b manager r local 18 and department of water & power … · walter ramirez ulysses aquino ......

July, 2005 • Published for the members of IBEW Local 18 and their families

BUSINESS MANAGER’S REPORT

continued on page 2

By Brian D’ArcyBusiness Manager, Local 18

I am very pleased to report that after extensive discus-sions, IBEW Local 18 and the Los Angeles Department ofWater & Power have reached an agreement on a new five-year contract. By now, you have received the ratificationballot.

I congratulate the members of our Union NegotiatingCommittee (please see all the names on page 2). Our ef-forts have produced an excellent contract, one that willgreatly benefit every Local 18 member and family. It lookslike our “No Contract, No Work” t-shirts were effective!

Here are the highlights of the proposed 2005-2010wage and fringe-benefit package:

Term: five years, beginning October 1, 2005,and ending September 30, 2010

• Effective October 1, 2005,salary ranges shallbe increased by a percentage equal to the percent-age increase in the Consumer Price Index for UrbanWage Earners and Clerical Workers, in the averageU.S. city, as measured from August, 2004 to Au-gust, 2005. If the CPI increases less than—or equalto—3.25%, our salary ranges will increase by thesame rate; if the CPI increases by 6% or more, our salaryranges will also increase by 6%.

• Effective October 1, 2006, salary ranges shall be in-creased by a percentage equal to the percentage increasein the CPI, as measured from August, 2005 to August2006. If the CPI increases less than—or equal to—3.25%,our salary ranges will increase by the same rate; if the CPIincreases by 6% or more, our salary ranges will also increaseby 6%.




The Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU)may be re-opened for consideration of wages onlyin the fourth and fifth year, upon mutual consent.

• 50/30 terminates on September 30, 2005.However, subject to the adoption of a Plan agree-ment by the Retirement Plan Board of Administra-tion, any employee who is fully eligible for the50/30 retirement option as of September 30, 2005,may exercise the option until January 1, 2006, pro-vided that they:

1) have filed by November 1, 2005 for retirement onor before January 1, 2006

2) are separated from employment no later than De-cember 31, 2005 (benefits accrued through the last pay pe-riod in 2005)

• Employees exercising the 50/30 retirement optionbetween September 30, 2005 and January 1, 2006 may usevacation, accumulated overtime, or floating holidays dur-ing such period.

• Meet-and –confer will continue concerning technicaladjustments to the Retirement Plan that may be necessitat-ed by discontinuance of the 50/30.

Language: all other current MOU language remains inplace.

Local 18 and Department of Water & PowerReach Agreement on New Five Year Pact

Three Long-Time Local 18Members Honored At May 26 Pin Ceremony

Thanks to Our 2005 General Bargaining Committee!Philip Anninos Nancy FullingimWalter Ramirez Ulysses AquinoRobert Gonzalez Ralph RondaJames Barham Janet GuerroLorena Rosas Clark BertramThomas Holmes Victoria RoseJohn Blondeel-Timmerman David HuffKeith Saddler Romeo BravoSteve Ivanick Ellen SchneiderKevin Brydon Michael JacksonReuben Sepulveda Carlos CadenaChesley Kelly Dennis SkeltonEugene Canzano Lynette LeeNance Walker-Bonnelli Woo ChungJesse Mercado Billie WashingtonClifford Damron John MillerPhillip Williams David DonovanEmmanuel Olympia Val FernandezBradford Packer Deborah FerrerJon Pokorski

Well done, everyone!

• • •Local 18 Congratulates Brother Martin LudlowAs He Replaces Miguel Contreras at County FedOn July 18, Los Angeles City Councilman Martin Ludlow,

a long-time labor leader and proven friend of Local 18, wasunanimously elected the next Secretary-Treasurer of the LosAngeles County Federation of Labor. Brother Ludlowreplaces Miguel Contreras, the Fed’s long-serving and ef-fective head, who passed away unexpectedly on May 6, atage 52.

I am pleased to report that our Union played a significantrole in securing support for Brother Ludlow. We helped puttogether the coalition that ultimately prevailed during theFederation’s deliberations. On June 7, Brother Ludlowemerged as the choice of almost every member union, andhe was formally elected on the 18th. We look forward to acontinuing, mutually productive relationship with BrotherLudlow at the County Federation of Labor.

