soapbox

8/21/07

Congratulations on a job well done Dennis. I know you did an excellent job of representing the interests of the membership of Local 483 and that your leadership will be missed. I, with only a couple of exceptions, always enjoyed working with you to resolve the issues we faced. We did not always see eye to eye, but to always agree would have not looked good for either of us. Well, here I am wishing you the very best in the future, using of all places, your (words omitted) website. Take care friend. Mike Middleton

Thanks, Mike. I liked working with you too. You were tough but honest and I generally knew where you stood on issues. Even though I can't print some of the things we said to each other (or about each other), I've always respected you. I wish you many years of happy retirement. Dennis

8/20/07

Dennis, the members of Local 483 will miss you.  I am going to miss your leadership of our union.  In the past we may not have agreed on every issue before our union but one got the sense that whatever direction you went in, you felt it was for the good of the membership at large.  I shall miss you as the president of our local, but more so I shall miss you as a friend.  I wish you all the best in your upcoming retirement, you certainly have earned it. - Erhard Hofmann
Thank you, Erhard. You're right - we didn't always agree. But I always knew you were one of the brightest, most honest and dedicated officers that I have every worked with. Truthfully, I would have liked to see you deal with the company at the highest union levels. You would have been awesome. I know you are not too far behind me for retirement. I too, wish you the best. Your friend, Dennis.

8/10/07

It was explained in a four hour meeting to myself and the other instrument specialists at Beaumont Base due to the fact we drive trucks that are over 10,000# GVW we are required to maintain a log. We are not required to have a class A license. Erhard Hofmann

8/8/07
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't the new log book rule specifically for those who possess a Class "A" licence and would be driving a vehicle over 10,000lb. GVW (boom truck, dump truck etc.), not for those who drive 1/2 and 3/4 ton pickups for their normal work. Bill C

8/8/07

As each day passes here with my career with the Gas Company, I am finding more and more reasons to look forward to retirement. The latest lunacy being foisted on us by a govermental agency and our own ineptitude to prevent it, is the keeping of a driver's logbook. Now, the logbook in and of it's self, is not such a big deal. The rules that acompany it's useage are. I can only work a maximum of 15 hours in a day. That is not a bad thing, seven more than I actually care for but hey, it is a limit. If however I get called out on an emergency all bets are off! My emergency hours can actually be subtracted from my initial 15. If I worked enough emergency hours I could be back to zero. Why this would mean that I am recharged and ready to go! This is the kind of accounting that made Enron a household name. It is my understanding that the folks at Edison have no plans to participate in this lunacy and will combat it through legal channels. Gee, weren't they almost insolvent? Erhard Hofmann

6/19/07

Here's something to think about,

1. If the PUC allows the Company to charge the Rate payer 100% for our benefits…….then WHY do we pay anything at all?

2. If our benefits cost the Company NOTHING……then Why are we paying anything?

3. Is all or part of the monies we pay going to some bodies ICP?

I know that Pac Bell(AT&T) does NOT charge their employees for their Basic medical benefits for the employee's entire family. This includes those in out of area including retirees. Also in Pac Bell, their employees only need 75 points to retire.

Vic Kingsley

6/17/07

I know of a recent management retiree who bought a house out of state before his actual retirement. What a surprise he received close to his retirement to be told because he is considered out of area for medical insurance, he will need to pay $400/month for medical coverage. This was the first any of us had heard of these outrageous charges. So much for his 35+ years working for the Gas Company. The company can recoup these expenses as part of the rate case.

Thank you Dennis for always fighting the good fight. Claudia Turner

6/13/07

This Medical insurance issue is something every Union Represented employee should be concerned about. While it may not effect you now, it Will when you retire. If you would like to move to some place cheaper to live during retirement, guess what, now you are out of area and you would be required to pay these higher rates. Retirement isn't the time you need higher bills to Pay. Many management retiree's who moved out of the Los Angeles area are being hit with bill's from the Gas Company in the area of $700 to $850 a month for their medical coverage for themselves and their spouse. Most people can get their own medical insurance for that amount. If this is what they are doing to management think what they will do to the represented people if this door is opened! THIS EFFECTS EVERYONE!!!!!!!

