linework

[MI-Lineman]

Not only what Door said but if ya feel you weren't "represented" by the Union you can go after them too! Sorry my fellow brothers but we all know they can be just as crooked as the rest so we need to keep them in check! It costs them money to defend against it and they don't like that! Just hope you're in a Union strong (if there are any anymore?) state?

If this dude is on the up and up then this is the type of hand we need!!

[birdog37]

Ive gone to the national labor relations board,and i also contacted Osha.I have all my documents and E-mails to try and resolve these issues.Like i said the union was quite aware of the situation and so was the company.They even had a 800 compliance # that i called the day we had a near miss.That was the day he chose to use an amp meter to isolate URD in a switch cabinet where there was different loads in there besides the feed and nothing was marked.Then he thought he had the right cables isolated with the amp meter. I asked him your going to test those with the phasing sticks and he said if the fuse blows it blows when he put them on ground.I told him i don't want any part of it.So he proceeded and was successful in grounding them.He did not have them grounded in switch cabinet they were parked on live parking stands.This is another violation because they need to be grounded on both ends.We were to change out a 3 phase tub wye wye 277/48 grounds installed on on this end.We proceeded to change the tub out.I figured he got lucky no fuse blew.One of the cables may need spliced to reach.Luckily they did not.One of the cables was still hot because after the tub was changed when i plugged on the the 1st cable the tub came hot.This was with the cables still isolated in the switch cabinet.I was pissed then, i looked at the foreman with a manager standing there watching and the safety blue hat for the company also there and i said to him(foreman) thats why you test for voltage! His reply was ok know it all.Im here to tell you just like you said (a couple of loons) you would think a lineman let alone a foreman would know better.Can you think of why the fuse never blew? It was a grounded parking stand 2 position with an elbow ground you plug into it.Not enough fault current?The ground tested good.In this cabinet the only other load was going to another 3 phase tub that also was Wye Wye 277/480.Even the engineers were puzzled.The worst part about is they just left it this way with out figuring why! Might as well just keep the trap there.The system is 4160 wye. Thank you for your response.After working with these guys for 3.5 years i was beginning to wonder if im just being over protective. That is why i say what you permit you promote,and it sure sucks because i think the company figured it be easier to get rid of me than retrain 2 journeyman.

[birdog37]

In this industry it is hard for me to stand back and watch someone work stupid.In the last 6 months our local has experienced near misses that are unexcuseable.I stand corrected,its not our local anymore because i was terminated,but when you have personal going up in the air fuzzing a line with the neutral laying on the bucket and wearing just there leather gloves something is way wrong!Working on URD that have tubs not isolated,hold carded or not even grounded to me just makes no sense.
The hardest thing to do is to try and change, a journeyman into to doing something the right way after he's been doing it wrong for so long.Protecting yourself i can see but if someone gets killed your probably going to be disciplined or terminated too.So what do you do? I know its too late for me now but what about any other lineman out there that are facing the same situation that you and i did.Like i said i went to the local 1st.They said its a company training problem.I say it's the foreman and lineman that pass these apprentices threw to the next level.Remember your not doing them any favors,or there spouses.Worst yet he's the guy that could be on the ground watching you when your having a brain fart.Do you really want to pass someone like that threw.Ask your self that next time when you have a border line apprentice buying you coffee to get on your good side.After he buys it tell him him should be looking for another job because it's a whole lot better telling him this now than going to his funeral! I've lost many nights of sleep over me being fired but at the same time i lost many nights sleep over watching loons do line work.
I do sleep better now but it dont pay my bills.I do have an interview next week but how do you explain why you were fired if it comes up?Even after i've been fired this is still haunting me.It's just not right passing these flunkes threw.Other Journeyman deserve better than this too.

[MI-Lineman]

