Another 10 labor union employees have crossed the picket line and returned to work for Savannah River Site security contractor Centerra-SRS. That brings the total to 58 employees who either did not join the strike that began last month or who have since gone back to work, according to Centerra spokesman Rob Davis.
On Sept. 6, Davis said 48 employees represented by United Professional Pro-Force of Savannah River (UPPSR) were not striking at the Energy Department facility in South Carolina. Davis could not clarify how many had not joined the strike at any point or had subsequently resumed work, but he reported Monday that another 10 were back on the job.
All told, UPPSR represents 337 of the 688 workers employed by Centerra. The union and company management spent most of 2017 negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, culminating in a “last, best and final offer” from Centerra on July 19. The union rejected the deal and called a strike about a month later.
Davis said Centerra has made no changes to its offer, and that the two sides have not met since the start of the strike. He said that despite the labor action, “our contingency force is fully trained and capable, and there has been no degradation of site security.” The contingency plan includes bringing in staff from other DOE sites to offset the loss of workers at SRS. Centerra is incurring costs due to the strike, but Davis said some of the expenses are offset by not having to pay those on strike.
