Engineers News - April 2015

edding I
20308 Engineers Lane, Redding, CA 96002 • (530) 222-6093
District Rep. Bob Vanderpol
Solid candidates apply to Apprenticeship Program
There has been a lot going on in the district with the dry
weather allowing for some very early work. G&C/APS Joint
Venture (JV) has been working on installing 3,000 feet of
42-inch pipeline in the Burney area. This is the first pipeline
project of this size in the area for quite some time. The Tehama
County Courthouse has been moving forward with several
hands working for Beebe Diversified. Tutor Perini continues
working on the Antlers Bridge project for another season. We
have 16 to 20 hands continually working on that project, which
looks to be getting closer to a 2016 completion date. Tullis, Inc.
has started work in Weaverville on the Lance Gulch job. This
project will bypass traffic from downtown Weaverville to Hwy. 3
North toward Trinity Center/Yreka. Knife River Construction
has been working on Hwy. 32 in Tehama County and the new
Walmart in Red Bluff. Steve Manning Construction has been
able to get some early-season logging done on the Hwy. 299
Buckhorn Summit job. This has allowed an earlier start on
moving the large amount of material for the project. This project
and others have helped put our dispatch totals ahead of last
year’s, to date.
The first round of apprentice interviews were completed at the
end of February with an extremely good applicant pool to choose
from. This makes the process difficult, but it is encouraging for
those involved in the selection to see the available talent wanting
Burlingame I
828 Mahler Road, Suite B, Burlingame, CA 94010 • (650) 652-7969
District Rep. Charles Lavery
Luffing tower crane first of its kind in the U.S.
In Daly City (San Mateo County), Independent Construction
is working on a new subdivision grading new roads, installing
new curbs and sidewalks and paving the streets. Members
include foremen Bob “Mike” Hamontree and George Polyzos
and operators Edward Rubio and Brian Dirks. Also onsite is
DW Young finishing the underground with Foreman Robert
Morris and operators Joe Alfaro and Edgar Buenrostro. Smith
Denison Construction Company has Operator Armando
Coronel digging for the joint trench onsite.
Underground Construction Company continues work
for PG&E along Hwy. 280 in San Mateo County. Installing 13
miles of 24-inch gas main, Superintendent Lou McMullen,
Steward Vance Pope and operators James Brummett, Jimmy
Hensley, Jess Saylor, Gerald Feitor, Joe Hart, Brent Hewitt,
Steve Schaffer, Gerard Tynan, Michael Smith and Matthew
Hedrick are doing a great job. They are another fine example of
the quality workmanship of the Operating Engineers. In South
San Francisco, Graniterock Asphalt’s plant has stayed steady
throughout the winter. Operators include batchmen Frank
Garcia, Roger Langley and Richard Lujan.
In San Francisco at 181 Fremont, Malcolm Drilling and Evans
Brothers, Inc. (EBI) have completed
the excavation and shoring, and
Maxim Crane has erected a brand-new
Wolffkran (Wolf) 700 B luffing tower
crane, the first of its kind used in
the U.S. This crane has the ability to
move loads over 40,000 pounds, has
line-speeds of up to 623 feet per minute
and a maximum tower height of 1,000
feet. With its luffing jib, the crane can
work in a tight footprint. The crane will
be onsite for about a year and will help
erect an 802-foot luxury residential and
to be part of our great organization!
Please encourage anyone you know who
would bring value to OE3 to apply for
the Apprenticeship Program. We need to
look forward and build our future with
upcoming generations. The rewards are
certainly worth the effort necessary to
become an Operating Engineer.
We have also been very busy visiting
our Caltrans Unit 12 yards. New Business
Agent Jason Chipley is getting acquainted
with that portion of our membership. We
are going into negotiations for the Unit 12
contract this month, as the current contract
office tower. The crane is running two
shifts with Operator Brian Minor on the
day shift and Operator Craig Garcia on
the swing shift. Operator Ron Shoffit and
Apprentice Oiler Raymond Petersen used
Maxim’s hydro crane for the erection of
the tower.
At Doyle Drive, the new Presidio
Parkway will be opening another tunnel
around the middle of May, redirecting
traffic to allow temporary bypass
demolition. Flatiron/Kiewit Joint Venture
(JV) and its subcontractors have kept many
Graniterock Asphalt batchmen include Frank Garcia, Roger
Langley and Richard Lujan.
Jason Porteous works for
Beebe Diversified in Red
Bluff at the new Tehama
County Courthouse.
expires at the end of June. Contract bargaining surveys are being
distributed to all the yards and facilities in an effort to obtain the
best possible contract for our members.
Thanks to those of you who took part in last month’s round
of meetings. Whether it was the Retiree Meeting in Anderson,
the District Meeting at the Hall or the Semi-Annual Meeting in
Vallejo, it was truly our pleasure to have you involved. Thank
you again for supporting our union.
Kim Kidwell operates
a 100-ton Link Belt for
Flatiron/Kiewit JV.
of our operators employed for the duration of the project, which
began in 2009 in the depths of the Great Recession. This project
benefited from the support of Sen. Barbara Boxer, a reminder of
why it is important to support labor-friendly politicians. Along
with demolition of the bypass, remaining work includes a major
earth-moving operation to cover the new tunnels and restore
this section of the San Francisco Presidio. The project should
be complete by the end of 2016. Operating Engineers currently
on the job include Fred Cargile, Mike
Nagel, Casey Cook, Dennis Shanahan,
Brian Hatch, Wedrell James, Gary
Wibbenhorst, Kim Kidwell, Bob
Ford, John Van Etten, Mike Nichols,
Dave Esparza, Sandro Renzi, Manny
Diaz, Dave Watson, Russ Roxberg,
Larry Henry, Clint Montgomery, Joe
Buratteo, Neil Decker, Don Mills,
Surveyor Jim Allen and Apprentice
José Cortes.
district reports
April 2015 | 19