In this industry it is hard for me to stand back and watch someone work stupid.In the last 6 months our local has experienced near misses that are unexcuseable.I stand corrected,its not our local anymore because i was terminated,but when you have personal going up in the air fuzzing a line with the neutral laying on the bucket and wearing just there leather gloves something is way wrong!Working on URD that have tubs not isolated,hold carded or not even grounded to me just makes no sense.
The hardest thing to do is to try and change, a journeyman into to doing something the right way after he's been doing it wrong for so long.Protecting yourself i can see but if someone gets killed your probably going to be disciplined or terminated too.So what do you do? I know its too late for me now but what about any other lineman out there that are facing the same situation that you and i did.Like i said i went to the local 1st.They said its a company training problem.I say it's the foreman and lineman that pass these apprentices threw to the next level.Remember your not doing them any favors,or there spouses.Worst yet he's the guy that could be on the ground watching you when your having a brain fart.Do you really want to pass someone like that threw.Ask your self that next time when you have a border line apprentice buying you coffee to get on your good side.After he buys it tell him him should be looking for another job because it's a whole lot better telling him this now than going to his funeral! I've lost many nights of sleep over me being fired but at the same time i lost many nights sleep over watching loons do line work.
I do sleep better now but it dont pay my bills.I do have an interview next week but how do you explain why you were fired if it comes up?Even after i've been fired this is still haunting me.It's just not right passing these flunkes threw.Other Journeyman deserve better than this too.

I still don't see anything about you seekin legal advice? If your Union failed to "represent" you then go after them!

As for dealin with "loons" I'm not the most well liked individual (mainly from the inexperienced crew leaders and stupers!) when it comes to work because I refuse to let anyone tell me to violate a safety rule or have a "one county boomer" tell me how to do somethin I've already done many a time differently! I'm not afraid of standin up to so called "crew leaders" and the company when it comes to safety and I dam sure have NO problem addressin issues brought up by any one includin apps!

Sure I've skimped on a rule here and there, I don't claim to be perfect, but I try hard to follow the rules set forth to protect me and my co-workers AND I NEVER IMPOSE ONLY SUGGEST WAYS TO DO SOMETHIN ON SOMEONE ELSE! I ONLY BELIEVE IN PUTTIN MY FOOT DOWN WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY!! Other than that if ya got a different way just as safe or your way takes longer but is safe then have at it! As long as it gets done and everyones still standin I really care less how quick you are!

Sorry you had to go through this but I am glad to hear of someone who refuses to cave in when it comes to safety even if it means your job! I know this don't help much but good for you! Wish we could get a few more hands as yourself here!

[birdog37]

Still waiting to hear back from OSHA.Legally I had an attorney take a sworn statement from the International labor relations board.Things are still in the process.I did have an attorney represent me.He claims i live in a state that as a worker you have no rights.The Ibew International representative went to talk to the business manager and he told me that the man is just a very opinionated person and that if nothing else he should file a grievance for the good of the local.I talked with this rep after he met with the B. manager and he said he would not budge.I then asked him what i should do and he said to go to the national labor relations board (off the record thou he said) that is where it stands.You know how attorneys are they fart and want money.Anyone i talk to says i got the shaft.
As for safety,i know what your saying about getting the job done.Im all for what ever way you want to do it as long as its safe to do,and somewhat efficient. Same result in the end but when you have lineman that do things that are unacceptable as a practice you just have to say something because you may get disciplined yourself or fired for letting it happen.Im not a stickler on piddly things like a cone in front of your truck when your at a gas station but if your going to work on a line thats not grounded,test for voltage with an amp meter,ground threw a breaker with no visible open,touch a capacitor with out grounding,
take a crossarm off when your racking out a 3 phase line and leaving the center phase in and hot (7200) and not wearing at least your rubber gloves Im going to say something to you.This is just to name a few things that have occurred while i worked with these guys.They just didn"t want to hear it from me.Then when a manager got involved he said when the safety violation occurs tell the foreman right away.Well if you tell somebody once why should you have to keep bringing it up over and over or better yet now we don't need to do it because ass.ole is not here.I just wish i could of bid out before they fired me.The day they terminated me a job i bid on came off the board which was my old job.I would have lost my seniority again by crossing contracts but a least i would have a job.Thanks for listening and any advice , Birdog37.

[wtdoor67]

Try to find a lawyer with a proven track record in Labor relations and disputes.

If you have plenty of documentation and a good lawyer you might get a shot. Keep in mind that one of the co's tactics is to starve you out. No job, no insurance etc. will make it tough for you.

If you have a ticket get to calling all the locals you can. Basically find a job anywhere you can. Maybe unemployment will help you. Some states will deny unemployment depending upon your dismissal.

[Highplains Drifter]

Birddog37, some times we have to teach other Journeyman by example:

That was the day he chose to use an amp meter to isolate URD in a switch cabinet where there was different loads in there besides the feed and nothing was marked..

