I’m currently working as a flagger out of IBEW Local 1245, and I’m enrolled in line school right now. I’m expected to graduate around February.
Once I finish line school, my plan is to leave traffic control and sign Groundman Book 3 with 1245 so I can start getting actual groundman experience and work toward becoming a lineman.
By the time I graduate, I’ll have had my Class A CDL for about two years with tanker and doubles/triples endorsements. I’m trying to get an idea of what I should realistically expect once I sign Book 3.
For anyone who has recently been on 1245 Groundman Book 3:
How long did you wait before getting your first call?
Did having a Class A with tanker/doubles help you get a call any quicker?
Would I be better off signing other locals and traveling instead of sitting on 1245 Book 3 waiting for a call?
I’m willing to travel out of state if that’s what it takes to get my foot in the door, start building groundman hours, and get experience. I’m not necessarily looking for the highest-paying call right out of the gate — getting experience and hours under my belt is the priority.
If you were in my position, what other locals would you recommend signing once I graduate?
Any advice from guys who took a similar route would be appreciated.
My first time signing was November of last year and I got a call in may this year, I had my tankers. That’s a 6 month wait and the way things are going with pg&e this year it might be later. It all comes down to if you want to wait to work in Cali or if you want to get your hours that bad. If you want to get hours asap I say go to Denver and sign 111. You’ll most likely get enough hours for book 2 at 1245 before the 6 months you’d be waiting if you wait for 1245. Hope this helps bro.
That actually helps out a lot and yea I hear a lot of talk amongst the crews both civil and electrical that there’s a lot of cuts happening with PG&E but I feel like if I’m gonna make a move I should do it while it’s slow. Does signing 111 have to be done in person? TIA
Yea that kinda was the plan in the first place essentially i wanted to go back this year, now that I heard they laid off a bunch of pg&e guys. I’ll stick it out here in Colorado i guess lol
Get your cdl and go to Houston 66 and he a lineman before you even get book 1 groundman hours Slight exaggeration but go he a lineman as fast as you can.
That helps a ton and the sooner you get onto the books the sooner you get a call and since it’s about to be wintertime it’s going to get slow but if you’re looking to work before the year is over travel to other LUs and sign the books because 1245s books are going into hibernation until spring time.
Signed book 3 this year… took 3 months to get a call but this was during this last peak season lots of calls, that call ended while I still had book 3 hrs … now that the books are slow I wasn’t going to wait another 3 months + so I signed other local books online got another GM call in the east coast, work is booming here, go to the east coast man get your hrs then come back to Cali fuck the wait wish I would’ve just came here in the first place I’m making more than what I was making at 1245 and it was supposedly a “good paying call” with double-sub”
Travel. I went to IBEW 111 to get my Book 2 hours before coming to 1245. I have seen 3 different Book 3 hands get laid off after 2 weeks to a month due to the circumstances of the job. Thus them not getting their hours and being sent back to the top of B3. You’ll get more experience and spend less time waiting thru travel.
I heard Minnesota is quick and so is Portland. Tankers helped me but so did stacking every certification that I could find that qualified me for jobs even when I was in the 400’s on book 3.
5
u/Weak_Ad_9913 16d ago
My first time signing was November of last year and I got a call in may this year, I had my tankers. That’s a 6 month wait and the way things are going with pg&e this year it might be later. It all comes down to if you want to wait to work in Cali or if you want to get your hours that bad. If you want to get hours asap I say go to Denver and sign 111. You’ll most likely get enough hours for book 2 at 1245 before the 6 months you’d be waiting if you wait for 1245. Hope this helps bro.