A DYNAMIC, FIERY, OUTSPOKEN LABOR LEADER

Like Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Martin Ludlow is notonly a strong friend of organized labor and the agenda wefight for, he is from the labor movement. Following years ofservice to the late, pro-union Congressman, Julian Dixon,Brother Ludlow was involved in numerous voter-registra-tion drives. He then was an organizer and officer for one ofthe large unions that represents County healthcare work-ers. Brother Ludlow then worked for then-Assemblymanand Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa in Sacramento.

Brother Ludlow was elected to the 10th District seat ofthe Los Angeles City Council in 2003—with our help—where he compiled a progressive voting record. He neverforgot his pro-union background, his commitment to the

needs of his district, and his loyalty to unions, working peo-ple and families. Brother Ludlow will be a strong voice fororganized labor and our agenda. He will use his abilities,experience and strong personality to continue the effectivepolitical and union-organizing work spearheaded by thelate Brother Contreras.

THE POLITICS OF APPOINTMENTS

Brother Ludlow’s election to the Fed position opens up asecond vacancy on the Los Angeles City Council. The firstone, of course, is in the 14th District, where voters will de-cide who will replace Mayor Villaraigosa. Both elections areset for November 8. We will keep a sharp eye on both ofthese races, and work with the best candidates—peoplewho will continue to support our agenda.

IBEW Local 18 joins the rest of organized labor throughoutLos Angeles County in welcoming Brother Martin Ludlow asthe new head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Ilook forward to working closely and productively with him andhis staff on a broad range of issues of mutual interest and im-portance.

In unity,

PAGE 2 SURGE JULY, 2005

BUSINESS MANAGER’S REPORT – continued from page 1

Left to right: Vicente Leon (50 years ofservice); W. R. Hooper (65 years of serv-ice), and Ronald Clift (55 years of service)pose after receiving their pins and cele-brating a total of 170 years of IBEW mem-bership and loyalty!

JULY, 2005 SURGE PAGE 3

From the Trenches: Reports from your Business RepsUnit 1 – Electric DistributionBy Barry Poole

The contractor doing pole change-outs lost its contract with the Los An-geles Department of Water and Power.Currently, there are no overhead linecontractors on LADWP property.

Unit 2 – Electric StationOperators By Bill Lewis

◆ In a new wrinkle to the hiring ofa class of trainees, the combining ofthe civil service lists has raised somequestions. Management is looking in-to the validity of the complaints, andas of now, has not determined if anyimproprieties took place. We will keepyou posted on this sensitive subject.

◆ The most recent issue that hasarisen is the movement of the FieldTrainers to the Training Center Payroll.These positions are special assign-ments and, as such, fall under the JointLabor-Management process. We havemet to develop the guidelines for fill-ing the Field Trainer positions, andhave drafted a comprehensive docu-ment that allows retention of your bidand bid rights. Training is an impor-tant process, and all parties wish tohave the most qualified individualsconducting this valuable service.

Unit 3 – TestersBy Bill Lewis

The training committee has com-pleted its work on preparing draft Du-ties Description Records (DDR’s), ClassSpecifications, and the outline of thecourse curriculum. This information,along with a recommendation fromthe committee to adopt the trainingprogram, has been forwarded to theJoint Resolution Board for considera-tion. I thank all committee membersfor their diligent and hard work.

Unit 4 – General ConstructionBy Martin Marrufo

◆ General Construction is a rela-tively new section of the DWP, and inthe last five years there have beensome pretty dramatic changes con-cerning the work force. The changefrom an exempt work force to a civilservice work force has been an extremeculture change that has created somechallenges related to job scopes andDDR’s.

◆ Due to outdated DDR language,Pipe Fitters are not currently allowed toweld. We also have issues regardinglongevity pay for new crafts that didnot exist in civil service. Structural SteelFabricators are undergoing DDRchanges and training that will allowthem to weld on their own work. As-bestos workers have been hired as civilservice employees. These issues andmany others are being addressed, butthe process is very drawn out.

◆ The leadership at local 18 hasworked diligently to bring the oldPD&C into the civil service world. It isour responsibility to see to it that thework done in the past is carried, withdignity, into the future. Please keep inmind that the hope and goals we haveare not only for our own bettermenttoday, they also are for future genera-tions.