Just remember, when Steve Baum retired he got free medical insurance from the corporation. I think he could have probably afforded $850 a month for medical coverage don't you! Make less pay more, I don't think so! Ardie Jones

Right on, Ardie.......   DZ

6/12/07

In reference to the "Out-of-Area" Medical Insurance, I was not aware there was a problem with it ! And I don't know of anyone who does not like it in the Blythe area. Bill Jones

Bill, during the last negotiations the company put a proposal on the table to charge the "Out of Area" medical plan participants with excessively high monthly contributions because of the great expense to the company to insure the out of area folks. I think there is a good chance that they will try to punish those folks again during the next negotiations - even though it is not their fault that no other insurance (that the company agrees with) is available to them. Besides, you do not have a "low cost option" such as an HMO. Some out of area participants are paying more than they want to because the company has made no effort to provide other types of coverage. Thanks for the input. Dennis Zukowski

4/23/07

Well, here's logic for you. At Goleta Station management has decided to spend several thousand dollars to re-arrange work areas in the office to put station maintainence personnel in there. These station personnel already have a office and shop building in the plant. So managements planning on moving them further from their work and disrupt the Ladies already working in the office by making their work areas smaller. At the same time the station is in desperate net of painting. There is exposed pipe through out the plant that is coated in rust. Because of lead paint we are only allowed to strip and repaint VERY small sections at a time. Because of this the company has to hire Lead Removal Companies. This is where the money should be used. This, of course, is a DOT issue. However, to local management RUST is a non issue. What's really important is spending thousands to moving people around. Well, I hope the fines are not too high to effect my ICP. OH SHOOT!!!!! I don't get an ICP!

Vic Kingsley

4/12/07

Dennis,
A comment was posted (2 entries previous) about Human Resources cancelling bids for bidders coming from outside the Transmission unit into Transmission / Storage positions. My own personal (limited) knowledge of the situation is this:

I have personally encouraged fellow employees from outside units to apply for rumored SOS job openings at one of our storage fields. These bids were submitted and accepted, but all of their SOS bids have been summarily dropped or purged within the past week (give or take), without warning, reason or notification. One of these employees called Human Resources for some sort of explanation, thinking he may have been the victim of a technological glitch. The Human Resources representative explained to him that he would need to achieve satisfactory performance in a Station Tech position to bid for the Station Operations Specialist.

I am 100 % positive that this is a new development, at least at the Human Resources level. I am aware of at least 4 new hires into the SOS position from outside the Transmission unit in the last 3 months. Today, I checked the job profile for SOS, and it states, verbatim,

"Minimum Qualifications.......

..... Must have previous satisfactory experience as a Transmission Technician or equivalent. Must pass a pre-qualification examination.

Desired Qualifications

Experience in the Transmission Technician-Station Specialty classification....."

Of course, you are already familiar with the language. Now that I have re-read that language for myself, I can see why this may have happened to these applicants, but as I stated earlier, I am aware of at least 4 recent situations/hirings where use of this stipulation was not the case.

In the past week, I have discussed this with a few experienced and knowledgeable employees. Some say that whether you hire in as a SOS or ST is subject to the discretion of Facility Management, dependent on the needs of the facility. Others say that there is definitely something fishy going on.

I do not wish to influence any opinions, or spread unsubstantiated rumors. I am hoping someone here in the Soapbox can explain whats going on, so we can kill the growing rumors (if they are innaccurate) & avoid the spread of misinformation through our group.

Thank you. Eric Morris

Eric,

This issue is not altogether new. It surfaced at Goleta a few years ago. The difference is that it was local management that was turning down the job bidders for not being qualified. Now HR Staffing has stepped in and is doing the dirty work for local management. And yes, they have cleared the bid deck of anyone who does not have Transmission or Storage experience.

