A Q&A with Jesse Baron, IBEW 40’s New Training Director 

This month, we welcome current Local President and long-time instructor Jesus “Jesse” Barron in his new role as Training Director. This new role reflects his commitment to both the Local and the Training Program over the years. 

Jesse takes over for Louie Meza, who has done a fantastic job in his tenure as Training Director, streamlining and doubling the size of our apprenticeship program. Brother Meza is more than qualified to move into Peter Diamond’s position covering Dispatch, Production and Member Services. This shift all began when Peter accepted an opportunity as a Foreman at the Fox Studio Lot. Although we’re sad to see Peter go, we are excited to see him excel in his new role and fight for the membership in a new way.  

Jesse has the skills to build on the growth we have seen over the last six years in the Training Program and push it even further. Please take some time to get to know Brother Barron in the Q&A below. 

How and when did you join IBEW 40? 

I got organized in as an apprentice at 26, and I’ve been part of Local 40 for 18 years. 
 
What do you enjoy most about your work with IBEW 40? 
 
What comes to mind right off the bat is the maintenance side of things. That really, really interested me, because we all can build stuff. But then to be able to troubleshoot, to be able to see how things actually work, that really interested me about the trade. At Paramount Pictures, where I used to work, they had four micro turbines that run a central chiller plant. So, we were in charge of maintaining that, and it was really fun. 
 
As president, I love running the meetings most, getting to go shake hands with people. It’s also cool to advocate for the union lobbying in places like Sacramento and going over financials. 
 
What was the path that led you to become Training Director? 
 
I’ve been an instructor for the union since 2017. So that’s been awesome. And that’s kind of what led to the training director spot. Luis would send me to “train the trainer” classes. So, I got certified in a whole bunch of stuff that I would come back and teach the apprentices so that they could get certified. 

What’s important for you to do as training director?  

I pretty much oversee all the apprentices. So, that’s making sure they’re getting to class on time, making sure they’re turning in their hours. I’ll also be in charge of all the instructors now, making sure they’re following the curriculum, making sure they’re getting the test in on time, and making sure our apprentices are passing the test. I’m also in charge of our journeyman training. So, trying to set up training for our journeyman, that’s going to be me as well. 

What would you like to say to IBEW 40 members as you step into this new role? 

The big goal is definitely training. We definitely want to deliver on that and get all the certifications going. EVITP right now is huge. Cal TCP is huge for us. The SM Tech course is huge. So, I’ll be trying to get those going so that we can start offering the classes and get our membership certified. 

Louie has been doing a great job. So, I just want to follow in his footsteps.