Unit 6 – StoresBy Shawn McCloud

The General Manager has put out abulletin about not splitting orders. Al-though many of you have told me thatsplitting orders is a common practice,and that is how you have been trained,this bulletin is directing you not to con-tinue that practice any longer. Althoughthis may cause a slowdown in your or-dering and receiving processes, youmust let your customers know that youare following the GM’s directive. If, forsome reason, your supervisors tell younot to follow the GM’s bulletin, thenget it in writing and do what they say(do not be insubordinate), and call meimmediately so that I can file a griev-ance.

Unit 8 – ClericalBy Shawn McCloud, Lilly Calvache & Geralyn Washington-Tatum

◆ The Unit 8 meeting was held at9:00 a .m., Saturday, July 23, at theUnion Hall. There will be no Augustunit meeting. We will resume ourmonthly unit meetings at 6:00 p.m.,Tuesday, September 13, at the UnionHall.

Annual Clerical Road TripYour Clerical Business Reps. made

the annual visit to the Owens Valley lo-cations, meeting at 5:30 p.m., on June28, in the Bishop Office. We providedupdates on clerical issues and held aquestion-and-answer session. Look for

pictures from this meeting in the Au-gust Surge!

◆ The Half-Time/Full-Time Transi-tion Committee (formerly the Conver-sion Committee) has decided to meetevery two weeks in order to completethe agreement that will allow transi-tion from half-time to full-time. A re-minder: currently, CSR is the only eligi-ble classification for this process. De-tails are still being negotiated, howev-er, and we will keep you informed onthe next steps, as they are completed.

Clerical in the DistrictYour Business Rep., Shawn Mc-

Cloud, is making her rounds to visit thevarious district locations. So far, sever-al meetings have been conducted inorder to address Article 33 and staffingissues.

Unit 8/18 – Clerical SupervisoryBy Geralyn Washington-Tatum

In your MOU, under Article 9.1(e)(6), there are stated provisions for theuse of accumulated overtime as com-pensation, either monetarily or withtime off. If you are having a problemgetting supervisory approval to useyou accumulated time off, please con-tact your Business Rep. with informa-tion regarding that denial.

Unit 9 – GenerationBy Gus Corona

As we have been discussing at ourunit meetings, the Department has de-cided not to hire another class ofSteam Plant Assistants (SPAs). Unfortu-nately, this decision will have an affecton some of the current SPAs. ThoseSPAs who have completed their rota-tion through the training matrix maynot have a choice of which disciplinethey prefer; they may now have to besent back to operations in order tomeet the operating needs of the De-partment. Just as it was on the vergeof recovering from not hiring in yearspast, the Department has once againtaken the shortsighted view, and dealtboth the training program and its gen-erating facilities a major setback. Wewill continue to block any and all con-tracts that have anything to do withwork Local 18 members can perform,and we will continue to make theproper staffing of the plants a key issueat the In-Basin Joint Labor-Manage-ment Committee.

continued on page 4

SURGE JULY, 2005

continued on page 5

FROM THE TRENCHES – continued from page 3

Unit 14 – TransportationBy Bill Lewis

The Fleet Operations Joint Labor-Management Committee (JLMC) iscurrently gathering information fromexisting apprentice programs in orderto help develop our own. The idea ofdeveloping an in-house training pro-gram has met with both optimism andconcern. Like most things, “the devil isin the details”, and we need to flushthem out. The JLMC has decided toproceed and see if it can developsomething that will acceptable toeveryone. We anticipate a lengthyprocess; we will need everybody’s in-put to develop a superior program.Please keep attending your unit meet-ings and bringing your training con-cerns and desires forward in order tohave them addressed as we develop aprogram.

Unit 15/20 - PasadenaBy Barry Poole

We met on June 3 concerning costsharing for the 2% at 55. Since thatmeeting, we have not heard back fromDon Becker regarding further negotia-tions. IBEW Local 18 members still arenot required to assume any of the addi-tional costs associated with these ne-gotiations.

Unit 17 – Field GroupsBy Nancy Romero

◆ Attention SCFRs: implementa-tion of the Mobile Data Dispatch Sys-tem for Field Investigations is on holduntil further notice. We are not surewhen the Department will be readyand able to move forward with thisproject.