We have grievances in various stages of prosecution. So does Local 132. Marti Harris (Local 132's President) and I have been working together on this. Employees who are Local 132 members (and who get turned down for a T&S job) usually need to file a grievance with their union. (The company claims that we do not represent them - Local 132 does.) What I have been doing is grieving this as general discrimination or unfair hiring practices. Yes, I am aware of employees with no T&S experience being hired as SOS. I believe the fact that we are using this against the company as a basis for discrimination complaints has prompted Staffing to take the drastic actions that it has. However, they opened Pandora's Box when they played favorites and hired some but not others. This is far from over........   With no relation to your posting, I faxed the company the following info request about this subject earlier today. CLICK HERE to see the letter. It is an Adobe Acrobat pdf file. Thanks for your input. Dennis

4/10/07

Dennis, I feel the company's pain that it is unable to retain qualified people. Maybe if the greedy @#$% at the top would not come up with ideas like part time employees, contracting out to minimize the regular workforce and a host of other money saving ideas (just so they can accrue more lucrative stock options and golden parachutes) they might not be facing this manpower crisis.

The cost of living in Pacific region is outrageous. My father still owns a house he bought for 16K in 1962. It is worth just under a million now and trust me it is not an estate. Sadly the only viable option a regular gas company employee has is to commute. This is less than desirable because of the gas company's on call requirement, antiquated shift schedules and the horror of traffic gridlock.

The solutions to these problems are going to rely on more than union concessions due to the company's ill conceived use of part time employees. The union should make NO concessions until the part time work force is eliminated and meter readers are no longer treated as an expendable work force. - Erhard Hofmann

4/6/09

We have just been informed by a supervisor transmission & storage bidders have to come from inside the work unit. Bidders from outside the unit have had their bids cancelled. Just another attempt by the company to create a problem where one doesn't exist. Would the person off the street go to the same training as a bidder would? Sounds like the POPCO scam, people going to Goleta when company bidders were turned down for NO reason! Name Withheld.

Below is my email response to a similar concern raised by one of our members. Dennis Z

Our contract is still in place and it defines how our bid system is to be used to fill vacant jobs. However, the company is asking the JSC to let it hire some already trained applicants from the street - in exchange for making some part time employees full time. They want to hire graduates of city and county job training programs - when they have the experience and training our employees need. I've already told them that Local 483 doesn't want to have any part of this No bids have been closed or cancelled to my knowledge. There is no agreement in place about this at all. The company wants to meet with the Joint Steering Committee this coming Monday to talk about it. So far it's all talk. As soon as I know more I will bring everyone up to date on what is being said. Til then nothing has changed and there is nothing concrete to report. Take care. Dennis.

3/29/07

I can't believe that the officers of 132 marched with the Amnesty for Illegal Aliens crowd. Illegal Aliens working for lower wages are going to be the downfall of this country and most unions. Shame on them for supporting law breakers!   Name withheld.

3/5/07

I just tried to access "my info" from my home computer and it seems our IT group just hasn't made the transition to the latest version of Explorer. I suppose I could wait till Monday, and access this information but that sort of negates my going paperless.

The company urges it's employees to utilize the computer to access everything from our benefits, pay stubs, retirement plan, make changes in designations and yet they are unable to keep up with upgrades to access this same information. At my house, I have fiber optic running to my router. At my work station we must have the equivalent of two tin cans and a length of string. I am amazed at how long something takes to go through some times. I frequently have to access manuals in PDF format from various vendors so I can figure out how all this new "whiz bang" equipment we buy works. The training at the Gas Company these days is dismal, but that would be another post altogether.- Erhard Hofmann

2/10/07

As a member of another "small" local, I want to thank you for your tireless efforts on behalf of member of other locals. All of the small locals with their specific job related issues would be lost in the bureaucracy of Local 132. I have many friends in 132 who are disappointed with the representation they receive with their concerns. Your website has become a source of information of member of other locals. We all appreciate your efforts. I'm thankful you will be at the contract negotiations this year. We need your strong and reasonable voice

