Powerful Partnership in Jeopardy as SDG&E’s Labor Union Turns on Its Employer

When the city of San Diego thought about dropping San Diego Gas and Electric as its monopoly energy provider, and when some ratepayers tried to push for a public takeover of the grid, there was always one dependable defender of the company: the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 465. 

That powerful partnership could be fraying.  

A series of recent blow ups between SDG&E and its largest union signals this as the two are about to renegotiate their contract in 2026, which covers around 1,800 workers from electrical linemen to call center employees.  

Union bosses are furious with the power company over leaderships’ recent efforts to reduce its workforce, transitioning work to outside contractors and, most recently, block the unionization of a small group of employees. SDG&E has been quiet about the whole thing, opting instead to promote its work to negotiate new bargaining units in other parts of the company. 

Last month Local 465, raised alarm over dozens of layoffs of non-unionized employees and buyouts that at least 75 of its card-carrying members took. 

Nate Fairman, Local 465’s business manager, said then that “over my dead body would the company layoff or negatively impact union families.” He blamed “corporate greed” and said SDG&E’s parent company, Sempra, was just worried about its stock price.  

Those were strong words from Fairman, a fixture in public spheres of influence who typically opposes anything that might threaten SDG&E.  

In the latest scrap, Fairman fumed over SDG&E’s move to hire what he called the most notorious union-busting law firm in America to fight the unionization effort of seven employees. After Voice of San Diego started asking questions, SDG&E changed course and struck a deal. 

Local 465: SDG&E Tried to Block Union Vote  

It started back in April of 2024 when Local 465 attempted to add workers who control the flow of electricity within San Diego County to the union.  

They’re called operation shift supervisors. The union argued these workers don’t actually manage anyone. Managers are ineligible to join union ranks. In September, the Southern California regional representative of the National Labor Relations Board – a federal body that protects workers right to unionize – agreed and OK’d Local 465’s request to hold a union election among those ranks.  

But SDG&E – via the law firm Jackson Lewis, P.C. – challenged the regional decision, appealing it to the National Labor Relations Board based in Washington D.C. However, that board can’t currently meet or conduct any business because it doesn’t have enough members to reach a quorum. President Donald Trump virtually paralyzed the National Labor Relations Board’s ability to decide cases like this, according to Reuters.  

The law firm is representing a company called FindHelp that, along with corporations like SpaceX and Energy Transfer, have successfully frozen unfair labor practice cases against them by arguing the labor board operates unconstitutionally, according to reporting by Bloomberg. Jackson Lewis attorney Jonathan Siegel didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

Fairman says the company had been a pretty good partner to labor for the last decade, when Fairman took on his current role. He says the company seems to have adopted a more anti-union stance when leadership changed hands from Caroline Winn, who  became an executive vice president at Sempra, to Scott Crider, SDG&E’s former senior vice president of external affairs. 

“I’ve worked a decade of my life trying to improve working relationships with one of the biggest corporations in San Diego,” Fairman said. “I’ve done my part and it seems like now, SDG&E is trying to throw all of that out the window.”   

In a statement Thursday, SDG&E spokesperson Anthony Wagner said the company and Local 465 have had a longstanding partnership lasting more than a century. The company participated in negotiations when labor wanted to unionize more of its workforce, he said. 

“In the past 18 months, we worked with the IBEW Local 465 to negotiate new contracts, resulting in about 200 additional union members,” Wagner said. “We value our union employees and the contributions they make to our success.”  

On Tuesday, Local 465 filed an unfair labor practices charge against SDG&E. The company retaliated against one of the employees who participated in supporting Local 465’s case against the company at the National Labor Relations Board, said the union’s attorney, Ricardo Ochoa.  

By Thursday, SDG&E withdrew its appeal and an emergency request with the National Labor Relations Board to stop those employees from holding a unionization vote. Fairman confirmed he agreed to drop the unfair labor practices charge in exchange.  

“I think SDG&E showed its true colors and there’s a lot of work to be done to repair. Our relationship was extremely fractured during this whole process,” he said.  

Wagner, the SDG&E spokesperson, wrote that the company appealed the National Labor Relations Board’s decision because the position had unique responsibilities that were supervisory in nature.  

“After discussions with our union partners, we filed to withdraw the appeal at the National Labor Relations Board because we were confident these concerns can be addressed through good faith negotiations,” Wagner wrote.  

Clarification: In an interview, Local 465 said 100 of its unionized workers took buyouts. Documents provided later show that number is actually at least 75.

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