◆ Attention all CFRs: we haveopened up monthly discussions withthe Dispatchers. Any issues of concernfrom either Field Services Reps, FieldCollectors or Dispatchers should beforwarded to any Joint Labor-Manage-ment Committee member. We are try-ing to ease the concerns that havebeen raised most recently. Our firsttopic concerned timely, courteous andprofessional responses to requestsfrom Field Reps and Dispatchers viaphone, text messages and radio. I en-courage all of you to be aware of howyou communicate with each other atall times. We hope that these open

discussions will help resolve issues, andclearly delineate roles and responsibili-ties for both the Field Reps and the Dis-patchers.

◆ Congratulations to Jose Perez,Valley CFR, on his successful bid forDispatcher for the Field Service/FieldCollection Unit! As expected, the Dis-patcher Section was moved to theAOB. Anyone who has expressed an in-terest in becoming a Back-up Dis-patcher should contact the ValleyFS/FCU Supervisor and let her know ifyou wish to remain on the Back-upDispatcher list. We are attempting toreach an agreement on how Dispatch-ers and Back-up Dispatchers trainingwill be done.

◆ Management has held initialconversations with us about addingtwo additional Assistant CommercialField Supervisor positions, one forMetro Field Services and one for ValleyField Services. These positions are ex-pected to be filled once the list forSCFR is established.

◆ Management has also discussedthe possibility of adding an additionalCommercial Field Supervisor’s positionfor the San Pedro Field Office. As ofnow, this position has not been allocat-ed.

◆ Additional Commercial Field Su-pervisor positions may become avail-able as retirements and other SpecialAssignments are filled.

◆ Attention CFRs and SCFRs: a re-quest has been made that both theCFR Bid Plan and the SCFR Bid Plan berevisited. We have initiated theprocess concerning opening up boththe bid plans for discussion. Two bidplan committees will be formed. I willkeep you informed through the usualcommunication channels as thisprocess moves forward.

◆ Attention all CFRs who have hadthe new JOTTO Mounts installed intheir department vehicles: if you arehaving any trouble with them, contactyour supervisor right away. It hascome to our attention that, because oftruck vibrations, the mounts are loos-ening and are becoming a problemwhen you are driving. It is recom-mended that the JOTTO Desk be se-cured tightly while driving, in order toreduce the chance of it swerving intoyou in case of an accident.

Unit 19B – Shops By Martin Marrufo

◆ Now that the Shops Bid Plan isclose to being implemented, we needto discuss our AOTL lists. There will beproblems and corrections made alongthe way, but you must be diligent, anddiscuss your concerns with your ShopStewards, committee members, or su-pervisors. The Shops AOTL Committeewill meet in the near future to addressthe issues that will be associated withthe bid plan.

◆ It continues to be quite a chal-lenge to understand the variety ofwork done at Shops. Each classificationand work location has unique safetyand training issues that need to be ad-dressed. Management has made acommitment to strengthen the WorkerSafety Group (WSG) tours and train-ing. This has been an ongoing issue atShops.

◆ Jim Barham and Jim Van Sickle atthe Joint Safety Institute have beenworking to develop a WSG programthat is both efficient and accessible toour membership. Our responsibility isto utilize this program to its full poten-tial. We will call on you to be part ofthis process. Please contact me if youwish to be involved.

Unit 25 – LandscapeBy Nancy Romero

◆ Congratulations to all of youwho have now passed probation inyour new classification.

◆ We continue to work with man-agement to secure the Fire Retardantjackets that were mentioned duringthe previous All Hands meeting in theSpring. We hope that we will be ableto obtain them soon.

Unit 26 – CustodialBy Nancy Romero

◆ An additional 15 new emergencyCustodial Services Attendants werehired in June to work at the outside fa-cilities. They will be joining the 26brothers and sisters who were alsohired as emergency CSAs in May.

◆ I remind all CSAs that with thehiring of additional CSA personnel,overtime is expected to decrease.Management’s only contractual obli-gation to CSAs regarding overtime isto offer you 10% hours worth of over-


continued on page 6


time. This means that you can workthe minimum of 10% overtime everypay period—which totals four hours.According to our MOU, overtime as-signments must be offered towhomever normally performs thework. Permanent CSAs will first be of-fered overtime assignments. Any addi-tional overtime will be distributed tothe emergency and limited CSAs.