Thank you again

Claudia Turner

Local 522

Thank you, Claudia. I appreciate your kind thoughts. Dennis

2/5/07

Well Dennis, it seems as though when it comes to Local 132 giving up It's power, their leadership has quit a tizzy fit. As witnessed by their letter to national (see Pipeline Express). Isn't that what They want the other locals to do? Local 132's leadership thinks it can represent all UWUA members in the Gas Company better as one local. Under their leadership, of course. Well 132 hasn't helped all their members, only those positions that have a large voting block. Local 132's officers also spent a great deal of time and money supporting workers that are either not part of the Gas Company (i.e. Hotel workers) or are in the United States illegally. Why would I want them to represent me. It seems to me that 132's leadership only cares about Their own future. Like moving on to National. Look at their past Officers and see how many of them are in national. The membership of ALL locals depend on their elected Officers to support them. NOT those who are NOT employed by the Gas Company. What I have seen in the other Locals in the Gas Company is that their elected Officials work for their members. NOT out trying to get positions in National. Each Local should have an equal voice and equal vote in the JSC. Local 132 doesn't even give equality to it's own work force. Let the Vote be equal in the JSC and have the JSC elect a chairperson for the JSC. OK now I'm just rambling.

Vic Kingsley

1/29/07

Dennis. the thought of the leadership at local 132 making decisions on my behalf is so distasteful to me that in the event they succeed in there in there hostile take over I would have no way to show my displeasure, other than to withdraw from the union. This something that I do not want to do, but under the circumstances I see no other way to show my displeasure………Jim McClukey.

1/26/07

Dennis, please post this to the Soapbox. I posted an earlier entry through the Soapbox regarding the good folks at Local 132 but it was not posted.

32 years ago I was a member of Local 132. Due to my dissatisfaction with their leadership I and a majority of 132 members at the Santa Monica Base joined with the Chemical workers when we were given the opportunity to do so. After transferring to Transmission here in Beaumont I joined the independent union that represented the folks of Blythe and Beaumont. A time came when myself and others felt we should join with the rest of Transmission and Storage. We did, and I do not regret it. I can't say the same about the misguided individuals of Local 132. If I am forced to join 132, I will resign from the union. They will have accomplished something that even the company could not do during the period when we worked without a contract. - Erhard Hofmann

1/23/07

Dear Mr. Zukowski:

I appreciate your confidence in the opinion of one individual and would like to thank you for the accuracy of your letter to President Langford.

Yet, considering the level of politicking which exists in Local 132, I do not believe the dream you have envisioned - or anything like it - is possible under its current elected leadership. As the saying goes, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

It is my hope that some day in our career a shared autonomy may come to fruition. One where selfless motivation to improve our ability to better serve all members - part- and full-time - becomes as effortless as breathing. One where representatives - stewards to president - are keenly aware of and familiar with their duties - practiced in all aspects of the business and proud to serve. This I believe would ease the transition for each new generation of representatives to take the helm and successfully guide our members through unpredictable and challenging waters.

Yes, I believe decisions should be made through a collective effort - including the input from the members.

Louis Correa, Steward

1/21/07

Dennis, that was a well written letter that you sent to National. I agree with the contents of the letter fully. Local 132 has a history within It's own local of sacrificing smaller work groups to benefit larger work groups. So, I cannot see one local for all Union members in the company. Local 132's officers have shown that they do not have the Membership in their best interests. The officers of 132 only care about their own political aspirations. The best example of this is when 132 Officers marched in support of illegal aliens recently. If anything, illegals undermine Unions by working for much less pay, often below the minimum wage, and no benefits. If 132's leadership cannot support Unions how can they support their own local. It's time to divide up 132 into 3 or 4 different locals so that all work groups have a say. And by all means leave the other Locals and Unions in the company alone. Thanks Vic Kingsley

12/4/05

Congratulations to Mike Minor on his reelection to Trustee of Local 483. I know he will continue to do a great job for the Membership. Vic Kingsley"

11/28/06

So, you think you have little say in what happens in your local now? If we ever merge with local 132 you will have even less say. 132 has there own agenda and it doesn't include you. Transmission would be such a small voting block. We would be shunted to the side every time. Moreover, it would be "PAY BACK TIME" for some of the 132 officers. Lets not make this mistake....... Jim McClukey

11/28/06

Dennis:

Thank you - and the members of Local 483 - for their candid statements. I hope more will be posted to Local 483's "Soapbox." I appreciate their honesty and hope to meet more of them, soon.

