Utility Workers Powering the Future: A Conversation with IBEW 1245’s Bob Dean on Worker Safety and the AI Era

Bob Dean is business manager of IBEW 1245, the largest IBEW local in the country with 29,000 members. For the past seven years he has helmed the local that represents members across Northern California and Northern Nevada, in a wide variety of specialties – from clerical workers to linemen and substation electricians to manufacturing.

CSAEW sat down with Dean to explore how the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — particularly Local 1245 — is helping shape policy, protecting workers, and preparing for a rapidly changing technological landscape. Although Local 1245 is referred to as a utility/construction local, only about a third of his members – 10,000 – are actually linemen who climb the poles in every kind of weather and conditions to keep our lights on.

From political engagement to AI disruption, and from wildfire risks to electrifying underserved communities, IBEW 1245 is positioning itself at the center of America’s economic and infrastructure future.

Tell us about your background, and how it has shaped your leadership role at Local 1245 today.

I’m second generation IBEW member. My father was a union lineman in local 1245 his entire career. I started out my career in the Navy for 10 years as a sonar technician, learning low voltage electronics. Then I moved over to PG&E for 15 years as a system operator, both in distribution, transmission and hydro. That’s when I joined the union and worked my way up to a leadership role.

Most people think of us as just a utility local. But 1245 has a little bit of every electrical craft – except railroad. We have  manufacturing, transportation, construction, utilities, cities, water and municipalities and substation electricians.

 As assistant business manager, I was involved in the CSAEW in its early days. So I’ve been exposed to a lot of the issues and technology changes our members have faced over the years. I’m very mindful of my responsibility to my members.

What is the most exciting aspect of the electrical industry today?

Electricity is the grease on which our economy runs. The scale of our impact is enormous. We always talk about these jobs as lotto jobs — jobs that let people actually achieve the American dream. We’re one of the last real entry points into the middle class.

We represent not only our 29,000 members, but their families as well. That’s probably 120,000 people who are well fed and sleep well at night as a result all the work that we do. It’s what keeps me awake at night. It’s also one of the biggest joys that a lot of people live good lives because of what we do.

In the world where everything is shifting to a gig economy, these jobs are giving our members a career that’s going to allow them to own a home, go on vacation, truly live the old school American dream.

Why is political engagement so critical for IBEW right now?

Coordinating our political strategy, particularly through statewide collaboration, has amplified our influence beyond traditional labor channels. We were a very different organization when I started with CSAEW years ago.

Now that we’re more political and strategic, we can focus on worker safety protections, modernizing the electrical grid, rooftop solar, data center expansion and the need for undergrounding power lines and that helps all 43 of our locals in the organization.

What role does CSAEW play in protecting your members?

Across every topic — politics, technology, safety, and service — the message is consistent: the IBEW isn’t just responding to change, it’s actively shaping the future of work and infrastructure in America.

We’re adapting to everything — AI, drones, robotics, climate change — but at the core, it’s still about protecting workers and powering communities through safety legislation, protecting workers’ rights, capturing work including data centers, charging stations and fire mitigation.

The CSAEW is constantly adapting to a changing future. The pace of change is increasing exponentially as these new technologies improve. The CSAEW is much stronger than we were a generation ago because we actively decided to become a political force.

How is AI and automation changing IBEW jobs?

Our industry is being greatly impacted by AI. First, the IBEW and my local represents thousands of clerical workers, call center workers, analysts, systems operators monitoring the grid.  AI is already starting to do some of those jobs.

Even with linework, AI and drones are starting to be used for inspections, monitoring and troubleshooting. Drones are already pulling wire and doing bird guards. We’re just at the beginning of all this new technology. I always say, the closer you are to a pipe or wire, the safer your job will be, but we will all eventually be affected.  

Contracts with PG&E already include provisions addressing these technologies, signaling how seriously the union is taking the threat.

Q: What protections are being put in place around AI?

The union is pushing for guardrails that keep humans in control. In the contract that we are currently negotiating with PG&E, we have both AI language and drone language to prepare for the future. None of us can afford to be Luddites. We have to be as prepared as anybody for whatever that future may be and how we adjust to a changing work environment and how we move people around from jobs that may disappear to whatever the future may hold.

We’re particularly concerned about AI-driven discipline decisions, worker surveillance through their personal phones and issues like automated time tracking – even for bathroom breaks. We’re working to make sure there’s always human review—especially when it comes to discipline.

Through the CSAEW and our statewide collaboration, the business managers are sharing best practices and drone and AI language for our contracts. And then of course we’re involved in legislation on all of those fronts. There was a lot of attention focused on AI last legislative session. Most of it’s around guardrails on just transitions and human interaction.

Q: What safety challenges do utility workers face today? And how does the CSAEW help?

Our members work in tough urban and rural environments, 24/7. Long hours, working through holidays, birthdays, storms, snow, fire, smoke, freezing temperatures, 115 degree heat. People have no idea what it takes – the amount of  human effort — to keeping those lights on. We work in every kind of condition.

Then you add in that you’re working at heights with live line electricity 24 inches from your face. When we do recruit, we tell people that if you want to work nine to five, it’s not the job for you.

These are dangerous jobs—and not just because of the electricity. Our members endure assaults and threats, including a recent shooting of a member, theft of their equipment, and even the need for police presence during power shutoffs.

The CSAEW allows us to come up with best practices across the state for these statewide problems. Right now we have proposed legislation to make attacking a utility worker a felon. Our members are attacked frequently.

We had a member shot 10 days ago. We’ve had members spit on, beaten and more. It gets especially tough when we have to turn someone’s electricity off for non-payment. We operate in some tough neighborhood around the state.

Climate change and wildfire risks are also affecting our members, accelerating the urgency of change. Fire season is starting earlier and getting more intense, so it’s getting more dangerous. We have less snowpack, and all these things put increased pressure on grid reliability.

What are the biggest challenges members are facing today?

The biggest challenge is the march of technology. But the good news about our industry is none of this new technology can work without electricity. Your phones, your electric cars, all the data centers. Righ now we build and maintain those entire systems. So we have a bright future – as long as we’re adaptable.