duke plant employees turn out to be disgruntled , misinformed employees with an ax to grind
these guys filed a bunch of complaints against sempra too , back when sempra owned the plant . - - - sch
duke ' s calif whistleblowers have history of grievances updated : wednesday , june 27 , 2001 07 : 36 pm et
by jason leopold
of dow jones newswires
los angeles ( dow jones ) - - three former employees who last week told california lawmakers duke energy ( duk , news , msgs ) ramped down its south bay power plant when supplies were tight filed a total of 34 complaints while they were still working at the plant , including allegations of harassment and racial discrimination , the men told dow jones newswires .
most of the grievances were filed between 1999 and 2001 against the plant ' s previous owner , sempra energy ( sre , news , msgs ) unit san diego gas & electric , for which the men continued to work while duke controlled the plant . but interviews with the three men also revealed a dissatisfaction with duke ' s profit - centered management style in the deregulated market .
duke has called the employees ' allegations about its operating procedures " baseless . " duke has said the employees have an " ax to grind , " because they weren ' t hired by the company in april when escrow on the power plant closed and duke acquired some of sdg & e ' s workforce .
the men are the first to come forward publicly and testify against their employers , who are locked in a high - stakes struggle with the state of california over allegations of price gouging . the state is pursuing billions of dollars in refunds from power producers and hopes to bring criminal charges against their executives .
glenn johnson , 52 , a mechanic at the south bay power plant , alone filed 30 complaints . on one occasion , johnson said he called the california division of occupational safety and health , because an unqualified employee was found scraping up asbestos . he also has a harassment complaint against sdg & e regarding an employee who now works for duke , but johnson said his lawyer told him not to discuss it .
aside from the formal complaints , johnson said under the duke regime he was disciplined for taking too much sick time after being out for 10 months for cancer treatment .
" this is just the kind of abuse we had to endure ever since this became a business , " he said .
one of the other employees , jim olkjer , 56 , a former assistant control room operator at the power plant , filed three complaints against sdg & e while duke operated the plant , because his evaluations consistently said he needed supervision . the grievances were either turned down or settled , he said .
olkjer said he decided to testify against duke after he learned he wouldn ' t be hired by the energy company when it took over plant operations in april .
" i ' m on a fixed income now , " olkjer said in an interview . " i can ' t afford my utility bills on a fixed income . "
the third employee , ed edwards , 42 , a certified power plant mechanic , said he filed one complaint against three sdg & e employees in 1999 for racial discrimination . one of the employees was hired by duke . that case is still pending .
edwards , an african - american , said duke didn ' t hire qualified minority employees after it took over the plant and instead hired less - qualified white employees . edwards said the two minority supervisors that worked at the plant under sdg & e were replaced with white employees when duke took over .
edwards , who stopped working at the plant in february , said he decided to testify against duke after receiving a phone call from johnson .
" i knew i wouldn ' t be hired , " he said .
edwards and johnson filed charges of harassment and racial discrimination against sdg & e with the u . s . equal employment opportunity commission .
sdg & e spokesman art larson wouldn ' t comment on the allegations . duke spokesman tom williams said the company stands by its hiring practices and " always hires the most qualified employees . "
in 1999 , duke settled a 1996 discrimination claim with the u . s . department of labor for $ 769 , 700 , in which the department found some areas where white females and black males were paid less than white male and black female counterparts in similar positions .
dissatisfaction with new priorities
the former employees said they weren ' t motivated to blow the whistle on duke by the prospects of cashing in on a possible settlement with the state . johnson first alerted the media about duke ' s behavior before state attorney general bill lockyer mentioned financial rewards for whistleblowers .
the employees each earned about $ 1 , 000 a week .
all three employees said they believe duke mismanaged the south bay power plant by ramping the units up and down , tossing out spare parts , and operating machinery when it was broken . olkjer said he saw the plant ' s output reduced during the worst power emergencies " at least 50 times . "
when edwards questioned his supervisors about the behavior he said they told him , " it ' s none of your business . "
the employees said that duke was more concerned with making money than the happiness of its staff , and that the company tried to bust its union contract when it first took over the plant .
