Archives West Finding Aid

George Hammer was a lineworker for Seattle City Light who, when working as apprenticeship coordinator, developed improvements to City Light training programs in the the early 1980s. Hammer had spent almost two years getting reconstructive surgery after a 1978 accident that caused severe burns to his hands. He then had to fight to regain a skilled job with City Light. Hammer eventually went into the Safety Department, and then became secretary to the apprenticeship committee. By 1981, Hammer had been assigned to come up with specific recommendations for City Light's apprenticeship program. He researched and developed apprenticeship training methods that overcame some of the biases common in training methods in effect at the time, and which had the effect of making it extremely difficult for women to qualify. These methods were later adopted by the utility.