Just when you think it wont get WORSE

[reppy007]

I received a text today and could not believe some of it, so I make a call to the lineman who happens to work for Centerpoint Energy.Now I need to ask if it were true.So this is what Im hearing from my old fellow lineman.Can you believe...and Im sure you can or will that they are getting away from working 7,200 hot.Its getting to the point where they have to isolate the section of line before working on it .....there goes the trade we once knew!Another thing was working 480.....you can call it what you want 277/480.Well they have to wear flash jackets and face shields along with the normal stuff like rubber gloves and flash glasses/hardhats.They are getting to the point where that doesnt have to happen,cause they have to kill the bank and ground the secondaries to work it dead .Basically only on new services will they be able to work it hot.I might add that the utility hands now have 3 different contractors working at the same center.So from what he is saying is the utility guys are only shooting trouble and setting meters.I mentioned to him that on the bright side ....its easy money......for now anyway.Well he stated that these newer guys dont know what a morgan winder is....so there you have it .....Can you imagine?A lineman asking what is needed to pull in wire....it sure looks bad if you ask me, the thing is ,nobody is asking me.Anyway ...life goes on....doesnt it ?

[reppy007]

Here is another fact:There are more headlineman/leadlineman than they are JYs.So that means most work is being done by the lead....still lacking experience like the past.What all this means is there is a large gap between the helpers/apprentices and the experienced guys.Most experienced guys are up in age and wont be on a pole with a younger lineman like it was once done.They are waiting to get out of there when they can ,leaving the younger ones no real good chances of development in which should be a priority in the trade.

[Orgnizdlbr]

Here is another fact:There are more headlineman/leadlineman than they are JYs.So that means most work is being done by the lead....still lacking experience like the past.What all this means is there is a large gap between the helpers/apprentices and the experienced guys.Most experienced guys are up in age and wont be on a pole with a younger lineman like it was once done.They are waiting to get out of there when they can ,leaving the younger ones no real good chances of development in which should be a priority in the trade.

Welcome to my world.......

[bobbo]

I have seen the skill set go down quite a bit. You go to one place where you hang a temp or parallel new cans in. You go to another part of the country and they think handling primary is like an atomic bomb.

the areas where lineman suck is where there is no older lineman. And where there are clicky groups of young guys. That haven't worked any where.

I love where I work. My foreman might be 60 or 30. But we take care of each other. Very skilled lineman. And the men are good quality people and great personalities. The local is the most respected in the country. When they get our locals hands as travelers we are known as good hands not turds.

if you are a turd as an apprentice you are shown the door quickly.

[reppy007]

I have seen the skill set go down quite a bit. You go to one place where you hang a temp or parallel new cans in. You go to another part of the country and they think handling primary is like an atomic bomb.

the areas where lineman suck is where there is no older lineman. And where there are clicky groups of young guys. That haven't worked any where.

I love where I work. My foreman might be 60 or 30. But we take care of each other. Very skilled lineman. And the men are good quality people and great personalities. The local is the most respected in the country. When they get our locals hands as travelers we are known as good hands not turds.

if you are a turd as an apprentice you are shown the door quickly.

I do believe its getting to that point,working hot primary can be done safe.Its like salt and pepper,its a part of the trade in which we chose,no lineman in the states would quit a job due to working hot primary.If that were the case he wouldn't belong in the trade in the first place.Years ago places where I worked were well rounded,you had the right number of helpers,apprentices ,Jy's and lead-lineman....each knowing their jobs and what was expected of them.And that meant a Jy would climb a pole and supervise an apprentice working hot secondary if needed and took pleasure in doing so.

[Pootnaigle]

A man should have pride in both his work and his local union and its reputation

[Orgnizdlbr]

A man should have pride in both his work and his local union and its reputation

Amen brother!

[bobbo]

With a three and half year apprenticeship. You would have knowledge and experience to tackle a lot of situations.

Seen guys go go to those 6 mo. Lineman colleges, work for a year non Union and get a ticket somehow. Seen transmission techs try to go right into distribution as a white ticket, never have any distribution as a grunt. Couldn't tell you the difference between hot primary and the bell, want a journeyman lineman ticket in three months of evaluation. Seen guys have tickets from questionable areas have flashes every other day.

As far as the men I know, from my area, the worst one is more qualified than the best in other locals.

Solving this problem. having one recognized training program for this country. Have everyone as an apprentice go through it. Have a one year evaluation for all white tickets. Have a committees to review those white tickets.

Keep local apprentices away from travelers who are questionable. Those that flip flop Union to non Union for their convenience. To me their scabs and very untrustworthy. Never seen one without a bottle of piss and a meth or crack stem on them, or pill heads- oxies or Xanax.

all those lineman colleges and military, Wichita Falls, electrical systems specialist course, give them a 10% pay increase for their sacrifice, let them start at 70% and have them go through the whole apprenticeship it doesn't help them to give them a linemans ticket when I see 5th steps school these guys.

Send 1st steps and 2nd steps to transmission to get the climbing and rigging skills. Transmission is a great teacher of rigging.

Then 3rd step on, do distribution.

i think in Canada they have a real good system. Everything goes through the Dept. of Labor.'and you have to have a red seal to work. So the government holds your documentation for your training and that red seal test... Really wanes out the slackers and duds.

i don't mind guys coming from the non Union side to the union side. I have met and worked with a lot great ones. But I have met a lot of duds:'running from felony warrants, guys who don't have drivers licenses, guys that have to take off work daily to get a dose of methadone... You name it, I have seen it. I have dragged jobs where the quality of men were the bottom of the barrel. Met a guy that dropped out in the 7th grade, couldn't read and write, and he is a JL? And sure enough.... People on those jobs and got hurt or killed.

the quality of men does matter in this trade. And the union has a sorting out process that has kept me safe for a long time. And I am grateful for it.

i get get all those lineman dead posts and they are too many of them from the South where they aren't organized. And who knows about their training, integrity... If they are a quality guy?

This is trade is about trust, solidarity, knowledge and you need people of good character, not a warm body to fill a job.

[rob8210]

Hey Bobbo, I have to agree with ya , its getting harder and harder to find decent fellas to work with. I haven't had much experience with US lineman , didn't run into any when I worked in Connecticut . All Canadians where I was. I have found the older guys are easier to get along with, they may not like ya but they sure know how to work with ya. Now the young Journeyman are all arrogant and full of themselves, and don't want to listen to the voice of experience. I am leery of the schools, more because I have watched some of the outdoor training of one school and was not impressed, for example , not teaching how to operate a running handline including not teaching how to wind it up when finished.