Willie F. Warren, who became PG&E’s first Black line worker in 1966, will be inducted into the International Lineman’s Museum and Hall of Fame.

The 90-year-old retiree is among six inductees who will be honored on Oct. 18 as part of the International Lineman’s Rodeo festivities in Overland Park, Kan.

Warren's groundbreaking story was told earlier this year in a short video (see below).

The museum’s announcement described Warren as “a trailblazer who became the first African American lineman at PG&E…inspiring countless others through his achievements.”

On a video call Tuesday, IBEW Local 1245’s Bob Gerstle congratulated Warren, who was joined by one of his two daughters at his home in Bakersfield.

“We just want to congratulate you,” said Gerstle, a senior assistant business manager. “We’re very proud of you.”

Warren said the sudden spotlight is “thrilling” and something he never expected. He said, health willing, he plans to attend the induction ceremony this fall.

The Warren family moved to Buttonwillow in Kern County in 1939 when Willie was 4 years old. They spent a year living in a railroad boxcar while his parents saved enough money to move into a house in nearby Bakersfield.

Warren entered the Air Force after high school, spending four years as an engineering draftsman. He served tours in Japan and Korea.

Warren joined PG&E in 1963, first as a warehouse helper, then truck driver and eventually into the electric department. On July 5, 1966, he earned his spot as a journeyman lineman. He didn’t know it at the time, but he had made history as the company’s first Black line worker.

Later, he was a field line foreman in Fresno and then in Taft in Kern County, then known as a “sundown town” that prohibited non-white residents to be on the streets at night. In his early years, he also described experiencing racial taunts while living in the Bakersfield area.

His daughters said their father quietly persevered.

“I lived my life and pursued my dreams, and I never let anyone stop me along the way,” he said. 

As a line worker, Warren was tall and lean, weighing 130 pounds, as he climbed poles and towers in all conditions to provide safe and reliable power to Californians. His ability earned him a spot on the “500,000” team, a group of experts trained to maintain and repair 500 kilovolt lines.

“Doing high-voltage work as a line crew, you’ve got to keep your mind concentrated on what you’re doing,” he recalled. “You have to do this work lots of times in inclement weather. It could be a windstorm. It could be a rainstorm. And we’ve even worked in the snow.”

In his later career, he was a general foreman in Alameda and Butte counties.

In 1988, he won a PG&E Britton Award for helping save the life of a woman whose car rolled over in icy conditions on Highway 99 in Chico near a PG&E office.

He retired in 1995 as the superintendent of Gas and Electric Operations in the San Joaquin Valley.

Warren credited his late wife Mattie with creating a stable home for his daughters Jennifer and Yolanda while he was working. Of his service with the IBEW, Warren said, “They helped write safety rules that got me home each night. For that I am eternally grateful.”

Looking back, Warren said he is proud of his accomplishments. He added that he traces his successful career to lessons from his parents.

He said, “My mother and father raised us to help someone who is in need, to be honest and work hard.”