◆ Attention all CSAs at JFB: weneed to ensure your participation at allupcoming unit meetings. Please makeevery effort to attend your unit meet-ings on the third Thursday of themonth, at the Union Hall.

Unit 28 – ReprographicsBy Lilly Calvache

It’s finally here! A Joint Labor-Man-agement Committee (JLMC) has beenestablished for Reprographics and PrintShop employees. Our first meetingwas held on July 7. All of the commit-tee members look forward to address-ing unit concerns and goals. I willkeep you informed about this JLMC.

Unit 31 – ProfessionalBy Leslie Abbott

◆ We have achieved an enormousvictory in the effort to improve work-ing conditions for Chemists and LabTechs at the Environmental Lab inMain Street! For years, the lab hasbeen overcrowded and dangerous forworker health and safety. Manage-ment has been at a stand-still on howto deal with various planning, eco-nomic, and internal political issues—solab improvements were repeatedly puton the back burner.

Local 18 got very involved in advo-cating workplace improvements thisSpring. We met with members, man-agers and the safety staff of the WaterSystem, and also secured the involve-ment of the Joint Safety Institute (JSI)and DWP Corporate Safety. We utilizedlogic, access, leverage and pressure—and it worked! The Environmental Labis now being significantly expanded,upgraded and re-configured. This willbenefit both the employees in thatworkplace and the Department, as awhole, which relies heavily on this in-house resource for testing. Thanks toeveryone who helped make it happen!What a success!

◆ Pro Unit meetings are held at

ship) meetings are held at 6:00 p.m.,on the fourth Thursday of the month,at the Union Hall. Please join us!

Unit 50 – BurbankBy Barry Poole

◆ We are discussing wages duringcurrent contract negotiations. Our lastmeeting was on June 30. At thatmeeting, we made additional propos-als concerning active and retiree healthcare costs.

◆ The Burbank Employees’ RetiredMedical Trust met on Monday, July 11in order to negotiate contributions tothe trust. Please plan on attendingyour unit meetings to keep updated onthese very important issues.

Unit 55 – CommunicationsBy Nancy Romero

◆ A draft for your approval regard-ing the Training Coordinator’s positionfor the Telecomm Section has beencirchlated, and several members haveexpressed their interest in this position.I sincerely hope that we finalize thisprocess soon, and select our newTraining Coordinator for the TelecommSection of the ITSBU.

◆ I want all of you to know that wehave closely reviewed details of theproject that aims to install 600-700new video surveillance camerasthroughout Department facilities inthe next two years. After careful re-view, we have determined that theTelecomm Section of the ITSBU hasbeen given the appropriate work onthis project, and that the Electrical Me-chanics are working within the scopeof their DDR when they are installingthe actual camera equipment. I alsowant to dispel rumors that ElectricalCraft Helpers and Electrical Repairersare performing specific work on thisproject. As of now, neither of thesetwo classifications are currently in-volved in installing this equipment. Ifanyone has information to the con-trary, please provide a Joint Labor-Management Committee memberwith the specific details immediately.

Unit 60 – Waterworks MechanicsBy Ken Delgado

◆ The Bid Plan Committee hasscheduled weekly meetings in orderbegin work on the Waterworks Me-

5:30 p.m., on the first Wednesday ofthe month, at the Union Hall. ParentBody (General Local 18 membership)meetings are held at 6:00 p.m., on thefourth Thursday of the month, at theUnion Hall. Please join us!

Unit 32 – TechnicalBy Kerry McCorkle

◆ I hope to continue the trainingcomponent in our unit meetings. I amalways happy to hear suggestionsabout what you want to learn. Pleasecontact me or your Shop Stewards toprovide ideas.

Unit 33 – AdministrativeBy Shawn McCloud

I am pleased to be taking over theaffairs and direction of the Administra-tive Unit, replacing Business Rep. KerryMcCorkle. I look forward to meetingall of you, and learning about yourgoals and issues. Please make every ef-fort to attend your unit meetings,which are held at 5:30 p.m., on thethird Wednesday of the month, at theUnion Hall.

