Safety

The IBEW’s history is rooted in safety. When the electrical industry was in it’s infancy it was a very dangerous trade. It was common for a lineman to risk his life in all kinds of weather for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the beginning there was no training, or not even any safety standards. In some areas, the mortality rate for linemen was one out of every two that were hired. The national mortality rate for electrical workers were more than twice the national average for all other industries. Out of those trying times our Union was born and although things did not improve overnight, that was the beginning of a change towards safety and training. Here at IBEW Local 1439 we continue to honor that tradition of working towards a safer work place.

Bluehats

IBEW Local 1439 and AmerenMO are collectively committed to enhancing safety awareness and engagement with the objective of eliminating unsafe acts and promoting continuous improvement in safety for all coworkers. The Blue Hat program is born out of those ideas. It is an innovative safety program that partners the Union with the company.  These are Union represented positions with the idea that the Brothers and Sisters in the field will be more comfortable addressing safety issues with one of their own. Our blue hats tackle a wide range of issues from safety on job sites to mental health awareness. IBEW Local 1439’s current blue hats are Aaron Mehrtens and Brandon Shortt.