Respectfully,

Louis Correa, Steward.

11/22/06

I do not ever want to merge w/ 132. They have always been unresponsive to the needs of thier members, and that hasn't changed. When I ask our leadership a question, I always get an answer. I may not like the answer, but at least I know my concerns are heard and considered in 483. In 132, the only time I saw 'em was at election time, when they would tell me how to vote while giving me as little information as possible. Who needs 'em? Scott Hoskins

11/22/06

I want absolutely nothing to do with the leadership of Local 132!  They spend
more time grandstanding for political purposes then they do for their member's
rights.  If you truly want to fragment and destroy the union, merge us with
132.- Erhard Hofmann

11/22/06

Regarding the post about ill equipped management people.  The company treats
lower level management in such a way that you are not going to get an
experienced seasoned employee to take the job.  Unless some poor soul goes the
management route because of health issues, bad knees, back etc. no otherwise
qualified employee would take the job.  I have seen how these people have been
treated in the past (remember the arbitary downsizing)and am thankful I never
joined their ranks.  As long as upper management holds the belief that just
being in their presence on occaision is ample reward, you will not see the best
or brightest applying. - Erhard Hofmann

11/21/06

Since I have NO say in Local 132's Leadership I don't want them making choices
for me. I VOTE for Officers in Local 483 NOT Local 132. Local 132 has it's
agenda, and that's OK. However, their agenda doesn't always agree with the
issues involving the members of Local 483's Membership. As a past member and
Shop Steward of Local 132 I have seen time and again 132's leadership give up
the needs of smaller work groups to support the larger work groups in their
local. Especially during contract talks. I DO NOT support Block voting. Nor do
I support my dues going to Local 132.  Each Local has it's own issues to deal
with in the Company. Let each Local deal with it.  Vic Kingsley

11/21/06

I am curious to see of what opinion the membership of Local 483 is of the
current situation regarding the per capita voting system the president of Local
132 is demanding of the other Utility Workers' locals and the other four locals
of the Chemical Workers union.

Question: Would Local 483's membership be willing to entrust the majority
vote of the Joint Steering Committee to be in the hands of one local or to be
more specific - one individual?

Any comments would be appreciated.

With Sincere Solidarity,

Louis Correa, Steward.

Louis,
I've tried not to inflame the situation that is occurring at the JSC by not reporting it on the Pipeline Express. The proposed changes to the JSC by-laws made by Marti Harris are in my opinion a hostile take-over attempt. The changes would force local unions (Local 132 especially) to “block” vote. That is, nobody on the JSC from Local 132 would be able to vote their conscience. Instead they would have to vote lock step with the other Local 132 members. Couple that with the other proposed change that would allow the JSC - by a majority vote (controlled by Local 132) - to impose an unlimited per-capita tax on the other locals to be used for whatever purpose the majority of the JSC (Local 132) wanted. This is unacceptable to us. It is disruptive to the work of the JSC since every local union at the Gas Company (except Local 132) opposes such changes. Nevertheless, Local 132 is marching ahead with its plan even though it will cause resentments on the JSC that will last for years.

I have spoken to our new National President, Mike Langford about this situation. I’m confident that he can set the situation right. We will be meeting with him in person in December to talk through these issues. Meanwhile, Local 132 continues to alienate the other unions on the property. Oh well. As Ecclesiastes once said, “There’s nothing new under the sun….” Dennis Zukowski

11/14/06

There is a continuous problem with the Management team. They seem to think they can fill positions with people that don't have a clue about the field workers and the work they do. Of course they have many years of college, but NO COMMON SENSE. Let alone any people or management skills. I would much rather work with someone that cannot read well, but has years of experience and knows the job. This is very irritating, and makes for an unhappy work force. WOW, I feel better already... NO NAME

11/14/06

I would like to know what are the job duties of a PIT group planner?