Unit 34 – Supervisory ProfessionalBy Kerry McCorkle

◆ The IBEW Local 18/Joint TrainingInstitute Engineering Focus Group hasmet twice to identify, prioritize and dis-cuss issues, as well as debate potentialsolutions regarding Engineering Train-ing. We are continuing the process ofpreparing recommendations to bemade to management regarding thistraining

◆ There is a dedicated core ofbrothers and sisters who attend andparticipate in our monthly unit meet-ings. You also have a dedicated groupof officers who are doing a fine job ofleading the unit. I always want to seemore of you attend our meetings.Please come and join us, and get in-volved. Several unit members are al-ready involved in Joint Labor Manage-ment Committees. Your voice is beingheard as you actively participate in Lo-cal 18 matters.

Unit 35 – Supervisory TechnicalBy Leslie Abbott

Super Tech Unit meetings are heldat 5:30 p.m., on the third Wednesdayof the month, at the Union Hall. Par-ent Body (General Local 18 member-

SURGE JULY, 2005


chanics’ Bid Plan. At our last unitmeeting, we discussed the possibilityof trying to implement this bid plan asa system-wide plan. The reason is thatconcerns have been raised about notbeing able to bid from the Metro orValley locations to the Northern andSouthern Aqueduct locations. Cur-rently, the committee’s main focus isproducing a draft that will help get thisoff the ground.

◆ Those of you who are interested,should attend your unit meetings, be-cause whoever does attend regularly willmake the decisions for the entire unit!Whole-unit negotiations will take placevery soon; this is another good reason

why you should attend. I look forwardto seeing you at our next meeting!

Unit 63 – UndergroundConstructionBy Barry Poole

Congratulations to the Under-ground Distribution Construction Me-chanics and the Senior UndergroundDistribution Construction Mechanicson receiving your inequity payments!This was a very long and difficult nego-tiations process. Thanks to all whowere involved, and also to Local 18Business Manager Brian D’Arcy, forbringing this issue to a successful con-clusion.

Unit 65 – CountyBy Bill Lewis

The current COLA language, in con-junction with rising inflation, makesthe prospect of any contract extensionunacceptable at this time. In addition,the districts are asking for cost- sharingfor medical premiums. If that hap-pens, we would effectively be allowingthe camel’s nose into the tent. This is-sue has proved to be divisive, and isdesigned to benefit a few people at thecost of the majority. We are alwayswilling to discuss this issue; however,the extension and attack on medicalpremiums are too much of a risk to takeat this time.

Local 18’s Annual Picnic at GriffithPark Was a Fun-Filled Success


Without a doubt,IBEW Local 18 mem-bers are intimatelyfamiliar with thechallenges of work-ing in extremeheat—especially inSouthern Californiasummers and in

desert-type areas where the heat is un-relenting. I am sure many memberscan remember a time when they be-came overheated, either on the job, orwhile involved in recreational activitieswith family members like picnics or ball-games.

Heat waves can kill. According to theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-ministration (NOAA), heat kills by “tax-ing the human body beyond its abili-ties.” Heat disorders are related to thebody’s inability to shed heat by circula-tory changes and sweating, or a chemi-cal (salt) imbalance caused by toomuch sweating. When heat gain ex-ceeds the level the body can remove, orwhen the body cannot compensate forfluids and salt lost through perspiration,the temperature of the body’s innercore begins to rise, and that may causea heat-related illness.

The NOAA web site notes, “Rangingin severity, heat disorders share onecommon feature: the individual hasover-exposed or over-exercised for hisage and physical condition in the exist-ing thermal environment.” Studiesshow that the severity of heat disorderstends to increase with age. Heatcramps in a 17-year-old may be heatexhaustion in a 40-year-old, and heatstroke in a person over age 60.

Indeed, in a normal year, says NOAA,about 175 Americans succumb to thedemands of summer heat. The organi-zation says that in the 40-year periodfrom 1936 through 1975, nearly20,000 people were killed in the UnitedStates by the effects of heat and solarradiation. In the disastrous heat waveof 1980, more than 1,250 people died.And these are direct deaths. There maybe countless others with chronic dis-eases whose deaths were accelerated bythe heat.

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness. The Centers for DiseaseControl (CDC) explain that this condi-tion occurs when the body becomesunable to control its temperature. Bodytemperature may rise to 106 degreesFahrenheit or higher within 10-15 min-utes. As mentioned earlier, heat strokecan cause death or permanent disabilityif emergency treatment is not provided.

