at 5:30 p.m., at the Local 18 Union Hall.

• Supervisory Professional Unit meetings are scheduled on the first Tuesday of every month, at 5:30 p.m., at the Local 18 Union Hall.

• You can always reach me at 213/387-8274, ext. 138, or at kmccorkle@ibewlocal18.com

Unit 52 – Owens Valley
By Hank O’Neil

The Owens Valley Unit Dinner Meeting will be held from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m., on Thursday, December 16, at the Elks Lodge in Bishop. Dinner will be catered by Bud Jasper, and will be followed by music and dancing. Local 18 members and one guest each are welcome!

Unit 53 – Water
By Ken Delgado

Water Distribution is doing a great job of safety and conducting the safety tours on a regular basis. It is a good thing when the Water Distribution Joint Labor-Management Committee hears that the tours are being conducted, and that the crews out in the field are participating and getting involved in discussion about safety, and giving ideas and suggestions to the tour group. We need to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to support our families, as well as go on working as the professionals we are. Keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing you at the next unit meeting.

Unit 55 – Telecommunications
By Nancy Romero

• We want to congratulate the newly elected leaders of Unit 55! Elections were held on October 20. Frank Govea won for Unit Chair, Claude Petite for Vice-Chair, and David Ausherman for Unit Recorder. We look forward to working together on issues of concern. We encourage you to attend your unit meetings at 4:30, on the third Wednesday of the month, at the Boylston yard. Please come show your support for your new unit officers!

• As part of the Telecomm Joint Labor-Management Committee, the Standards Review Working Group is well on its way to formally documenting the best practices used by the Telecomm Section of the Information Technology Services Business Unit (ITSBU). These specifications will then be integrated into the Specifications Book used by the Power Section.

• We have been participating in discussions regarding a contract for the Installation of Cable by the Fiber Optic Enterprise Group. We are exploring how the Communication Cable Worker (CCW) series will be plugged into this contract. Primarily, we are discussing how the installation work can be done by CCWs during the construction phase, and who will do the maintenance once the project is completely built. We will keep you abreast of our progress at unit meetings and through the Surge.

• Worker Safety Tours (WSTs) are going well. We are once again on schedule (please refer to the schedule in the Telecomm Section of the Department’s Intranet). We are asking for volunteers on behalf of Local 18 to join us on the Telecomm tours. Please contact me at 213/387-8274, ext. 113, if you are interested in joining the ITS Worker Safety Group.

Unit 63 – UG Construction
By Barry Poole

• At our October 19 Unit meeting, we nominated and elected officers. Raymundo Padilla was elected Unit Chair and Paul Williams was elected Unit Vice-Chair. Congratulations to both brothers!

• At the same meeting, we held a lively discussion about the Class Specification change. Please plan to attend your Unit 63 meeting for more information on this and other issues!

Unit 64 – Azusa
By Bill Lewis

• The contract extension was ratified on October 19. It is retroactive to July 1, 2004. The City has agreed to start negotiations for a successor MOU in January, 2005. We have many issues to resolve, and with the contract extension and a commitment to start negotiations right after the holidays, I am confident we will be able to conclude negotiations favorably by the end of the extension.

• Paul Braconier was re-elected as Unit Chair, Ed Beterbide was elected as Vice-Chair, and Maria Padilla was elected Unit Recorder. Congratulations to all of you!