I've never heard of a PIT group planner. We don't have any jobs called that, but that doesn't mean that Pipeline Specialists, etc., do not plan pipeline work. If somebody is being elevated above other employees unfairly, we need to grieve it. If somebody is doing management work without upgrade pay, we need to grieve that. I need more facts........ Thanks.

Dennis Z

9/8/06

Some of us have been beating this drum for some time, and it has become extremely obvious that some managers /supervisors base ALL decisions on how it will effect there ICP. The new mantra appears to be perception is reality and the sooner we understand this the less frustrating it will be. Continue to do your job in the safest and most workman like manner. Hopefully those in decision making positions will see the silliness in this type of thinking. As stock holders with a vested interest in in the company we all want see it do well. Sempra continues to make more money than ever. Obviously there are some intelligent people in these positions. So it appears that they just don't care what affect there decision will have on the rank & file. Jim Mccluskey

9/7/06

Unfortunately, I agree with the previous poster regarding management and their ICP. Every aspect of management's mindset is driven by their hope of receiving an ICP. This current mindset is reflected in everything from the appearance and maintenance of company vehicles, staffing levels in all departments, and material procurement. Erhard Hofmann

9/5/06

Does it surprise anybody that the company is back pedaling on the Meal Deal?
99% of the decisions made in this company are money and ICP based. Doesn't
matter what's right or wrong but what brings in the most Money! Change a date
or lie a little on a report to keep that Bonus!   No Name.......

8/20/06

A very serious situation that needs to be addressed in transmission is the aging work force. An entry level position needs to be created to supplement the positions already established and no, management can't utilize them for uphill duties which would create a de facto trans tech for lower pay. They would work in conjunction with Pipeline or Welder Specialists performing the maintenance and repair work. In desert region we have several job classifications that are utilized outside of their specific job classifications. This is a hold over from the old "empowerment" program and is contributing to the future manpower crisis. Current management is reaping the rewards via their ICPs from this very short sighted approach but eventually the workforce attrition numbers will bring this practice crashing down on them. - Erhard Hofmann

8/17/06

Regarding Bob's submission on acquiring comp time for overtime I can see a few perils. The last few years I have worked a substantial amount of overtime. I frequently fall into the double time rate for hours worked. With comp time I would receive my hourly rate in vacation for time worked and the company would pocket that other hour of pay for my many extended shifts. This would encourage the company to continue to work me longer and not even give consideration to hiring extra employees. I feel that overtime should become such an expensive proposition that it becomes a last resort to getting the work done and not the way it currently is utilized to make up for staffing shortages. - Erhard Hofmann

8/16/06

We're asked for our suggestions for what we'd want in new contracts often and I got an idea from the union agreement my dad has with his union as a security officer.

In his union's agreement, they bank overtime. This means, every hour of overtime you use is added up, but not paid immediately. Once you have saved 240 hours of overtime, anything over that is allowed to be used as vacation time at regular pay, or you can cash out your overtime at overtime pay at any time. Even though I have a position that won't get me that many hours any time soon, it would be nice to be able to build up my overtime just so that I could get it all in one lump sum around Christmas or other times throughout the year so that it doesn't just "disappear" amongst the taxes and other fees taken from my check. Also, if I ever did get above 240 hours of overtime, it would be worth it for me to use that as vacation...afterall, I spent that time away from my family and it would be very beneficial to be able to use that as time spent with my family...and still get paid. What do you think? I love it! Bob Coleman.

5/13/06
Dennis, I'm not thrilled by those numbers either. But that isn't what the workers earn. That's what the contractors charge, and that includes wages, worker's comp, medical, and the other things an employer chips in on, plus overhead and profit. If you looked at what the Gas Company invoices people on a charge back situation, you'd probably find the numbers are just as scary.