The CDC says the warning signs ofheat stroke vary, but may include thefollowing:

• An extremely high body tempera-ture (above 103 degrees Fahrenheit)

• Red, hot and dry skin (no sweat-ing)

• Rapid, strong pulse• Throbbing headache• Dizziness• Nausea• Confusion• UnconsciousnessThe CDC suggests that if someone

experiences any of these warning signsof heat stroke, he or she should getemergency help immediately. You canhelp the victim by:

• Getting the victim to a shady area. • Cooling the victim rapidly, using

whatever methods you can. For exam-ple, you can immerse the victim in a tubof cool water; place the person in a coolshower; spray the victim with cool wa-ter from a garden hose; sponge the per-son with cool water, or if the humidity islow, wrap the victim in a cool, wet sheetand fan him or her vigorously.

• Monitoring body temperature andcontinuing cooling efforts until thebody temperature drops to 101 to 102degrees Fahrenheit.

• Avoid giving the victim alcohol todrink.

A milder form of a heat-related illnessis heat exhaustion, which can developafter several days of exposure to hightemperatures and inadequate or unbal-anced replacement of fluids. The CDCsays that those most prone to heat ex-haustion are elderly people, those withhigh blood pressure, and those workingor exercising in a hot environment—likeLocal 18 members during the summer.The warning signs of heat exhaustion

include heavy sweating, paleness, mus-cle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizzi-ness, headache, nausea or vomiting andfainting.

To cool the body during heat ex-haustion—if at all possible—drink cool,nonalcoholic beverages, rest, take acool shower, bath or sponge bath, seekan air-conditioned environment andwear lightweight clothing.

How do you prevent heat stroke?The CDC has some suggestions:

• Drink more nonalcoholic fluids dur-ing the summer months, regardless ofyour activity level. Don’t wait until youare thirsty to drink.

• Avoid liquids that contain caffeine,alcohol or large amounts of sugar—these actually cause you to lose morebody fluid.

• Stay indoors, and if at all possible,stay in an air-conditioned place.

• When you are off duty, wear light-weight, light-colored, loose-fittingclothing.

• Cut down on exercise outside.And if you must exercise, drink two tofour glasses of cool, nonalcoholic fluidseach hour.

• Try to rest often in shady areas.• And do not forget your sunscreen.Local 18 members and their families

should make it a point to do what theycan to prevent heat stroke and heat ex-haustion this summer. It looks like it isgoing to be a hot one!

•••Through your Blue Cross Californi-

aCare HMO plan and Power CareAdvo-cate PPO plan, you and your familyhave access to the finest doctors andone of the most extensive networks inthe state. With CaliforniaCare, you canbuild a relationship with your own net-work doctor with almost all benefits, in-cluding doctor visits, hospitalization,well baby care, surgery, eye and hear-ing exams, at little or no out-of-pocketcost. With the Power CareAdvocatePPO plan, you have the freedom tochoose medical services from withinBlue Cross’ expansive PPO provider net-work, or from a non-PPO provider.

HEALTH CHECK By John Fickewirth, Local 18 Insurance Consultant

Keeping the Heat Under Control This Summer

Local Union 18, IBEW4189 West 2nd StreetLos Angeles, CA 90004

Phone: (213) 387-8274Fax: (213) 739-6937Website: ibewlocal18.com

Business Manager & Executive EditorBrian D’Arcy

PresidentFrank Miramontes

Vice PresidentPhil Williams

TreasurerJudy Litowitz

Recording SecretaryEugene Canzano

Executive BoardJim BarhamStan DeichenDebbie FerrerDave HuffJesse MercadoBillie Washington

First ClassU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLos Angeles, CAPermit No. 33063

Pre-Sort

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Local 18, IBEW

Shop Stewards’ Injured Worker FundGolf Tournament

When: October 10, 2005 Shotgun start 11:00am

Where: DeBell Golf Course, BurbankCost: Entry fee $105 per person

(includes green fees, golf cart and dinner)

Look for a registration form in the next Surge.For more information contact Local 18 at 213-387-8274

b manager r local 18 and department of water & power … · walter ramirez ulysses aquino ......

Documents