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JandH18
06-05-2006, 04:42 AM
Hi! I am actually the wife to a man who is trying to get on as a lineman. I've been reading over this board.. some things have made me feel better, some things have scared me more about the job. Here in Indiana, they pay linemen pretty well and they have great benefits. But the company here is hiring like 22 new linemen between the one here in town and one in another town not far. He works with a lot of the guys there because he works for a parts store so my husband has been on call in his job when we had an icestorm or bad power outages... he had to go in to get them parts they needed to keep the trucks running. As linemen, many of you probably know about the bad icestorm in Indiana in January 2005. The one that made the news.. some of you may have been here. I know we had guys from like 15 states and all hotels were booked and some were even staying 2 hours away because of eerything being booked.

But anyway, supposedly here.. on a normal day the linemen work like 7am to 3:30 pm (sometimes this can change depending on time of year and different situations sometimes they work like 12 hour shifts, like 4am to 4pm(I fear for his safety then with such little sleep))... they don't work any weekends.. of course they are on call if there is an outage or something. One thing I have questioned is about him having to go to disasters out of state.. like some did for the ice storm and Katrina and different things like that. We've been told that those kinds of things are completely by choice... is that true for you guys? They said he would start out as a grunt basically.. Level D.. and probably wouldn't be able to climb a pole until he was at Level B or at least a high C. I don't really understand all of this junk. I know he doesn't have a choice about being on call for things that happen around here... and I'm acceptable of that.. I still think it would be a better job than what he has now. Where he is now.. they changed his hours from 7 am to 6 pm to now being open till 8 pm.. they are open every saturday and Sunday.... he hates that he has to leave in the middle of church every sunday practically. This isn't sometimes though.. he has NO choice in this matter and it's every day. It was when they changed the hours.. that some guys at the Electric Company tried to convince him to try to get on there. They do have excellent training programs and everything.. and I feel confident if it's God's will it will work out one way or the other.. The other thing is.. where he is now.. he has no insurance.. I already said the electric company here offers excellent benefits.. I figured it out and in the beginning starting out he would make about the same as he does now... except that includes having insurance and retirement coming out of his check.. so it's actually a lot better.. especially for the long run. He is interested in it because I guess it runs in his family. His grandfather retired from it and his two of his uncles did it.. one is still doing it... they are in Maryland. I know his uncle said he goes out of state all of the time because he wants the money.. but it is completely by choice. My husband and I do not live outside of our means and he isn't all about money.. I thank God for that. All the money in the world isn't as important as our time together.. But anyway.. I do understand he could get called at midnight to go on a run because of a storm.. and I can live with that.. It's still better than having him gone during all of my waking hours every single day and on the week ends where he is now.
I was reading you forum on family at the workplace.. I agree that family shouldn't be there for safety reasons.. more than just to visit for a few minutes.. maybe have lunch. But, we have talked about something and I would like your opinion on it. For an instance like Katrina, if he were to choose to go.. I would go with him.. but then once we were there.. I would go off and find my own thing to do... such as help with Red Cross or whatever.. maybe a church organization or something. I wouldn't be going to work with him.. but we would be down there together..a nd probably stay together and everything like at the hotel and stuff. Is that usually acceptable? Would it be? I wouldn't interfere with his work. It would just be a great opportunity for me to get out and help and volunteer too.

Another concern that was put into my head tonight.. after feeling alright about everything... someone told me if he is in the union.. they can move him anywhere they want any time???? is this true?? even if it is.. is it likely? Meaning like ... moving him somewhere else to work. I figure even if it did happen it wouldn't be outside of this district or whatever you call it. But we haven't heard anything about that happening. Most people stay where they are unless they move by choice. Just curious. Also everyone says it's very secure because of the Union.. how true is this?

I didn't mean to ramble here.. I just needed to get my thoughts, questions and feelings out and would like to hear from people who have been through this and those of you who are living it. We are just wanting to weigh all of our options. Any advice, tips, or answers would be greatly appreciated. I'm hoping I can grow a better understanding of what it is you all do and what he will be doing if he gets this job.

Thank you so much!
Heather

ps. a question i got from reading another forum... what's a ute?

Bull Dog
06-08-2006, 08:46 PM
Mam i really think you should know the best thing you can do for your husband is turn him loose to do his job. I know this is not what you wanted to hear! We have some young fellows with wives who are constantly bothering them on the job. Frankly its a pain in the ass. We need to keep our minds on the job. Try driving a big rig while talking on the phone to a lonely wife! This is serious business so if you really care and he makes the job let him keep his mind on the job at hand and he will come home when the day is done. Union is better if he can get it. Road trips are part of the gig and think of the people freezing in the dark. Pls think of the big picture.
We still take care of our family and do the work too so dont worry. Good luck to both of you.

Downunder
06-22-2006, 01:45 AM
I'm an Aussie, so I can only comment on how I see things over here. But from what I read here (and other sites), it seems that they are pretty much the same all over the world.

I know plenty of linemen who have made a good living for themselves and their families working powerline. The real test of a job or a company is how long people stay working there, so maybe you should ask about with the people who work there.

If you're worried about safety, then no need to. I think that the industry is about 5 times safer now that we were back 20 years ago. In fact, sometimes it seems like I work for a safety company that just happens to build powerlines in its spare time. But better to be too safe than not safe enough in an industry with plenty of potential hazards if you don't pay them the right respect.

Training methods are far better these days (it has become an industry in itself), equipment is safer and better and any outfit worth working for has mandatory work procedures that have to be followed whether you like it or not.

Of course, there's always someone that doesn't want to play the game by the rules, but my experience is that there are normally 10 times as many more happy to tell him to pull his head in. The nature of the job demands that linemen look out for each other and most crews I've ever been involved with are very protective and supportive. And of course, if you aren't comfortable with something you can always say "no". Linemen like to go home with all their fingers and toes, just like anyone else.

The trade has done ok by me and mine and my advice to you and yours is to encourage your husband to give it a shot if you think it can make your life better. Just make sure he remembers that his main priority is to go home at night. Otherwise, why bother ?

Downunder
06-22-2006, 01:56 AM
Oh yeah, I forgot....
A "ute" is the aussie version of your "pick-up" (ute is short for utility).
Our utes aren't normally as big as your pick-ups (about 3/4 size).

There are really only two types of ute... a Holden (GMH) Ute or a Falcon (Ford) ute.

Stanman, at ComEdy Il.
06-22-2006, 01:29 PM
"ute" stands for utility. ConEd, ComEd, SDG&E, privately owned utilities. Just like "muni" stands for municipality. "Co-op" and so on.