B&W Y-12, ATLC REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT ON ONE-YEAR EXTENSION

The collective bargaining agreement between the Atomic Trades and Labor Council and B&W Y-12 is expected to be extended for one year after the union announced a “tentative” agreement on the extension yesterday. The ATLC agreement at Y-12 runs out June 22, and with transition ongoing to new contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security, union officials wanted to delay negotiations on a longer extension until the two sides became better acquainted. The new agreement, which was endorsed by the union’s negotiating committee, must be ratified by union membership, which includes about 1,200 hourly workers at the site. A vote is scheduled for May 1. A 2.5 percent wage increase and $250 signing bonus is included in the extension, Y-12 ATLC President Steve Jones said. “You’ve got this transition going on, and we felt like we want to get to know the players who we’re going to be sitting down with when we talk about the whole contract,” Jones said. “You don’t want to negotiate with total strangers.”