CNS, Pantex Metal Trades Begin Talks on New Labor Contract

Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security began negotiating a new labor agreement yesterday with the Metal Trades Council, the union representing Pantex Plant workers. George Rangel, a spokesman for Consolidated Nuclear Security, said the contractor won’t discuss pending issues that will come up in negotiations with the Metal Trades Council over the five-year contract, but said the government’s contract with the union expires at midnight on Feb. 16.

 

The Metal Trades Council is the sole bargaining agent for local unions that represent about 1,100 workers at Pantex, which employs about 3,000 employees. MTC President Clarence Rashada declined to comment on the negotiations yesterday. Typically, if negotiations reach an impasse, a federal mediator is brought in to help avert a strike. The last time workers with the Metal Trades Council engaged in a labor strike at Pantex was in the 1970s when workers were on strike for 26 days before a pact was reached. The union last approved a contract with then-Pantex Contractor B&W Pantex in 2008 when workers received a raise, improved medical benefits for retirees and a bonus in their 401K plans.