Posted: April 18, 2008
Bargaining with PG&E this year will require “Unity for Strength” from every working IBEW 1245/PG&E union member along with every IBEW 1245/PG&E retiree.
Granted , as has been pointed out by the Merced Retirees Club, it will also require outside pressure on upper management at PG&E and local politicians and even the CPUC if necessary, to have our case heard for retiree pension and medical plan improvements. Letter writing and attending Retiree Club meetings as well as regular unit meetings will be a must! We now have five IBEW Local 1245 Retiree Club chapters: Dublin, San Jose, Vacaville, Merced and Santa Rosa.
The five clubs leaders will be meeting again in September at Weakley Hall, the IBEW Local 1245 headquarters at Vacaville. Perry Zimmerman and Jack Hill are the co-chairmen for the retiree meetings and activities for the PG&E contract negotiations. Let's support them both!
We have voted on unit proposals at each of the units, and even put the proposals before the regular unit meetings to be voted on. I have seen some e-mails that are showing that some retirees are wanting to go ahead with their own plans and agendas to start the process before the local union and PG&E have started to exchange ideas. I offer this reminder: strength is in numbers, and not in division.
I retired in 2001 with close to 37 years service with PG&E and IBEW 1245, and retired as a High Voltage Electrician and Shop Steward. Let's keep up the fight for our well-earned benefits, and let’s show we have the required “Unity for Strength.” We need every PG&E union retiree, and every PG&E worker, to make it happen! We as retirees need the support of the workers, and we need to support the workers as well!
Ken Rawles, Unit Recorder
IBEW Local 1245 Retirees Club,
Santa Rosa Chapter