Job Safety

OSHA-10 Safety Training for IBEW 1837 Members at FPL Now Underway

IBEW 1837 members from FPL receiving OSHA-10 training in Lewiston in February 2009.

February 25, 2009 - IBEW 1837 and FPL are working together with IBEW 567 to provide OSHA-10 training to all union employees at FPL in Maine.

The OSHA 10 Hour Program was developed to introduce employees to the basic practices of identifying, reducing, eliminating and reporting hazards associated with their work. All IBEW 1837 members working at FPL will take the course. Classes are being provided by the training department of IBEW Local 567 and take place at their union hall in Lewiston, Maine. Training sessions are scheduled on a variety of dates so that all employees can attend.

 

Member vs. Member Disputes Undermine Union

 

Sometimes members hang other members out to dry.October 28, 2008 - Union stewards and officers continue to spend a significant amount of time and energy contending with large problems resulting from conflicts between IBEW 1837 members. Some small problems became larger ones when members chose to escalate their disagreements to the point where representatives of management became active players in their disputes.

“Sometimes there are problems when one union member thinks that another member is doing something wrong like not following the terms of our contract or mistreating other employees,” said IBEW 1837 Business Manager Cynthia Phinney. “If the first thing that they do is go to management, instead of trying to work it out or consulting their shop steward, we may end up in the unfortunate situation of being unable to do anything to help.”

National Safety Council Congress and Expo

Safety Concerns Highlighted for IBEW 1837 Members

IBEW 1837 members Ray Boyle, Bill DeMotta, and Assistant Business Manager Bill Dunn represented our union at the 2006 National Safety Council Congress and Expo in San Diego. The November gathering was billed as "the largest annual event in the world of Safety, Health and the Environment."

The National Safety Council was founded in 1913 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1953. The Council's mission is to educate and influence people to prevent accidental injury and death. Many IBEW locals from around the country gathered at the Congress and Expo for seminars and workshops to explore safety issues for utility workers.

The first day included an all-IBEW caucus. Brother Boyle reports that 65% of all workers are unaware of safety rules or where to find them within their place of employment. However, "Union workers are more educated and safer workers," Boyle said. "Most accidents and fatalities are with non-union workers."

There was a variety of training sessions and seminars for those in attendance. One sobering highlight of the convention was a demonstration on Equal Potential. Brother DeMotta said "it's really eye-opening to see how unprotected lineworkers really are with our current practices!"

Maine Members Testify at Lineworker Safety Hearing

Thirteen members and one family member attended the legislative hearing on March 8, 2001 at the Maine State Capitol. Seven of them gave oral and written testimony in support of the bill. Below is testimony from some of them.

Jane Allen
Dale Blethen
Joan Blethen
Bob Dodge
Dana Hayes
Bob Reed


Jane Allen's Testimony

Senator Ferguson, Representative Savage, Honorable Committee Member:

My name is Jane Allen and I am a resident of West Gardiner. I am here to speak in support of LD 0869 and to urge you to pass the "Lineworker Safety Act."

I am employed as a dispatcher for Central Maine Power and would like to speak to the issue of working alone from the perspective of being at the other end of the radio. I am the one that calls and wakes the duty people up at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning to send them out to outages and other trouble calls.

Maine Legislature to Consider Lineworker Safety Act

The parents of Brent Churchill, a member of this local who died tragically while restoring electrical power after a storm in 1999, have worked with their local legislator, Representative Walter Gooley of Farmington, to propose legislation they hope will help prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The draft of the language for the bill (LD 869) became public on Wednesday, February 14.

Some of the provisions in the bill are similar to conditions IBEW Local 1837 negotiated Central Maine Power following Brent's death. This bill, however, would cover all lineworkers in Maine, not just those employed by CMP.

The bill must go through several steps before it can become law, and there are opportunities along the way to either make it stronger or to weaken the protections it proposes. 
1) There will be a public hearing on the bill, where anyone who is interested may offer their opinions - including proposed changes - in the form of testimony to the Labor Committee. 
2) Then the committee will have a work session, where the wording of the bill as it will be presented to the full legislature is worked out, as well as whether to recommend passage or defeat. 
3) Finally the House and Senate debate and vote on the bill, and may again change the language in the process.