Why didn't you get the testers out and have them ready? One is just as guilty by following something wrong and then bitching latter. I take it that you did your apprenticeship at one of the the other power companies before the big merger:

After doing line work for 17 years and making a mistake in witch i crossed contracts Birdog37

It is a fact in line-work that if you did not do your apprenticeship with that sector( power company or construction) they do not accept you as a lineman completely. But what I do not understand is this crossing contracts:

The day they terminated me a job i bid on came off the board which was my old job.I would have lost my seniority again by crossing contracts but a least i would have a job..

Have you talked or looked for blogs on the net with anyone who has won their job back? What is the aftermath if you do get it back? I do know there are two sides to every story and you have told us yours, thanks.

[birdog37]

Your right,there is always two sides to every story.Theres a right way of doing line work and that is trying to follow the rules as close as you can.In my perspective thou and anyone else I've talked to about these issues it makes no sense.I do believe its a lack of common sense that is the real problem.You go from one area to another like i did and see things like working on a line that was energized and they go up and ground it with out even testing it and use there rubber gloves to slap a ground on is just an unthinkable thing to do in this business. Just because they were told the line is dead? Or better yet same company in another area a journeyman lineman goes to a possible outage with a foreman.
Foreman tells him the line is dead. The journeyman goes up to work on the line,has the neutral laying on the bucket and he fuzzes line with a pair of kliens to see if the lines hot wearing his leathers!
I did try some blogs and what they mainly talk about is how somebody is killed or burned every 28 hours in this line of work.I just got to believe that this is just a bad crew/area that i was involved with.I will not get my job back there because the local never filed a grievance on my behalf in the allotted time of 1 month. Good thought thou and appreciate what you said.I believe i need to move on and hope i find another job soon.Wished i would have went to OSHA right away when it didn't work going to the local and or company.

[birdog37]

Birddog37, some times we have to teach other Journeyman by example:





Why didn't you get the testers out and have them ready? One is just as guilty by following something wrong and then bitching latter. I take it that you did your apprenticeship at one of the the other power companies before the big merger:





It is a fact in line-work that if you did not do your apprenticeship with that sector( power company or construction) they do not accept you as a lineman completely. But what I do not understand is this crossing contracts:





Have you talked or looked for blogs on the net with anyone who has won their job back? What is the aftermath if you do get it back? I do know there are two sides to every story and you have told us yours, thanks.

I did my Apprenticeship threw the local before the big merger some 10 years prior.These lineman didn't have to have someone get a tester out for them because they wouldn't go up in the air till they had the appropriate tester.My point is sure i would get anything that is needed to do the job for someone but as a journeyman why would you leave the ground in the first place unless you forgot the tester.This still tells me you must have your head up your a.. if you slap a ground on something with out testing it 1st.As for me being on the ground as the 2nd person(competent person) until they broke us up for a while it didn't matter what i told him because he wouldn't listen anyway.One day i watched him like he"s done before over and over.He had a hold of a bare 7200 jumper from a line and wanted to dead end the phase on the back of another spot on the pole to move it out of the way.Well as he"s holding the bare jumper he"s screwing an eye nut on the pole.I tried telling him he can"t do that because your testing your gloves.He merely said we can"t talk about this without a manager here.I told the manager then theres no sense in be being on the ground watching him break a safety rule such as that.It"s not like i don"t say something that was my problem.They did not want to hear it because thats how he was trained.Same company,same rules just a different culture i was told.Safety is not culture.It" a fuking rule that was implemented because someone was killed maimed or burn"t.Why is that so hard to understand for my former crew members?They may as well have that manager there as the 2nd person.He doesen"t know a bell from a shoe.Managers use to be former lineman but not now they think all they have to do is manage people.Sorry man just blowing off some steam.What suks is there still working and I'm not.birdog37

[cololinehand]

you worked with a bunch of knuckleheads that were lucky to go home at the end of the day. You may want to look at the positive side of getting let go(however unjust) as you won't be part of the accident that is going to happen.

Just curious, what did you say/do when all of this was going on? The JL that fuzzed the "dead" line with his klines and leathers wouldn't have made that far, as he would have been asked where his PPE and test equipment was before leaving the ground. Had he continued on his way he would have been sent packing as soon as I could get his termination slip and cash.

Maybe it's time to travel/move out of the area you are currently in. If you have a JL ticket(you haven't said or I missed it) that would be easy as our work picture is picking up and I've gotten company emails saying we have picked up large projects in the Eastern U.S.

Keep your head up,
Cololinehand