" i was paid to twist wrenches , " johnson said . " the last raise i got two years ago was 2 . 25 % . that ' s an insult to my skill . "
duke said it is bringing the former sdg & e employees under its contract with international brotherhood of electrical workers local 1245 . the workers were previously represented by another local , and duke wanted a single contract .
johnson said he decided to blow the whistle on duke because he was disgusted by the company ' s " gluttony and greed . " he said he stole the control room logs in february after a colleague pointed out to him that duke was reducing output at the plant .
johnson , edwards and olkjer said " in the old days " the power plant ran at full throttle and never ramped up or down . but as soon as deregulation became law in the state , things started to change . sdg 323 - 658 - 3874 ; jason . leopold @ dowjones . com
duke plant employees turn out to be disgruntled , misinformed
employees with an ax to grind
these guys filed a bunch of complaints against sempra too , back when sempra owned the plant . - - - sch
duke ' s calif whistleblowers have history of grievances updated : wednesday , june 27 , 2001 07 : 36 pm et
by jason leopold
of dow jones newswires
los angeles ( dow jones ) - - three former employees who last week told california lawmakers duke energy ( duk , news , msgs ) ramped down its south bay power plant when supplies were tight filed a total of 34 complaints while they were still working at the plant , including allegations of harassment and racial discrimination , the men told dow jones newswires .
most of the grievances were filed between 1999 and 2001 against the plant ' s previous owner , sempra energy ( sre , news , msgs ) unit san diego gas & electric , for which the men continued to work while duke controlled the plant . but interviews with the three men also revealed a dissatisfaction with duke ' s profit - centered management style in the deregulated market .
duke has called the employees ' allegations about its operating procedures " baseless . " duke has said the employees have an " ax to grind , " because they weren ' t hired by the company in april when escrow on the power plant closed and duke acquired some of sdg & e ' s workforce .
the men are the first to come forward publicly and testify against their employers , who are locked in a high - stakes struggle with the state of california over allegations of price gouging . the state is pursuing billions of dollars in refunds from power producers and hopes to bring criminal charges against their executives .
glenn johnson , 52 , a mechanic at the south bay power plant , alone filed 30 complaints . on one occasion , johnson said he called the california division of occupational safety and health , because an unqualified employee was found scraping up asbestos . he also has a harassment complaint against sdg & e regarding an employee who now works for duke , but johnson said his lawyer told him not to discuss it .
aside from the formal complaints , johnson said under the duke regime he was disciplined for taking too much sick time after being out for 10 months for cancer treatment .
" this is just the kind of abuse we had to endure ever since this became a business , " he said .
one of the other employees , jim olkjer , 56 , a former assistant control room operator at the power plant , filed three complaints against sdg & e while duke operated the plant , because his evaluations consistently said he needed supervision . the grievances were either turned down or settled , he said .
olkjer said he decided to testify against duke after he learned he wouldn ' t be hired by the energy company when it took over plant operations in april .
" i ' m on a fixed income now , " olkjer said in an interview . " i can ' t afford my utility bills on a fixed income . "
the third employee , ed edwards , 42 , a certified power plant mechanic , said he filed one complaint against three sdg & e employees in 1999 for racial discrimination . one of the employees was hired by duke . that case is still pending .
edwards , an african - american , said duke didn ' t hire qualified minority employees after it took over the plant and instead hired less - qualified white employees . edwards said the two minority supervisors that worked at the plant under sdg & e were replaced with white employees when duke took over .
edwards , who stopped working at the plant in february , said he decided to testify against duke after receiving a phone call from johnson .
" i knew i wouldn ' t be hired , " he said .
edwards and johnson filed charges of harassment and racial discrimination against sdg & e with the u . s . equal employment opportunity commission .
sdg & e spokesman art larson wouldn ' t comment on the allegations . duke spokesman tom williams said the company stands by its hiring practices and " always hires the most qualified employees . "
in 1999 , duke settled a 1996 discrimination claim with the u . s . department of labor for $ 769 , 700 , in which the department found some areas where white females and black males were paid less than white male and black female counterparts in similar positions .
dissatisfaction with new priorities
the former employees said they weren ' t motivated to blow the whistle on duke by the prospects of cashing in on a possible settlement with the state . johnson first alerted the media about duke ' s behavior before state attorney general bill lockyer mentioned financial rewards for whistleblowers .
the employees each earned about $ 1 , 000 a week .
all three employees said they believe duke mismanaged the south bay power plant by ramping the units up and down , tossing out spare parts , and operating machinery when it was broken . olkjer said he saw the plant ' s output reduced during the worst power emergencies " at least 50 times . "
when edwards questioned his supervisors about the behavior he said they told him , " it ' s none of your business . "
the employees said that duke was more concerned with making money than the happiness of its staff , and that the company tried to bust its union contract when it first took over the plant .
" i was paid to twist wrenches , " johnson said . " the last raise i got two years ago was 2 . 25 % . that ' s an insult to my skill . "
duke said it is bringing the former sdg & e employees under its contract with international brotherhood of electrical workers local 1245 . the workers were previously represented by another local , and duke wanted a single contract .
johnson said he decided to blow the whistle on duke because he was disgusted by the company ' s " gluttony and greed . " he said he stole the control room logs in february after a colleague pointed out to him that duke was reducing output at the plant .
johnson , edwards and olkjer said " in the old days " the power plant ran at full throttle and never ramped up or down . but as soon as deregulation became law in the state , things started to change . sdg 323 - 658 - 3874 ; jason . leopold @ dowjones . com