It does prove that the savings they think they're getting from the "flexibility" of being charged per job instead of keeping in-house crews full-time is largely illusory. A lot of those workers work on gas company projects forty hours a week and twelve months of the year, so there's no excuse for not having company crews working instead. If doing that only shaved the contractors' profits off the cost, it would be worth it. Troy Stallard

5/27/06

Once again Erhard has the shown his ability to cut thru the B.S. and get to the point. I am responsible for my safety first then yours. I will continue to work as safely as possible, no one wants to get hurt, but when you see a safety issue don't be intimidated speak up. There is an old saying "HE WHO STANDS SILENT, IS THOUGHT TO CONSENT. don't stand by, step up or at lest don't criticize the few that will. Jim McCluskey

5/26/06

I am appalled by the overusing of contractors not so much because of their pay scales but rather the quality of the workforce employed. So many jobs are done by non-union workers so the low level of training is evident. Usually the welders are fairly competent but the laborers assigned to help are generally clueless. When doing hot tie-ins, I have had to explain many times why the guy holding the torch has to maintain the visibility of the flame. Generally after hearing my explanation, the worker's eyes get really big and he is wondering if he really wants to be there.

A few weeks ago they sent contract crews through our area to weed the valve stations. The contractor was not licensed to apply any herbicide so guess what, three weeks later the weeds have returned to their former glory. We would be better off transporting goats and rotating them among the valve stations!

Getting back to the pay scales mentioned in your post, I am certain that the individual non-union workers do not receive that type of compensation for their labor. That is merely the "shop rate" charged by the contractor. The boys at the "top" have to get there's, just ask Baum.

Remembering the bedlam that was the '94 earthquake, with our paired down, older workforce, heavy reliance on inexperienced contractors, the next one ought to be a hoot.- Erhard Hofmann

5/23/06

How do you get your position PAQ studied? I've been told numerous times that my position should be a level 5 and that a PAQ hasn't been done in over 5 years. Who do I talk to about getting a study done and how long does it take? Bob Coleman

Bob, page 196 of the Agreement answers most of your questions. I'm not sure what job you are referring to about being PAQed. If you are in Transmission or Storage you would talk to me about the PAQ. Otherwise, you would do best to talk to your local president, whomever that is....... Dennis Z

5/23/06

I have nothing against safety committees, and I've been on a couple myself. But if we have no right to voice our opinions concerning safety and safety programs unless we belong to a committee, someone needs to arrange meeting places large enough to accomodate the entire work force. Troy Stallard

5/22/06

I would like to respond to "Larry". Though you have the right to voice your opinion that I am wrong regarding my deeply held beliefs concerning safety and how the company chooses to implement safety practices, you do not have the right to silence me. Because I refuse to lend credence to the "Amway" atmosphere of the safety committees, does not mean I do not take safety seriously.

They just implemented a new program at our base. They put up a whiteboard and every day a different person is supposed to put up some type of safety slogan. Other than a form of mild amusement, this accomplishes nothing. Larry, have you ever been told to grind out damage on a high pressure pipeline and refused to because you could see the pipe "breathing"? Have you ever worked so many tie-ins back to back that you didn't know what day it was? I stand by my statement in an earlier posting that money and operating concerns have and will continue to override safety.

I do agree with you that safety is an individual responsibity. I also agree that most sensible ideas come from the ground up. I draw the line when it comes to people performing little skits and "rah-rahing" each other produces anything productive. So fly your banners, write your slogans and march on. I shall continue to work as safely as is prudent for a given situation knowing that the only one who truly has my back is me. I shall also voice my opinions regarding safety and other concerns without the burden of joining a club or committee of some type. The country I was born in was big on banners, slogans, and joining the party, look at the nightmare they created. - Erhard Hofman

5/18/06.

Complaints about the company not caring about safety are fine (if somewhat exaggerated), but if YOU really care about safety, are you doing anything about it? Have you volunteered to become a member of your base's Safety Committee?

I am a member of the Safety Committee at my base, and I feel we have done some really positive things and have tried to make a difference. Not every action has to come from the top-down-- some things work from the bottom-up. Safety is ultimately each employee's responsibility.

So when you attack things like Safety Banners and say the company doesn't care about safety, you are actually attacking your Safety Committee first and foremost, since they are your closest link to safety-related programs. And if
you are not happy with them, then join them and get your ideas into action. Otherwise you have no business complaining. Larry